5 Self-Care Ideas for Stressed Parents Doing Double Duty

1. Gang Up

Many parents feel like their children have wrested control of the home from them during the pandemic. You may feel like there’s nowhere you can go for quiet or a chance to work productively.

In this situation, consider finding a social pod to swap childcare duties with. If you’re not familiar with this idea, a pod is a group of people who decide to interact only with each other during the pandemic. You can still have social interaction and support, but with the reassurance of less transmission possibility.

In a group like this, you can schedule times where one family takes other people’s children to oversee distance learning or even just a break. Then you rotate. It is a tremendous way to boost your ability to survive double duty.

2. Know Your Limits

You may have handled the first few weeks or months of pandemic isolation with flying colors. But as the double stress of being a remote teacher and a remote worker went on, your resilience faltered.

If possible, pay attention to what time of day or which situations tend to push you close to the edge. Know how far is too far and make a plan to retreat, even if it means locking yourself in the bathroom or missing a Zoom meeting.

Your sanity and ability to avoid temper-induced words and actions that you’ll regret later are more critical. If these situations continue, it’s vital to get help. Call a crisis hotline or ask your partner or someone else to step up.

3. Stress Relief – Together!

As stressed out as you feel, your children are experiencing stress as well. Look for ways that all of you can burn off stress together. This reprieve might be finding a goofy exercise video to do together or having a spontaneous dance party after supper.

Many resources are also available for teaching children mindfulness and relaxation techniques. Whether or not you’re already familiar with mindfulness, helping your children learn it offers a chance for you to manage stress as well.

Being outdoors is another fabulous way to relieve stress. Make it a goal to take a short walk, with or without your kids. Visit a park or other open space, even when it’s cold. It will do you good.

4. Ground Yourself

It’s easy to become so overwhelmed by stress and the resultant anxiety that you completely forget there are things you can do. Identify small actions, routines, or behaviors that help you feel more grounded. And then practice them.

Some people find calming music, a call with a friend, a few minutes of quiet breathing, and similar techniques to do wonders for them in moments of high stress.

5. Counseling

Being a parent is one of the most challenging jobs there is. Raising children is a tremendous responsibility. Throw in a pandemic, major disruptions to normal life, and hours spent being a homeschooler while remote working, and you’re bound to question your sanity from time to time.

Parents are not meant to do it all on their own. That’s why we have communities with people and organizations who support us and our children in their education. Schools, teachers, coaches, religious groups, neighborhood playdates — many of these have been lost during the pandemic.

But you can still seek therapy and the guidance of an experienced counselor to help you navigate this strange time. My office is offering teletherapy appointments that you can do from home. Teletherapy is proven to be as effective as in-person sessions.

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I encourage you to take good care of yourself during this stressful time. Please call my office or visit my Parenting Support page to learn more self-care ideas for stressed parents.