Becoming A Parent Changes Your Life — You Will Be Experienced Soon

Becoming a parent is precious and fulfilling, yet you need to get used to being a parent.

In 2007, exactly fourteen years ago last Friday, I gave birth to my oldest of three daughters. I became a parent for the first time in my life at the age of nineteen. The second time was in 2009 and the third time was in 2013.

I remember the moment when I held my oldest daughter in my hands for the first time. I was crying, not only from the delivery but mostly from the joy I received from such a little precious baby. When you become a parent, you will be delighted as well and so happy having a little thing to take care of and at the delicious uncertainty of your precious baby having a life that you will help unfold.

When I read stories about parenting, I always try to learn new things as a parent from other parents. Some things I (already) implement(ed) myself, and sometimes I implement new ideas from other parents.

Parenting is always a balancing act. I also remind myself that I don’t have one specific parenting style. I look at the situations, and now and then I make exceptions for the rules. When I read “Simple Reasons Why One Parenting Style Does Not Fit All” by Yewande Adeleke, I knew why.

As your children grow, they grow into teenagers, and in the end, they fly away. This is happening to me at the moment; my oldest became fourteen last Friday and this is a huge step — not only for her but especially for me too. I have to give this a place in my system as well as getting used to the fact she is growing. I also love her seeing being the woman she wants to be. Kylie Craft writes it well in “Is This Hell Or Puberty? Parenting Teenagers”. No, it is not hell, it is learning to adapt to the lifestyle of your teenager, even when you have rules.

Speaking about teenagers; Jeff Herring gives parents “10 Universal Laws for Parents of Teenagers.” I’ll definitely be going to try his advice. I have two teenagers at home and there are so many things I as a parent need to work on, and yet, I recognize lots of the ‘laws’ in the way I parent.

Sometimes, as a parent, you need to recharge yourself. One can accomplish that by going outside, like me, or others go to a spa, but Lindsay Rae Brown does that in a group chat. I haven’t thought about that. I am not such a people person, although I love to have them around me, talking to them takes lots of energy from my system. In her story “The Group Chat That Kept Me Sane,”she explains why she loves being in a group chat with her friends.

When you can’t get children, one of the options is to be a foster parent to children who have parents who can’t take care of their children because of circumstances. Brenda Mahler tells in “Foster Parents are Heroic — Until They Aren’t” that a parent couldn’t take care of their foster child, or didn’t want to take the responsibility of the heavy past of the child and give a secure home. I always admire parents who take care of a child that is not their own.

About the writer

Agnes Laurens is a writer. She writes for the local newspaper. Agnes lives in The Netherlands, with her husband and three daughters.

You can find her on Vocal, Medium, Elephant Journal, HubPages, Music List.

Writing is — aside from playing the violin — one of her passions since childhood. She is on Twitter and Instagram.

You can subscribe to my mailing list, and you can subscribe to my Thoughts.

Check out her books.

She has an online web store, and she has a merchandise store. If you want to be informed about my online store and my merch, please follow this link.