FOUR WAYS TO AVOID PARENTING BURNOUT

By Karla Fitch, MSW, Connecting for Kids Creative Director (she/her)

Caring for children is not easy — and balancing your own needs with your child’s can seem downright impossible. But without self-care, you may also face a high risk of burnout. So how can you do both?

1. COMMIT TO SELF-CARE. This means taking time for yourself during the day or week, whether you get a coffee, hit the gym or watch a livestream event of your interest. Support groups are also a great way to help families to connect and support each other over shared concerns about their child. You can find groups that include general topics like coping with loneliness and stress, support for families of children with complex needs, Black American families, families with LGBTQ+ children and more.

2. PRIORITIZE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. Many caregivers feel like they don’t have time for counseling, but having an ongoing relationship with a mental health provider can help you to overcome obstacles that may be holding you back. If you can't get out of the house, many offer virtual sessions.

3. ASK FOR HELP. Asking for help can be hard, but with resources offering caregiver support, you don’t have to go far. For example, the options cover a variety of services, like caregiver respite from an organization like The Shepherd’s Well; (shepherdswell. org) something for the whole body, like Seed Yoga; (seedyogaohio.org) or culturally and spiritually affirming support from groups like Mother 2 Mother (mother2mother.info/) and REACH Services (reach4services.com)

4. LOOK INTO RESPITE. Whether you sign up for a short respite event from a local organization like We Rock the Spectrum (werockthespectrumcleveland. com) — or go for a weekend retreat with Achievement Centers (achievementcenters.org/) or Akron Rotary Camp (gotcamp.org) respite can provide a much-needed break. For more respite resources, visit connectingforkids.org