HOUSTON – Parenting has been difficult for so many parents lately, and recently the American surgeon said parental stress has become a public health issue.
We wanted to give you a few more tips on how to beat holiday burnout and bounce back into the new year.
Dr. Krystin Holmes, a counselor at the Harris Center says one of the biggest ways the whole 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 the kids back into the ‘OK it’s time for school, vacation is good, let’s start getting back into that school and work mode,’” she explained.
MORE: Parenting stress is now a public health problem
When it comes to your New Year’s resolutions, 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 do you feel different and why?
“I know there’s always this pressure to go back to the gym, new year, new me or new year’s resolutions, but I think it’s just realistic to set realistic milestones maybe get our bedtime routine back in check and we start practicing self care and get back into our routines, she says. “If our anxiety is heightened for some reason, if we expect to go back to work that stresses us out more than we think it should, it would be a good time to check in your primary care and a good physical check-up but then also check in with your mental health doctor.”
Dr. Holmes says that for every negative thought we have, it takes five positive thoughts to combat it, so try to be 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, somehow you fail your jobs, somehow you fail your child and somehow you fail your spouse or if you’re a stay-at-home parent somewhere you’re not doing enough because we’re so trained to look at the deficits and not at the positive.”
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