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Coping With Burnout as A Single
Parent |
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It's easy to lose yourself when you're a single parent
trying to balance a busy schedule with working full time, school, homework,
deadlines, and extracurricular activities. It’s as if you can’t catch a break
from being pulled in multiple directions like its game of tug a war. If
you’re constantly in survival mode, you’re completely worn out and struggling
to enjoy being with your children then you might be suffering from parental
burnout. Many other single parents are also going through similar
situations. This does not mean you are a bad parent. Fortunately, there are
ways to ease single parenting stress. |
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Ways to Ease Single Parenting Stress |
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Self-Care is Essential to
Parenting Think about your
priorities for a moment. It probably starts with your kids at the top, then
other responsibilities, and then somewhere at the bottom is you. You might
think that putting yourself last is a necessary part of single parenting, but
it's not. To avoid burnout, accept the idea
that it’s okay to limit yourself to what you can do. Single parenting may
feel like you should be able to do it all, but it can become quite
overwhelming if you don’t take care of yourself first. Spending time away
from your child to do self-care activities will make you feel at your best.
You’ll be better able to care for your children and fulfill other personal
duties. Implementing
uninterrupted self-care into your weekly routine will improve your overall
health so you can be a better parent to your child. |
Spend Quality Time Together As a busy, single
parent you are always rushing through the day to get so many things done in a
day. Some parents feel guilty about having a busy schedule that begin to
wonder whether they are spending enough time with their children. Setting
time aside to spend with your child is a huge part of parenting. To ease your
mind from feeling guilty, ask your child at
the beginning of the week what activity they would like to do for the
weekend. Then set aside two hours every weekend doing their favorite activity
with them. There are many indoor and outdoor activities
you can both do together. You do not have to go over the
top, keep it simple and connect with your child in a way that makes sense for
your lifestyle and relationship. Appreciate every moment that you spend with
your child whether its big or small.
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Free of Distractions Excessive phone use, commitment
overload, long page to-do list, can consume you and it can affect how you
react to the things happening around you. Create
a habit of being available and free of digital
distractions such as putting away devices during dinner time every day of
the week. You can also turn off your notifications on all your devices so
that you do not get tempted to glance over at a message pop up. When we get
distracted by digital devices, we tend to lose focus of what is right in
front of us. When your child see’s that you are not paying attention to what
they are saying or showing you. They can get loud to get your attention which
cause you to get upset and stressed out trying to respond to an email from
work. Instead, turn off the devices and use this time to engage with your
child and ask them |
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Resources: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/10/cover-parental-burnout https://www.cope.org.au/new-parents/emotional-health-new-parents/parental-burnout/ |
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Ixel
Rogel takes full responsibility for the information posted. The information
on this page represents that of Ixel Rogel and not that of California State
University, Sacramento. |
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