Are you a first-time expecting parent and wondering how difficult it is to learn childbirth and the essentials of infant care? Or maybe you’re a few years into your parenting journey and wondering how challenging it will be to learn pediatric CPR. Either way, the difficulty level of any new parenting skill will be somewhat subjective. How easily you’ll learn parenting skills depends upon factors such as how much time you’ve spent around children, the quality of your support network, and your access to educational resources.
Wherever you are in your parenting journey, plenty of tools are available to help you learn the skills you need for your child’s stage of development.
What is Parenting?
Parenting is the raising and nurturing of a child by a biological or adoptive parent, or sometimes by a grandparent or other caregiver. While much of parenting looks similar for every family, the unique backgrounds, values, and goals of mothers and fathers determine which of the four different parenting styles shapes daily life in the household. These parenting styles encompass numerous more specific methodologies such as mindful, conscious, and gentle parenting.Â
While social media provides considerable support for parents, it can also be overwhelming in the variety of parenting information it presents to today’s moms and dads. Luckily, we’re living in a time when more and more scientific studies provide parents with reliable raw data to bolster their confidence as they raise their children according to their values and intuition. Whatever value system you ascribe to, the parenting skills you learn will support your instinctive drive to keep your child safe and healthy through childbirth, feeding, sleep, a healthy environment, and nourishing their body and spirit.
Benefits of Learning Parenting?
The journey of learning parenting often begins with childbirth education. Some rely on books, quick talks with their doctor, and longer discussions with mom friends to prepare for their labor. However, childbirth classes like Lamaze International—DC Chapter’s Lamaze Childbirth Preparation (Weekend Workshop) offer unparalleled confidence-building for the approaching big day. If you can’t find an in-person childbirth class nearby, online options such as NYC-based Birth Day Presence’s Childbirth Education Basics (3 Hours) make high-quality childbirth education available for anyone, wherever they might live. The benefits of childbirth classes include building your confidence in your body’s ability to give birth, giving you access to a knowledgeable instructor who can answer all your burning questions, and preparing you with various pain management techniques.
There are many reasons to continue investing in your parenting education beyond childbirth and lactation. Pediatric First Aid and CPR classes, like the one offered by SureFire CPR outside of LA, ensure your ability to keep your child safe. And parenting courses focusing on certain philosophies and values such as 92nd Street Y’s Parenting through a Jewish Lens, will increase your confidence in your parenting choices and allow you to be more present as you navigate daily life with your child.
What Are the Hardest Parts of Learning Parenting?
The postpartum period is arguably the most challenging time of learning to parent. During that transitional time, the birthing parent is healing while the entire family is learning how to care for its newest member while struggling to get a full night’s sleep. Luckily, this time is navigable and even enjoyable with the right resources.
Healing and Self-Care
It’s difficult to anticipate the course of your healing journey before your childbirth. You may have an easy birth or require an emergency cesarean section or other medical interventions that complicate your recovery. But even following the simplest labor and delivery, you will need plenty of rest and self-care to allow your body to heal. Birth Day Presence’s Prepared Postpartum class will help you enter the fourth trimester with confidence, knowing how to handle pelvic floor healing, what to do should postpartum mood disorders arise, and how to plan for other common issues.
Another important part of self-care for new mothers is safe and gentle exercise. If you live in NYC, you can take advantage of 92nd Street Y’s Yoga for Parent and Baby (Ages 6 weeks-9 months) as the ideal space to begin moving again. Skip the babysitter, and use class time to bond with your baby as you strengthen your core with guidance from a knowledgeable instructor and make friends with other new parents.
Infant Care
First-time parents often get the jitters when anticipating the many elements involved in infant care. For those with little experience with babies, whether on the job or as an older sibling, diapering, swaddling, soothing, and feeding can be entirely foreign. And even if you have worked as a nanny for years, lactation, umbilical cord care, and many other aspects of newborn care will be entirely new skills. Luckily, medical professionals, books, forums, and friends are all possibilities for support as you prepare to care for your new baby. Classes like Birth Day Presence’s Lactation & Newborn Care Basics are an excellent option for those who prefer to build their confidence in caring for their baby through guided formal instruction.
Sleep
While some children are great sleepers from birth, navigating sleep through the fourth trimester is one of the most challenging aspects of infant care. And when parents and caregivers can’t get enough sleep, it makes the other elements of parenting considerably more difficult. With their tiny stomachs needing frequent nourishment, healthy infant sleeping patterns are not the same as adult ones, and some type of parent education on the topic is essential for preparation. As with most parenting topics, pediatricians, books, YouTube videos, and your support system can all offer you great advice. And an Infant Sleep Live Webinar, like that provided by Birth Day Presence, can be invaluable in helping you to confidently prepare to maximize the sleep of your entire family through the newborn stage and beyond.
Key Takeaways
- While philosophies and methodologies can vary greatly, all parenting includes maintaining a child’s health and safety while raising and nurturing them to adulthood.
- Childbirth and parenting classes can help you be more confident and present in your parenthood journey.
- The postpartum period is a challenging time for learning to parent, but resources are available to make this an easier and more enjoyable season.
- CourseHorse’s online classes, in-person workshops, and private group sessions can make learning about parenting easier and faster.