When you have a child, it becomes the focus of your world as your social life takes a back seat. It’s crucial not to let go of either side and maintain a balance between your child-rearing and social life. Continue reading to know the impact of social life after having kids.
Importance Of Social Life After Having Kids
When a baby enters your life, it is a happy occasion for most moms and dads, but also a lonely and stressful time, particularly if they have already been socially involved. Giving birth to a baby is mentally a rollercoaster trip and the early stages of parenting. It’s a godsend for you as a parent to have someone around to talk to, vent, or cry with during this time.
Challenges Parents Face After Having A Baby And Trying To Socialize
You know your life will change with having a kid. But did you know that it can affect your existing friendships too? Here are a few challenges to which you need to be ready:
1. Spontaneity is going to be less
You and your spouse may not be ready for a film or dinner party last minute as before. It would be difficult even to meet friends at inappropriate times at your house because you have a little kid to take care of. No matter how much spare time you have, you’ll spend either sleeping or relaxing. As a consequence, your friends can stop calling or leave you out of consideration.
2. Couples Effect
You and your partner may start to be keener on spending time with other couples who have children, due to common things to discuss. But for this, don’t cut off your other friendships!
3. Singles Effect
A new baby means fewer nights out with your single buddies. They may quit calling you when they go out together assuming that you have a baby at home, you’re too busy, or not interested. Or maybe you would feel hesitant to call them thinking that you may have less in connection with them than you had before.
4. Free Advice
You may get annoyed when any of them give you too much-unwanted parenting advice each time you see your friends. If this is the case you may want to see them less. But if you have friends who give helpful advice to you, then they’re a blessing and they can be a great help.
Impact Of Social Life After Infant Hits Toddlerhood
When your baby gets older things will keep changing. For instance,
1. Competition
When your children start growing up, your interactions with new and old friends may be affected. All parents want to make their child the smartest, quickest, and best at school. This will encourage competition with your other friends who have kids and you may discover yourself become the pushy parent if you’re not cautious.
2. Bigger Circle
Your child is going to play with any friend you introduce him to at the beginning. He or she is going to become friends with the kids of your buddy. But as they grow older, they ‘re starting to make buddies of their own, and you might end up socializing with their friend’s parents. This way your circle of friends will widen.
Tips To Make Easy Social Life After Having Kids
Maintaining friendships after childbirth can be hard but still worth it in the long run. Here are some tips to make easy social life after having kids:
1. Have Conversations
Once you have a child, you may be too busy to miss talking to your friends or sending their messages back. Even though they understand it, it could be a strain on your friendship. That is why it is essential to always interact with a message or to call for things to be busy with you. Brief but constant communication can reassure them.
2. Relax
If some of your friends don’t seem to understand or take your child as much as you are, don’t take it personally. They could be going through their own issues, so if they really don’t seem supportive, just take it easy and let them slide. This is also going to help sustain your friendship.
3. Accept The Changes
Once a child comes into your life, you will be constantly sleeping-deprived, tired, or frustrated. You’re going to end up losing a few friends, or maybe they’re going to lose you. But don’t worry, there are a lot of new friends to make in the process.
4. Don’t Get Pressurized
If your friends are pushing you to leave parenting with your partner, don’t listen. Jump in to do that on your own. Evite such a company at all costs.
5. Make Dates
When you visit your friends and are taken care of your baby and forget about it, it’s easy to make vague promises. To schedule the date, but the reminders on your telephone, and tell your friends how much time you can meet them without activity such as feeding or bathing your child along the way.
6. Check What You’re Saying
Not everyone needs to hear you talk about your kid all the time, so talk about other things, too, in your chat with friends.
7. Take A Night Break
Give your kid to your partner for one night and hang out with your friends. This is the moment you can really use to renew your friendships and reset yourself.
8. Check The Competition
You may be envious of your baby buddies doing it better than yours but stop the thinking process right away. It’s not worth a row to have these negative emotions towards your friends.
9. Join an Online Group
Virtually though, you can have a social life by joining online parenting sites or social media communities of like-minded people.
10. Involve Your Children
Think of the things you can do with your friends, and your baby in tow, they’ll like. At the same time, you will spend time with both your dear friend and your baby.
These are some tips to make easy social life after having kids.
It will take some changes to preserve friendships after your tiny one arrives but hopefully worth the effort and the time. Kids change the way we live. They make things a little hectic, chaotic, and complicated. Perhaps most importantly, in more ways than you can imagine, they make our life easier. So yeah, your life will change but it will change the best it can.
Also Read: How To Maintain Work-Life Balance After Having Kids?
