HOUSTON – Parenting has been hard for so many parents lately, and recently the U.S. Surgeon General said parental stress has become a public health issue.
We wanted to get you some more tips on how to beat holiday burnout and get back into the swing of the New Year.
Dr. Krystin Holmes, a counselor with the Harris Center says one of the biggest ways the entire family can get back into a good routine is an adequate sleep schedule.
“I would say start with bedtime that’s the first thing that really gets kids back into the mode of ‘OK it’s time for school, holidays are great let’s start transitioning back into that school and work mode,’” she explained.
MORE: Parental stress now a public health concern
Regarding your New Year goals, Dr. Holmes says it’s important to take it easy: give yourself some grace and time to adjust. Do a check-in with yourself; a full body scan— where are you feeling differently and why?
“I know there’s always this pressure of getting back to the gym, New Year, new me, or New Year’s resolutions, but I think just really setting realistic mile markers maybe getting our bedtime routine back in check and we start practicing self-care and getting back into our routines,” she said. “If our anxiety is heightened for some reason, if we’re anticipating going back to work that’s stressing us out more than we think it should it would be a good time to check in with your primary care and a good physical check but then also check in with your mental health clinician.”
Dr Holmes says for every negative thought we have, it takes five positive thoughts to combat that so try to stay positive.
“I think if you’re a working parent you’re going to feel like you’re failing somewhere,” she concluded. “If you’re a career parent you’re somehow failing your jobs, somehow failing your kid, and somehow failing your spouse or you’re a stay-at-home parent somewhere you’re not doing enough because we are so trained to look at the deficits and not look at the positives.”
We will have more tips on combatting parental stress and the full conversation embedded later on in this article.
