Getting the Support You Need as a Parent

What parenting support would you ideally like? Many of us live away from our families and feel very alone in raising our kids. One mom wrote the parenting mantra seems to be “every person for themselves”, not “it takes a village”.

Given your situation and your children’s needs, how do you get the support you need? My husband and I live in Seattle 1600 miles from our families in Minnesota and truly missed not having family close by. We managed to get back to Minnesota once or twice a year so the kids would know their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.

While these vacation times with family were fun, the rest of the time we were on our own. We found the parenting support we needed in local parenting classes, friends, other parents at our kids’ schools, a church school program, sport coaches and neighbors.

Cultivating the support you need as a parent takes time and energy. How do you get the parenting support you need?