It’s tough being a parent
The job is one of continual letting go. From the moment the baby is born, it’s about helping it grow until we are no longer needed.
There‘s a lot of research about Attachment - the way we interact with our primary caregiver affects our ability to form strong relationships of our own.
When a parent needs to feel wanted and that there is a purpose to life, and then sees the child / young person / adult offspring as that purpose, that’s when it all goes wrong.
Helping children / young people / young adults become confident, self sufficient and contributing members of society is what we are here for. That’s difficult at times, even painful at times. We need to let them do their own thing, we may disagree, but we need to support their choices from the sidelines.
And as well as painful and difficult, it can also be rewarding as they take over roles and tasks we used to do for them.
We need to stand back, hold our nerve and believe in them
We were children once, and we grew up.