How becoming a parent made me a better therapist
As a speech pathologist I have had many parents come to me with concerns about their child's development. Sometimes their concerns warrant therapy and sometimes there really is nothing to worry about. Developmental milestones occur within a range of time but as a parent, when you see other parent's children meeting milestones earlier than yours it can be extremely stressful. When parents have come to me with concerns such as "my first child was talking by now" or "my friend's daughter is already following directions," if appropriate, I would always respond with, "don't worry, these milestone ages are not set in stone and as long as your child is following the right path of development, everything will be fine." Well, now that I am a parent, and a fairly new one I might add, I understand this concern more. Even though I know there is this window for each developmental skill, I find myself comparing my daughter to my friends' children and expecting each skill to come at the exact milestone week or month (and she is only 6 weeks old at this point!). I now have a deeper understanding of the stress that parents feel when they ask me questions about development and feel that I now have more empathy when they have these concerns. I always knew that being a parent wasn't easy, but now I can say, firsthand, that I know the stress it can bring but we're all doing the best we can and no matter what the case, our children will be alright.