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Young couples have unique parenting issues. In addition to being full-time parents, young couples also have to address their desires to have a social life similar to those of their friends and co-workers. If you are part of a young couple struggling to balance your family, work, and social lives, consider these parenting tips to help you along your journey.

Know When to Filter Outside Advice

As a general rule, new parents have to contend with hoards of outside parenting advice from friends, family, and anyone else in the check-out line. However, young, first-time parents arguably have double the amount of allegedly knowledgeable folks yapping in their ear. While some parenting advice may be worth mulling over, other advice can be given by those who want to feel apart of the situation, those who truly believe that they are more knowledgeable, or even those who are blatantly being judgmental.

The key to sorting through all of the incoming advice is to know how to filter it. Only you can make decisions about how to raise your child. No matter how young you are, you and you alone are responsible for the care of your child. As long as you are not making choices that endanger the physical, mental, or emotional well-being of your child, then it doesn't matter what brand of diapers you use, what color you paint the nursery, or what method you use to burp the baby. With time and patience, you will learn who gives positive advice, and who you should overlook.

Take Time to Work on Your Relationship

While parenting stress is enough to test even the most seasoned relationships, the pressure of parenthood is especially constricting to the relationships of young couples, as they struggle with their own maturity. Additional stresses like financial hardship and work stress often compound these issues, and bend the relationships of young parents to the breaking point. Know that it is okay to ask for help when life becomes too stressful, and that asking for a night off to work on your relationship doesn't mean that you are failing as parents.

Young couples are often so driven to assert their independence as mature parents, that they will reject assistance from family members who offer to babysit from time to time. It is okay to take baby to grandma's house for a few hours, so that you and your partner can have a date night. Maintaining a stable, healthy, loving relationship is so important for all couples with children, but especially for young couples. Having a strong relationship as your foundation will make you better parents, and give you a better quality of life.

More important than date night is checking in with your partner on a daily or weekly basis. Take a few moments when baby is calm or sleeping, in order to talk to one another about things that are making you feel stressed and anxious. Talk about ways that you can relieve the stress, and work out signals for each other, so that you will know when your partner needs a break. These relationship tips are key to ensuring that you and your partner do not take out your frustrations by yelling at one other, especially in front of your child.

Although young couples can face unique parenting issues that may leave them struggling to find a balance between their family, work, and social lives, these stresses can be alleviated using a couple of parenting tips. If you learn when to filter outside advice, and take time to work on your relationship, then you will have a family life to be envied by your elders.