Simple yet Effective Tips For Parents to Deal with Parental Burnout - Real Solutions from Real Parents

Sometimes I get this little chary feeling about all that we are told about parenting being all that gratifying, amazing and rewarding, is actually overhyped if not overrated, just so that people are programmed to dismiss or even worse, ignore their moments of parental burnouts from the time they become a parent. 

Tips and Solutions to prevent
Parental Burnout during Lockdown Time

Parenting blogs around the world are declaring that parental burnout is real and more so during this lockdown time. With kids and husbands in the house round the clock and with no baby sitter available at this time, it is the mother in most of the houses who is bearing the brunt. And not just the mothers, even the modern-day father who empathizes and shares the workload of the 'house' project, is also now getting graveled with all that pent up frustration contributed by the uncertainties of jobs, growing work-pressure, lack of me-time, not getting to meet friends, staying home round the clock.

So I am writing this post to address this issue and offer some solutions, with tips from some of my friends (whom you can see in the pictures below :D ) who are successfully dealing with this ‘new’ normal, that you can try out if you too are undergoing this mental torture:

Solution 1: Stop Appeasing Everyone. No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to make everyone happy. This rule applies to people in the house as well, especially kids. You do one thing to keep them satisfied and busy, soon they will get bored and drive you up the wall again. So don’t take it on yourself every time to find fun and creative ways to keep them engaged. Let them get bored. Let them find their own solution to get rid of boredom. And no, that does not mean that TV is the solution.

My dear friend Eshna meditates
to keep parental burnout at bay

Solution 2: Meditate. Focus on your breathing. I have started doing this at night when Hiya (my 1 year old daughter) is fast asleep, so is my mom-in-law and my husband is busy winding up his day’s work. So no one disturbs me and I get good 5 minutes of peace. It gives me a sense of calm before sleeping. You can of course find your suitable time, but do make it a point to meditate every day.

My husband Kunal is doing squats
with Hiya to stay away
from Parental Burnout 

Solution 3: Workout. With all that work on desktop, laptop, kitchen countertop, and other corners of the house, you need to reward your body for all that support it gives you. So go ahead and download a workout app and simply start off. Dance, Yoga, Zumba, Full body workout, Tabata, Pilates – there are many options to choose from. Do this when your kids are around you and offer them to join you. If they accept the offer, it could make for some good quality time spent with the kids.

My dear friend Mom knows
how to chill at home
and be an amazing mother

Solution 4: 5-Minute-Home-made face-pack. I am sure you don’t need me to tell you that it’s important to look good, even if you are staying at home. So gather your favourite home facial ingredients and whip up the goodness in a bowl. A small tip here – try something cooling as it’s the summer time. A cooling and nice smelling facial will make all that stress start on a downward journey. Do this every time you feel overwhelmed and the best thing is this is not time consuming at all. You can thank me later.

Solution 5: Socialize on the Phone. This I need to do myself. I hardly talk on the phone. But I think I need to now as this staying at home all the time is just getting on my nerves. Make it a point to call up someone and chitchat for some time every day. Speak to a friend or a relative or even a frenemy, for the sake of socializing. Don’t let those gossipy vines run out of juice ;)

Solution 6: Delegate. Start delegating some of your household stuff to your spouse and kids. A lot of my friends have taught their sons and daughters to cook when the house arrest started. Now they are happily (or maybe unhappily) chopping away onions and garlics to help their moms and dads in cooking, making the whole culinary duty - a family affair.

Sucharita, my buddy sis-in-law
and her daughter Riyanshi
writing a lockdown timetable 

Solution 7: Follow a Routine. Now that we are well into this lockdown setup and work from home is also kind of streamlined, it is time to set your day in order as well. Keep a fixed time for everything possible. Assign household chores to your family members and keep a fixed time (with mutual consent) for those activities. Try not to do it for them if they (unintentionally or intentionally) forget to do their share of the work.

Solution 8: Online Education. Most of the schools and some tutorials are offering studies and tuitions online through video conferencing apps and Whatsapp etc. Try hiring some good tutors online who can teach your kids or help them with what is being taught in school. Don’t rattle your brain (which is already overburdened with other things) in home-schooling your kids or self-educating first before you teach your kids, all the while trying to go in flashback mode in remembering what you were taught in school – that will not help anyway, as school curriculum and teaching methodology has gone through some major changes over the years. So do not overstress yourself when there are tutors who are already doing classes in half the fees.

Soumya, a close friend of ours and one of  the most doting fathers I know,
helping his kid Sandy get started with online tuition 

Solution 9: Make time for Hobby. Don’t push your hobby to the back-burner. Your hobby is one true love of yours, it relaxes you and it de-stresses you. Even if you can manage half an hour from your daily routine, try to spend some time investing in your hobby.

To defeat parental burnout, my close friend Mitali pursues her hobby
her daughter also follows suit
making for excellent mummy-daughter bonding  

Tumpa, who holds a special place in my heart
decides to let it go and joins her daughter Prarthana
in making some crazy'n'messy fun memories!  

Solution 10: Learn the art of Ignoring minor issues and Let Going. This is probably the most important and also the most challenging thing to do. But once you learn to let go, it gives you the most amazing feeling and also prevents stress to build up like nothing else. If your kids are messing up, let them... you don’t need to have a spick and span house all the time.

Someone said something rude, don’t take it to your heart. Also do not expect that the other person will apologize. Everybody is grounded and is going through a tough time, especially the kids who put across their frustrations and confusions in the form of tantrums. Learn to forgive yourself and others. Reinforce positive thoughts and be the source of optimism and positivity.

These are the ten solutions that I could offer on to deal with your parental burnout during the lockdown. I would love to hear about your methods that you are using to keep stress at bay and managing home, kids and work all together like superheroes. Please write your suggestions in the comment section on how not to become ‘Momster’ or ‘Dadzilla’.

Thank you for Reading
Stress-Free Life to You