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Helping to Prevent Parental Burnout
Nurturing a child's growth and development through all aspects of life is both a rewarding and overwhelming parental responsibility. These continuous roles often result in parental burnout feelings. Understanding the signs of parental burnout is critical in positively identifying, combating, and overcoming it.
We offer Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Mental Health Therapy, and behavior services (ABA) through our Building Blocks Program for children diagnosed with autism.
Read on to learn more about how to manage and prevent parent burnout feelings.
What are the Signs of Parental Burnout?
There are many signs that you may be experiencing parental burnout, but the most common are:
Decreased Daily Tasks Motivation
The demands of parenthood make you anxious and reduce your daily task motivation. Your energy in tackling daily activities reduces significantly. For example, if you used to take great pleasure in preparing dinner at home but now find yourself dreading having to do it each day.
Physical Pains
The following physical pains could indicate you are going through parental burnout:
General aches and pains (e.g. backaches)
Muscle cramps or spasms in the arms, legs, neck, and back
Headaches and migraines
Pain around the eyes or face (e.g., eye twitches)
Brain Fog
Parent burnout feeling makes it difficult to concentrate, think clearly and make decisions. You feel like your thinking is slowing down, lacks clarity, or it's hard to keep track of multiple thoughts at once. It is possible to make frequent mistakes that are costly or inconvenient.
Exhaustion
Exhaustion varies depending on the age of the child. Parents of young children often feel physical tiredness. At the same time, those with teens undergo emotional exhaustion due to conflicts with young adults.
Change in Sleeping Patterns
Although parents often want to get more sleep, they may sleep less than usual or differently. They may not be able to fall asleep easily or stay asleep for long periods.
How to Navigate the Feeling of Parental Burnout
It is possible to prevent and cope with parent burnout following these strategies:
Create Time for Self-Care
Your physical and mental health is as critical as your parental responsibility. Have time for yourself to re-energize and build your well-being.
You can relax and unwind through:
Deep breathing exercises
Taking breaks-sit in the car, listen to music or drink a cup of coffee/tea
Take long walks in the neighborhood or at a park.
Read a book right before bed or when kids are napping
Reduce your extra events if possible
Find a Support System
Talk about your parental burnout with family, friends, or parents experiencing similar feelings. A nonjudgmental positive engagement helps you manage the parent burnout feeling. Moderated communities and online groups are resourceful in navigating through this feeling.
If the parent burnout feeling is becoming problematic, reach out to Marshall Pediatric Therapy. We offer mental health services in Kentucky.
Break Down Tasks
Categorizing each task's priority under “Urgent”, “Important”, and “Can Wait” reduces the pressure so you don’t feel so overwhelmed. You can choose to clean the house on weekdays and do loads of laundry over the weekends. Encouraging children help with age-appropriate home chores can also be beneficial.
Plan Ahead
Design a functional schedule on a weekly or monthly basis. Know who does what and when. Involve your children in home duties like dinner ideas, grocery shopping, and picking out their outfits beforehand. When kids have a schedule and know they are helping, they are more willing to participate, and it helps them feel more accomplished,
Manage Parental Burnout with an Expert
We know just how hard it is to raise kids in today's busy world. When you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed, it's natural to wonder whether you're doing enough to give your kids the attention and support they deserve.
Our goal is to provide parents with the best possible resources available to give them the tools they need to understand and manage the signs of parental burnout.
All of our Marshall Pediatric Therapy locations provide Mental Health Therapy through both individual and family counseling sessions. A referral is not required for this discipline, and we work with many insurance providers, including Kentucky Medicaid. Our clinicians are knowledgeable about clinical excellence in all disciplines.
We are dedicated to providing high-quality therapy programs explicitly designed to address the unique concerns of each family.
Visit one of our Marshall Pediatric Therapy offices today to find relief from the stress of parenting.