Essay on Transitioning to Parenthood

Introduction

Transitioning to parenthood is one of the most focal experiences in a person's life. At some point in life, everyone feels the urge to get married, have children and build a family. However, having children is not as calm as it may sound. It is a process necessitating time, resources, energy, devotion and commitment failure to which things could go wrong. Most people tend to think that the real issue lies in getting pregnant and giving birth, but in actuality, everything becomes factual during the parenting journey. The problem is that most people do not take time to contemplate on the expectations and decide if they are ready to partake in the journey. Once a person becomes a parent, raising children turns out to be a full-time job and devoid of sufficient preparation, the process can be rather daunting. Having the aptitude to ponder ahead on the probable challenges and the support required can play a big role in making the best parent. My friend who recently got married is considering becoming a parent, and this paper will be exploring on the things that she ought to expect followed by advice on each area.

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A Detailed Description of Advice Given

Coming from a childless household, it should be expected for the presence of a child to have a remarkable effect on financial spending patterns. This is a very sensitive area and tends to be an origin of several marital problems. With a child present, there exists a changeover impact from particular types of expenditures concentrated on adults as well as those directed on a child. Two things are causing this issue comprising a probable modification in parental inclinations in favor of goods that are child-oriented and activities and changes in comparative costs ascertaining that adult activities are more expensive. Listing the necessities of children is a subjective implementation. In the transitioning process of parenthood, battles among couples tend to be prevalent (Shapiro, Gottman, 2005). If the finances are not planned, when a child comes, things can get very rough in the household, actually leading to separation in some cases. For example, in the process of struggling between jobs, sustaining a family and taking care of a child, lack of enough resources can lead to quarrels with a partner. The best thing is to plan, save up for these kinds of moments, and take an insurance plan for the kids.

Another thing to anticipate is a complete change of lifestyle. Before bearing children, a person has a lot of time for herself and the partner, but this changes because all the attention has to be channeled to a child. With all the activities connected to rearing children, romance may become merely existent in movies. Becoming a parent tends to have effects on various family associations, even though several studies have accentuated on marriage and relations of parents to the new-born (Dun, 2010). For instance, there may be no time to go out, catch a favorite series or go hiking and the sleeping patterns become unpredictable. These experiences, however, differ among different individuals because various factors are determining a transformation of lifestyle. For example, maybe a person was used to taking junks each day or rather treating herself out often, in most cases such habits tend to be forfeited for the sake of kids. In the absence of children, decisions tend to be an easy task, but with them around, their consideration is a necessity before making any choices. At one point, everyone was a kid and sacrifices were made for them. In the same way, the transitioning parents should have the capacity to do the same.

Depression might become prevalent especially because it is the first child. Most first time mothers tend to feel insufficient in their course and this results to stress. Mums depict role strain and role conflict particularly if they are employed (Dun, Sears, 2017). They go through a state of unsatisfied expectations thus developing negative emotions towards their partners. Consequently, the negative feelings are passed to the spouses leading to a depressed mood. Most couples may go through a very tough time with some getting divorced. A mother undergoing depression is out of control, thus should try to control her emotions and seek psychological help. Fathers should try to be more compassionate, understanding and appreciate them for little efforts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to put in mind that transitioning to parenthood is profound. According to developmental scientists, it is one of the immense restructurings in a person's lifespan causing changes in the brain, character, associations, and endocrine system. As such, spouses considering to have kids should be aware of what to expect so that they are prepared psychologically, financially and in several other dimensions. My friend should expect a noteworthy effect on financial spending patterns, a complete change of lifestyle and depressed days a condition prevalent in first-time mothers.

References

Dun, T., & Sears, C. (2017). Relational Trajectories from Parent and Child to Grandparent and New Parent. Journal of Family Communication,17(2), 185-201. doi:10.1080/15267431.2017.1281281

Dun, T. (2010). Turning Points in Parent-Grandparent Relationships During the Start of a New. Generation. Journal of Family Communication,10(3), 194 210. doi:10.1080/15267431.2010.489218

Shapiro, A. F., & Gottman, J. M. (2005). Effects on Marriage of a Psycho-Communicative. Educational Intervention With Couples Undergoing the Transition to Parenthood, Evaluation at 1-Year Post Intervention. Journal of Family Communication,5(1), 1-24. doi:10.1207/s15327698jfc0501_1