So, you and your partner don’t parent exactly the same way. You have different styles. You see things differently. Let it help you. You have probably always done a lot of things differently, it just hasn’t been quite so in your face as right now. You’re trying to team up, to be a parenting partner, and to create consistency for little Lucy (or Joey). Your ideas about the best way to do that might be different some (or most) of the time. You may like different bottles, you may think certain toys are better than others. You may even have a different way of discussing which bottles or toys are the best!
Parenting Partner Differences
I’m a talker. I could hash out my thoughts about child rearing verbally all day long. My husband HAAAATES doing that. He would rather think on his own about it, then have a short session where we try to problem solve. Fair enough, I’ve decided. I save the hashing out for my girlfriends (and my pediatrician) and I keep it short and sweet with hubby. Now that my eldest daughter is getting older, I see that sometimes she needs me to help her talk through her emotions but sometimes she just needs silence, an empathetic look and a hug from her dad.
It’s tempting to consider yourself the better parent, especially if you feel like you do all the reading, all the researching, all the planning around your baby. But partners are meant to be just that - two people working together to problem-solve, to support each other and to, ultimately, become the best parents they can be. Embrace your differences and let them work for you, not against you. After all, isn't that what being a parent partner is all about?
I know first-hand that working mom life is hard, but I also know it doesn’t have to be impossible.
Trust me. The best way to get unstuck isn’t to work harder. It’s to use a framework that gets real results, no matter what area you need to tackle first.