Create a Grading System With Your Co-Parent
Parenting can seem like a long practice trying not to lose shit. Sometimes you fail. This is fine. The best you can do is accept this is happening and find ways to soften the explosion.
If you’re lucky enough to have a second parent, set up a tagging system, as discussed on the parent’s Reddit community . This is exactly what it sounds like. When one parent is about to lose him (or has already lost him), that parent can “tag” and the other parent will take over, no questions asked. (For example, if parents see that their partner needs a break, they may say, “You need to tag right now,” and tag yourself.) One editor and her husband have their own tagging code word – they blurt out ‘pizza’ time. ” when the situation with the toddler and infant becomes unbearable. Hey, everything works.
Having a system helps. Lifehacker writer Lee Anderson uses it with her husband in the midst of serious battles with her children. “We may not have addressed the behavior of children, but at least we have reduced the number of angry bodies in the room,” she writes . However, you should establish a few basic rules. The use of markings is not permitted. Parents cannot get into the cruel punishment center because they just remembered that they are showing a new episode of American Housewives on TV. In addition, joining parents should not feel offended when they do so – the whole purpose of the system is to ease the emotional burden on both parents and hopefully create a calmer and happier home environment.
Nobody can always be on top. Everyone needs support. And sometimes, to go all-in, you first need to check.