Developing parenting skills
The task of parenting is the most important job many of us will ever do as we raise tomorrow’s adults. Parenting involves developing skills, knowledge, roles, resources and experiences. Parents of deaf children face many of the same parenting issues experienced by parents of hearing children but with different challenges.
Developing good communication is vital to all children and their families. With good communication skills, a child can influence and learn from others. This is necessary to develop emotional, personal and social skills. Deaf children are no different but sometimes the methods used to communicate are different.
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Meeting other parents
"Talking to other parents was really useful, knowing that they had gone through the same situations was encouraging, I didn't feel so out of my depth, in fact I have made some really good friends." Sarah, mother of Seana age 7
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My child is unique
Most hearing people have little or no experience of profound deafness and the way other people (parents, family members, friends, professionals and people we meet) respond to your deaf child affects their sense of identity and self esteem – how they feel about themselves.
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Appreciating ourselves as parents
Most parents will at some point have feelings of guilt about how they parent their children.
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Reducing stress
Starting the school day, or other activities, with positive feelings rather than stress and worry will benefit your child’s ability to participate and learn.
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Building self esteem
Self-esteem is how we feel about our self – our feelings of self worth and value. It is not fixed, but varies according to how we are feeling, whom we are with and what we are doing.
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Understanding feelings
Just as physical pain is a way of keeping children safe (e.g. learning through the pain of a pin prick that some things are sharp), so emotional pain, anger, joy, or fear all help to give a child a sense of who they are and what is true for them.
