- Becoming a new parent can be an overwhelming experience.
- I spent a week asking parents I knew for their best pieces of parenting advice.
- They told me to make mistakes in front of my child, let them take risks, and not to forget to save some time for just myself.
Parenting is as overwhelming as it is gratifying - and it's overwhelming long before it's gratifying, in my opinion.
I remember preparing to be discharged from the hospital one day after my daughter was born. My husband and I looked at each, our faces distorted in confusion, and then we looked at the nurses.
They were letting us go? With the baby? Who would take care of her? How would she survive?
For new parents, gathering wisdom from people in a similar situation can provide some comfort. That's why for the past week, I asked every parent I knew for their best parenting advice. Their advice ranged allowing your child to take risks to remembering to take some time for just yourself.
Here are the nine best pieces of advice I got from parents.