Beating the Overwhelm as a Parent
As a parent, you're probably familiar with the feeling of being overwhelmed. It's that moment when your son comes home from school and tells you he needs to get his room cleaned, he has an essay due tomorrow, and he wants to practice piano for an hour.
In other words: your kid is asking for a lot! But there’s one thing that can make it all even more difficult: overwhelm. When you feel like you can’t do everything in your power to give your kids what they need—and it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day—it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the thought of trying to do anything else at all.
So how can we beat this feeling? Here are some ways you can beat the overwhelm as a parent:
Get organized
Just like any other job, being a parent requires organization. You need to know when things are happening in order for them to happen—and that means having an easy way to keep track of all those appointments and events! So whether it's a notebook or an app (or both!), find something that works for you and stick with it.
Make lists of everything that needs to be done each day, week, or month. This will help ensure that nothing slips through the cracks!
2) Focus on what's important
Focus on one thing at a time. You don't need to be doing fifteen different things at once—you can only do one thing at a time anyway! So pick one thing (maybe getting ready for work), focus on that for ten minutes or so, then move on to the next task (getting everyone out of bed). You know what's most important for your child? For them to be happy and healthy! So don't let other people's opinions distract you from focusing on those things.
It also helps to be flexible with your schedule and expectations. If something doesn't go according to plan, try not to get upset about it—just make sure everyone is safe and sound, then let go!
3. Don't try to do everything yourself
Don't be afraid to ask for help! Whether it's a babysitter who can keep an eye on your kid while you take an hour for yourself at lunchtime, or a neighbor who can help out with chores when your hands are full with homework, or even just a friend who knows how hard it is being a parent and wants to give some advice (and maybe even some encouragement), there are people around who want to support you as much as they possibly can. So don't feel like you have to do everything yourself!
We promise: Your kids will still be happy and healthy if someone else does the dishes once in a while—and so will YOU!
4. Be positive.
When you're overwhelmed as a parent, it can be hard to see the good in anything. But even in your darkest moments, there's always something that you can see as a bright spot—and it's important to focus on that. For example, maybe your kid just got into her first choice of preschool or kindergarten. Or maybe you're getting ready to host Thanksgiving dinner for the first time ever and everyone has been talking about it all week, and they're really excited to come over! Whatever it is, find one thing and focus on that instead of letting yourself get bogged down with all of the things that are stressing you out right now.
5) Don’t forget about your own needs
Set aside time every day just for YOU! Whether it's taking a long bath or having a cup of tea alone with no distractions from anyone else around (we don't recommend using this time to check email), taking a walk around the neighborhood or reading a book at lunchtime (or both). Even if it's just 15 minutes—so that you can recharge and feel like yourself again before going back into parent mode. If you don't take care of yourself, who will?
You will thank yourself later.
6. Get enough sleep and rest
This sounds so obvious, but it's easy to forget when you're always running late and trying to keep up with everything else going on in your life. Sleep deprivation makes us more stressed and anxious, which makes it harder to parent well, which makes us more stressed and anxious… You get the picture.
If you're exhausted or stressed out, it's going to be hard for you to make good choices for yourself and your family. Make sure you're getting enough sleep at night (and during naps!)
Even the most organized and well-intentioned parents can fall victim to being overwhelmed. It's easy to lose track of your goals, but we hope you will find a certain amount of solace in these tips.