7 Tips For Stressed-Out Parents

Day in & day out, you both wake up with your own eternally growing to-do list. You start your morning routine; feeding & dressing the tiny humans, brushing your teeth, brushing their teeth, driving the tiny monsters.. oops, I mean humans to school, and then drive yourself to work. You work hard all day and then afterwards, you chauffer your tiny humans to activities and doctors appointments. By the time you get home & make dinner, you are probably already feeling some of the symptoms of stress… irritability, frustration, muscle tension, headaches, fatigue… the list goes on.

You haven’t even had a minute to call your mom to wish her happy birthday or ask your spouse how their day was. Day in & day out, the same every day routine has left you stressed, overwhelmed, burnt out, and wishing there was more time in a day. So, what can you do to ease the stress of being a parent as well as a working professional??

Here are 7 tips for stressed-out parents:

1) If work has you feeling stressed, try not to bring it home. It isn’t easy, but separating work life from home life is important. Try debriefing with a co-worker before heading home or practice a few de-stressing activities on the way home, example: Deep belly breathing or listen to your favourite relaxation music on the drive home.

2) Find time for fun. On your way home from a long day, instead of thinking about the leaking sink that you need to fix or the lawn that you need to cut, think of a few activities you can do with your kids that make you happy. Play baseball or have a tea party….  & tell your nosey neighbour Suzy Salad that it’s your lawn and it can wait!!

3) Practice self-care. Take time for yourself every day! An evening walk, a hot bath, a beer with your buddy etc. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive… just something everyday that helps you reset, recharge, and relax.

4) Ask for help when you need it. Every day is not always going to be a great day, so when you are feeling a bit too overwhelmed, ask for help. Ask your spouse, family member, or friend to lend a hand even if it’s just for a few minutes to give yourself time to breath.

5) Connect with others. Chances are, you are not alone in this feeling of excessive stress caused by being an awesome-working-professional-super-parent. There are many supermoms and superdads out there that are in the same boat as you and would also benefit from talking about the everyday struggles.

6) Take a break and get away from it all. It’s important to break away from your everyday routine and mess it up a little bit. Schedule a date night with your spouse or a family vacation… something that gets your mind off the things that may be causing you stress.

7) Try your best to live a well-balanced life. Your children do not need to be in every single extracurricular activity that your city offers… and you do not need to bake a different kind of cookie every week to please the bake-sale volunteer staff at your tiny human’s school. Instead, use that extra time to exercise (Stress Reliever BTW!!) or do something fun with the kids.

Being a working professional as well as a parent shouldn’t be this hard, but we understand that sometimes… it is. But at the end of the day, your doing it for the right reasons and your doing a great job! Your tiny human monsters will one day grow up and thank you for taking a step back and recharging before joining them in baseball and tea parties. We hope that these tips help you to be able to feel the joys of parenting and working without the overwhelming feeling of stress.

Kyla Dannrath
Executive Assistant
B. Skinner Coaching & Psychotherapy

(705) 809-3331 info@skinnerpsychotherapy.com