There are different stages in parenting and it starts with the children being too dependent on their parents for dear life. The parent is there to provide guidance to the children, but with the ultimate goal of teaching them to fend for themselves and live on their own.
In the course of taking care of their children, parents usually lose their own self. Sooner or later, they become too dependent on their kids for their own happiness and purpose in life. To avoid this, parents should continue to do something they love as an individual, so they would have something to occupy their time and attention when the kids become independent.
The ultimate test for a parent is when the children leave home for university life, according to The Reporter. At this stage in their life, children will still be partially dependent on their parents for subsistence and support. This is the time when they will start to spread their wings and test their capacity to live on their own, far from their comfort zones.
Parents know all along that their children will ultimately leave home, but they will never be prepared for that moment, as per Huffington Post. A mother's life is forever changed when she gets pregnant and she gives birth to a child. Nothing can compare, however, to the life-changing experience of seeing one's child leave home. It usually takes a lot of effort for a parent, especially a mother, to cope with the loneliness of an empty nest.
Being separated from one's child, even temporarily, can be very challenging for a parent, according to Mind Body Green. Every parent hopes to see their children become successful adults, although total independence can be a bit depressing for them. Parents should find ways to deal with the mixed emotions that come with a child's independence, and one of these is to look at the positive changes that result from that separation.
