How to Find Support When You Feel Isolated as a Parent 

Parenting Perspective 

That simple question from a child can echo deeply. It reveals not only their awareness, but also your need for meaningful adult connection. When emotional needs remain unmet, it becomes easy, almost automatic, to lean on the closest available source. Often, that ends up being a child. Not by intention, but by exhaustion and proximity. 

However, a child is not emotionally equipped to hold the complexities of adult loneliness. While it may feel like connection in the moment, over time it can create pressure, confusion, or even guilt for the child. Recognising this, as you have, is not a sign of failure. It is a sign of growth. 

Honour Your Own Need for Companionship 

To begin changing this pattern, start by honouring your own need for companionship. You do not have to begin with vulnerability. Even small, routine conversations with trusted adults, a neighbour, a parent at school pickup, a sibling, can begin to restore your social muscles. From there, explore spaces where you can be emotionally received. It might be a local Halaqah, a support group, or even a friend you reach out to regularly. Be specific about what kind of support you need and what you can give in return. 

Reinforce the Boundary at Home 

At home, it is important to reinforce the boundary: ‘You are my child, and I love being close to you. But it is not your job to make Mummy or Daddy feel better. That is for grown-ups to do with other grown-ups.’ When said with warmth and clarity, this gives your child safety, not distance. 

Spiritual Insight 

Human connection is part of our design. Islam values bonds of companionship and kinship, while also encouraging emotional discretion. Our need to speak, to be seen, to be supported, these are not flaws. They are part of how Allah created us to live in community. 

A Reminder That Connection is a Mercy 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Hujuraat (49), verse 10: 

‘Indeed, the believers are brothers (to each other); so, make peace with your brothers; and seek piety from Allah (Almighty) so that you may receive His Mercy.’ 

This verse reminds us that unity and connection are a mercy, not a luxury. When those ties are missing, we are encouraged to seek them, restore them, or create them anew, never to suffer alone in silence. 

The Prophetic Model: Being Emotionally Present for One Another 

It is recorded in Sahih Muslim that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘The example of the believers in their mutual love, compassion, and sympathy is like that of one body. When any part aches, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever.‘

[Sahih Muslim, 45:84] 

This Hadith shows that being emotionally present for one another is part of our spiritual responsibility. You are meant to be held, not only to hold others. 

So when your child asks, ‘Who do you talk to?’, let the answer become part of your healing. Not just for their safety, but for yours, too.