Parenting is a rewarding yet challenging journey that can sometimes lead to parental burnout. It's crucial to recognize and address parental burnout to maintain both your well-being and the well-being of your family. Let's explore the symptoms of parental burnout and some effective self-care tips and strategies to manage it. Symptoms of Parental Burnout Emotional Exhaustion: One of the primary symptoms of parental burnout is emotional exhaustion. This feeling can manifest as a constant sense of fatigue, even after a good night’s sleep. Parents might feel drained and struggle to find the energy to handle daily tasks (Smith, 2020). Detachment: Parents experiencing burnout may begin to feel detached from their children and their role as a parents. This detachment can lead to a sense of numbness or indifference towards parenting responsibilities (Jones, 2019). Feeling of Inadequacy: Burnout can foster feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. Parents might feel like they are not doing...

While parenting is a beautiful journey, it can also be fraught with stress, anxiety, and moments when it seems like the world is moving too quickly. Amidst the whirlwind of raising children, maintaining a household, and possibly juggling work, finding peace and calm can feel impossible. This is where mindfulness comes in. What is mindfulness? At its core, mindfulness is the practice of being fully present in the moment and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment, (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). It’s about stepping back from the chaos and finding a sense of calm and clarity. Mindfulness is rooted in ancient meditation practices, but it has gained significant popularity in modern times due to its profound impact on mental and emotional well-being. Why is Mindfulness Important for Parents? Reduces Stress : Parenting is inherently stressful. Mindfulness helps reduce stress levels by allowing parents to manage their reactions to challenging situations more effectively, (Hölz...

  This post will be about resilience and how children can use it to help them when they face adversity. Gilligan, 2009 cited in Leverett, 2016 says that resilience is used to describe the capacity of someone to prevent, minimise or overcome any damaging effects of adversity.  Adversity can be anything challenging in a child's life, for example, the death or illness of a family member. How they react and adapt to these events is based on how resilient they are. Resilience can be built up through supportive relationships. A child’s feeling of security and the quality of the parent-child relationship and so a positive and engaging parenting approach can help promote your child’s resilience from birth. Werner and Smith, 1982 cited in Punch, 2013 show how risk factors affect children differently, they found that the group of resilient children were securely attached to their main caregivers. There was also a larger support network of adults who they trusted. Positive role modelling...