Parenting is a real full-time job. As a parent of infants and toddlers, you spend a lot of time learning to understand your child’s needs. At this age, your child cannot yet use words to express what he or she needs or what he or she doesn’t like. Day by day, you refine your skills in interpreting your child’s nonverbal cues accurately.

However, there may be extremely challenging situations in which you might feel like you can’t do anything right and you may have difficulties understanding what your child needs from you. You might experience sadness, disappointment, frustration, or even anger towards the situation or towards your child. But rest assured, you are not alone in experiencing these feelings. Many parents whose children cry a lot and/or have trouble sleeping and/or feeding, describe that they have these emotions. They do not make you a worse mother or father.

Your child and his or her needs are a priority to you. However, it’s important not to forget your own needs as well. You should try to develop strategies that prevent negative feelings from getting out of hand. In order to care well for your child, you must also care well for yourself. This will make it easier for you to remain calm and composed, thereby helping your child to calm down and tackle upcoming developmental milestones.