Parenting · Article
Parental Burnout: Struggling Even When There Is Love
Struggling does not mean a lack of love; often it is a need for support becoming visible.
Struggling is not a lack of love
Parental burnout often develops not from too little love, but from a load left unshared for a long time, unrelenting responsibility and too little room for your own needs. Acknowledging difficulty does not diminish parenthood.
Making the invisible load visible
Invisible tasks such as planning, remembering, keeping track and trying to regulate everyone's feelings use up energy. Writing down these tasks and identifying which can be shared may make a vague sense of exhaustion more concrete.
Short breaks, asking for support and reconsidering the expectation of perfect parenting may seem small, yet they can create more room for connection within the relationship.
Receiving support is a form of care
When parents make room for their own need to settle and regulate their emotions, it may become easier to be alongside their child's feelings too. Professional support can help not only in a crisis, but also in understanding recurring patterns of strain and communication within a family.
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