Welcoming a new baby into the home is one of the most exciting life events a person can experience, especially if it’s your first child. However, parenting comes with a mixture of joys and tribulations that could grow but also challenge your relationship as a couple.
Many Australian couples find adjusting to their new roles as parents overwhelming, exhausting and isolating. These are ingredients for a number of stressors to surface and it can even negatively impact the relationship. By going to relationship counselling Melbourne parents can discover ways to support themselves as couples and find a new dynamic that works.
Keep reading to find out how couples therapy can support new parents as they navigate parenthood and raise a baby for the first time.
What You Need to Know About Couples Therapy
Not all divorces can be attributed to parenthood but when it gets challenging, your relationship could take a knock. The outcome could be disastrous and you may become one of the over 56,000 Australians heading to the divorce courts! Couples therapy can prevent this from happening and instead, allow you to both enjoy being new parents.
Relationship counselling is the last thing on a new parent’s mind when dealing with an infant! But, raising a child together with your partner or spouse creates strain if the two of you aren’t sharing the responsibilities fairly or have different parenting styles.
Couples counselling helps to restore faith, love and trust in a relationship and a good therapist will guide you through the obstacles that threaten your connection with your loved one. Couples are given practical and empowering tools to:
- Improve communication
- Develop strong problem-solving skills
- Reduce conflict
- Understand and appreciate each other’s uniqueness and abilities
- Focus on specific issues such as financial insecurity, differences in parenting styles and broken trust
3 Reasons Why Couples Therapy is Essential for New Parents
1. A New Baby Changes the Dynamics in the Home and Relationship
Before your baby came along, you and your partner settled into a comfortable routine that gave you ample freedom to do what you want. With just the two of you in the home, you discovered more about each other and came to understand the other’s habits, routines…and foibles! As a couple you also learnt to share your home space in an amicable manner.
Add a new baby to the mix and all of a sudden your routines are a jumble as your little one demands more of your time and space. Overnight, the dynamics in your home and relationship change drastically. Also, if one party doesn’t take up the responsibilities of being a new parent, the lack of collaboration will result in a less-than-harmonious home.
Luckily, an experienced therapist can guide you through the tremendous transition phase. You learn to integrate parenting into your relationship without letting it impact the way you want to live life.
2. Helps Define Your Parenting Style
Parenting styles differ between people and that could lead to conflict if you don’t agree on how to raise your child. How you parent relates to your approach, attitude and behaviour which are all influenced by your own conditioning as a child.
If you and your partner came from completely different upbringings and cultures, you may struggle to understand each other’s parenting styles. This is a recipe for disaster if disagreements surface and resentments build within the relationship.
A couples therapist will help you unpack your parenting style to discuss them with your partner. Then, you can both come to an agreement as to how you want to raise your children.
3. Maintains Your Connection With Each Other
It’s very easy to become totally absorbed in the needs of your little one as your baby relies on you for their survival. Most times, they’re cute, funny and adorable too, making you want to spend as much of your free time as possible with them. But, if you’re not careful, parenthood could make you lose your emotional connection as a couple.
Being a new parent often means neglecting your own needs as a couple as you get lost in parenting instead of allowing time for intimacy and emotional support for each other. Parenthood can even rob you of your personal identity, leading to frustrations that are taken out on your spouse. Before you know it, your loved one becomes a stranger in your home.
Relationship counselling gives you and your partner the space to speak up about the frustrations and challenges of parenthood. It allows you, as a couple, to restore the emotional connection that is vital for a healthy and happy relationship.
Final Thoughts
Parenthood is an exciting time of your life but if it’s not handled properly it can be stressful and create tension in your relationship. Going for couples counselling Melbourne therapists offer their clientele will equip you with valuable tools to keep you connected with your partner, while also making you a better parent. This is how you make sure your child will grow up in a happy home!
