Avoiding Mom Burnout
How to Handle Stress of Stay-at-Home Parenting
Frazzled by the 24-7 life of a stay-at-home mom? Here's how to avoid mom burnout and enjoy your career as a full-time parent.
When your full-time job is being a mom, it's like any other job - you run the risk of burnout from stress, too much to do, and doing the same job day after day with little help.
Few stay-at-home parents get a vacation from their "job," so it's important to avoid burnout stress. Here are some ways to avoid getting mom burnout.
Take Care of Your Basic Needs
It's important that you take care of your health by getting enough sleep, eating right and getting regular exercise. By taking care of yourself, you'll be better equipped to handle your busy days and can avoid getting overstressed.
Do Some Things for Yourself Just for Fun
Take a class, take a walk alone, go to the gym, play Bunco once a month, join a book club, or get a sitter and go shopping. Whatever it takes for you to reduce day-to-day stress, do it to take a short break from your responsibilities.
Delegate Out
Stay-at-home moms are famous for being do-it-yourselfers. Be careful not to take it to an extreme. You can rely on outsiders to teach and tutor your children, make your window treatments, and make food for your parties, even if you know you can do it better. You may love to sew, but that doesn't mean you have to make all the family's clothes by hand. Remember, just because you can do it, doesn't mean you have to do it all.
Get Help In
If you can't afford a cleaning service or a regular babysitter, enlist the help of your husband, your kids, your extended family, and your friends and neighbors. Just having your kids help with housework and fold their own laundry might not seem like a big weight off your shoulders, but it will help chip away at your burden; and the added responsibility is better for the kids, too.
Stay Scheduled
Find a routine that works for you, write it down and stick to it. By having a set schedule, you'll know when to say, "No, I can't really fit that into my schedule right now," or "Yes! I think I have time for that!"
Without a regular schedule, you may find yourself opening your day planner one day to see that you've got too much to do. You'll be headed for burnout.
Enjoy Your Life, Enjoy Your Children
Remind yourself why you're a stay-at-home mom. When things get too stressful, take a breath, sit down and do a puzzle with your kids, or start a pillow fight. Focus on what you enjoy about these years.
