Parent Wellbeing puts the spotlight on the often-overlooked needs of parents. While parenthood brings immense joy, it’s also replete with challenges, leaving caregivers feeling drained and running on empty. Parent Wellbeing advocates for a shift in this paradigm, emphasizing that parents are not only responsible for their children but also for their own well-being. It promotes the idea that a thriving parent is a pillar for a thriving family.

What is Parent Wellbeing?

Parent Wellbeing encompasses the following key elements:

• Self-Compassion: Extends the understanding you give your child, towards yourself. Less guilt, more realistic standards.
• Permission to Ask for Help: Recognizes you’re not meant to do it all alone. Practical support (family, outsourcing tasks) gives space.
• Redefining Necessities: Challenges the idea that rest, or hobbies, are “extras.” They refill you to give back fully.
• Community Connection: Parent groups, online forums, or supportive friendships normalize struggles and offer validation.
• Boundaries with Children: Teaches kids that parents have needs, modeling healthy self-advocacy they can learn from.

How Can Parent Wellbeing Help You?

Parent Wellbeing supports you by:

• Building Emotional Awareness: Tuning into your own needs helps you respond to them proactively, preventing outbursts.
• Identifying Your “Recharge” Activities: What truly helps you relax? (Reading alone, bath, a walk – it’s individual.)
• Improved Sleep: Even small improvements can have profound impacts on mood, resilience, and your ability to cope.
• Role-Modeling for Kids: They see you prioritize mental health, healthy communication, and balanced living.
• Realistic Expectations: Striving to be the “perfect parent” is a recipe for burnout. Compassion for limitations reduces stress.

What is Parent Wellbeing Good For?

Parent Wellbeing offers particular benefits if you:

• Lost a Sense of Self: Reconnecting with hobbies, interests pre-kids, or new ones, helps balance your identity.
• Resentment Creeps In: toward partner, children, life changes. Self-care can ease the pressure that breeds resentment.
• Chronic Health Concerns: Stress exacerbates many issues. Wellbeing practices may indirectly improve physical health.
• Desire Improved Family Dynamic: Reduced parental stress translates into a more harmonious, connected household.

Benefits of Parent Wellbeing

• Enhanced Patience: When less depleted, you react from calmness instead of frustration in challenging moments.
• Positive Outlook: Feeling good fosters a mindset where you focus on solutions, not just getting through the day.
• Energy to Play: Parents often put all energy towards kids’ needs, none left for fun. Wellbeing rebalances this.
• Stronger Co-Parenting (if applicable): Mutual support eases the load, but only possible when both partners feel resourced.

What to Expect with Parent Wellbeing

• Trial and Error: What works one week might not the next. Flexibility and listening to your needs are key.
• Advocacy: You may need to assert needs to others (family, partners) who aren’t used to prioritizing them.
• External Support Systems: Whether childcare, therapy, or a listening ear, these make wellbeing practices possible.
• It Evolves: As kids age, your needs change. Self-care isn’t a static project, but a continuous check-in.

Similar Modalities to Parent Wellbeing

• Family Therapy: Can address whole family dynamics that contribute to parental stress, alongside individual needs.
• Support Groups: Focused specifically for moms, dads, parents of special needs kids, etc., providing targeted support.
• Mind-Body Practices: Yoga, meditation, etc., customized for calming the particular stressors faced by parents.

Final Thoughts

Parent Wellbeing is an essential reminder that self-care isn’t an indulgence, but a necessity for strong, present, and joyful parenting. Investing in your well-being has a ripple effect throughout your family and creates a legacy of prioritizing health, balance, and compassion for the well-being of everyone.

Scientific References

• Love, S. M., Sanders, M. R., Turner, K. M., Maurange, M., Knott, T., Prinz, R., & Metzler, C. W. (2005). Fathers’ and mothers’ reports of caring for children with early-onset conduct problems: Associations with parental well-being. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12491
• Nomaguchi, K., & Milkie, M. A. (2020). Parenthood and well-being: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 198-223. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12648
• Orthner, D. K., Jones‐Sanpei, H., Williamson, S., & Moss, K. H. (2004). Single‐parent families: Strengths, vulnerabilities, and interventions. In Strengthening the African American family: Healthy parent‐child relationships (pp. 65-84). Rutgers University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00006.x

Recommended Reading

• Self-Care for Moms: 150+ Real Ways to Care for Yourself by Sara Haley
• How to Stop Losing Your Sht With Your Kids* by Carla Naumburg
• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily & Amelia Nagoski (focuses on stress completion for women)