• Home
  • Services
  • About
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Temperament Form
  • Workshops
Kerrie LaRosaParent Coach

The Reason Parents Worry....

5/31/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture

* Have you ever hovered over your baby's crib all night making sure she is still breathing?

* Did you ever fall asleep clutching your baby's video monitor?

* Were you ever so worried about the cold weather that you bundled your child up so much he couldn't even walk (like Randy in A Christmas Story)? Oh and it was only 40 degrees outside!

* Do you ever wonder that you and your child could not survive a minute apart?

* Did you ever convinced yourself that a bruised knee is a symptom of some rare disease?

* Have you ever worried that you worry too much?

Most parents I know have done at least one of these things on the list. Parents worry so much about our children. Parents worry because they love their children and want them to be safe, healthy and happy. But there is also a biological reason that parents worry and it is not just to deprive parents of sleep and make them do things they would have scoffed at before having kids.

Postpartum there is an increase in cingulate gyrus activity (the cingulate gyrus is part of the limbic system responsible for repetitive care taking behaviors such as diapering and feeding) and an increase in oxitocin to foster parent-child bonding. The combination of these changes is a recipe for increased anxiety and irrational thoughts.  It is evolution's way of helping sleep-deprived parents respond to their child's needs and keep them safe and healthy.

"Many new mothers describe bizarre fears about improbably and previously unconsidered catastrophes befalling their infants, even as they recognize that these concerns are irrational" - from Born to Love by Bruce Perry

So the next time someone tells you that you are worrying too much, you can blame it on evolution!

A special thanks to Brett Collins for contributing to this blog post!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Kerrie LaRosa is a parent coach and a mother of two children. She draws on her professional expertise and personal experience to provide tired parents with some quick tips, resources and fun anecdotes.

    Archives

    June 2018
    February 2018
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    January 2016
    August 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011

    Categories

    All
    Activities
    Allergies
    Baby
    Behavior
    Birth Order
    Book Review
    Children
    Development
    Discipline
    Doctor
    Gifts
    Halloween
    Holidays
    Language Development
    Learning
    Living In The Moment
    Moving
    Parenting
    Persistence
    Picky Eating
    Play
    Reading
    Resolutions
    Safety
    Sharing
    Sleep
    Speech
    Storm
    Stuttering
    Superstorm Sandy
    Tantrum
    Temperament
    Traditions
    Travel
    Waiting
    Yelling

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from brettneilson, rolands.lakis, koroshiya, beelerspace, kellywoolen, Amy McKenzie, nerissa's ring, surlygirl, Enrico Matteucci ☸, aarongilson, dawnhops, Peter Werkman (www.peterwerkman.nl), jem, National Assembly For Wales / Cynulliad Cymru, erin_everlasting, christine [cbszeto], emrank, imcountingufoz, frotzed2, ebmarquez, rumpleteaser, brewbooks, ToddMorris, nutrition education