6 Ways To Overcome Parenting Stress

Parenting is a rewarding job and role but also comes with a lot of demands. Some days are harder than others but the hard days can be overwhelming.

Parenting stress is real and it can take a toll on you if you’re not careful and fail to manage it. There are six ways, in particular, that will help you to overcome parenting stress so you can boost your mood and feel better about yourself and how you’re doing as a parent. These ideas will put you on a better path to enjoying your days and a smile back on your face.

1. Prioritize Daily Self-Care

Take care of yourself and focus on your health if you want to overcome parenting stress. It may require you to wake up early to go for a run or to take a warm bath after the kids go to bed. Prioritize your needs so that you’re in good shape and condition to care for your loved ones. The better you feel the easier it’ll be to get through each new day and attend to all your responsibilities. Make time to treat yourself and do what makes you happy and be kind to yourself even when you make mistakes.

2. Find Ways to Relax & Unwind

It’s also important that you find ways to relax and unwind each day. It doesn’t have to be for long but does need to happen if you want to feel well. For example, maybe for you, it’s reading a good book or updates on your phone about some of the greatest Sports Underdogs of all time. These are ways to get your mind off of thinking about your to-do list and will help you feel happy and worry less. Taking some time to recharge will give you a chance to breathe and step away so you can return feeling more in control.  

3. Get Your Kids to Help Out

You may want to consider asking for help from your kids and giving them some household responsibilities so you can relieve some parental stress. It’ll be a constructive way to get them learning about how to be more responsible and will take some of the total workload off of you. Assign them tasks that are appropriate for their age and that they can do without feeling frustrated. It may help to have family meetings to discuss chores and remind your kids what they’re in charge of each week.

4. Focus on the Positives

You can also overcome parenting stress by focusing on the positives and what’s going well. Remind yourself that not all is bad and review all the blessings in your life. You’ll find you have fewer negative thoughts this way and that you have a brighter outlook in general. Have fun and spend quality time with your kids instead of trying to battle with them over silly things. Pay attention to your children’s smiles, tell uplifting stories to each other, and share jokes. You may begin to see the fun side of parenting instead of always feeling overwhelmed.

5. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is essential to you functioning well each day and feeling full of energy so you can be the best parent possible. Overcome parenting stress by making sleep a priority for you each night. Put your feet up for a few minutes if you’re feeling tired and rest whenever you have breaks in your day. Have a relaxing bedtime routine that puts your mind and body at ease and helps you fall asleep quicker. You’ll wake up feeling ready to take on the day instead of like you want to crawl back into bed. Lack of sleep will make you moody, irritable, and may cause you to have more negative thoughts than usual.

6. Reach Out to Friends & Family

Use your support system to help you overcome parenting stress. Reach out to friends and family and let them know how you’re feeling and how they can help. Clear your schedule every so often and go out and have a night out with your girlfriends and other moms. You may begin to see that what you’re going through is normal and that others feel the same way as you. Open up and be vulnerable so that your support system can offer advice and help you get to a better place. It’s not only beneficial to have others you can talk to but also let the people closest to you know how they can support you and take some stressors off of you.