PARENTING STRESS

What is parenting stress?

While being a parent is a life fulfilling joy, parenting can be a struggle.

Parents, especially first-time parents, are often expected to feel some anxiety about things. Is my baby sleeping enough or too much, are they eating too little or too much, are they growing, reaching or miss developmental milestones, etc? Fortunately, this parenting anxiety gets better with time, and as a parent gets more experience with their child, especially once they have more kids.

Some parents continue to be anxious and feel some stress about things. Parenting stress is a distinct type of stress that arises when a parent’s perception of the demands of parenting outweigh his or her resources.

What causes parenting stress?

Parenting stress can be caused by a variety of factors, especially in a world full of demands. Below are some factors that are associated with parenting stress:

Having at least one child with a difficult temperament
Having at least one child with medical, emotional, or behavior problems
Having lower levels of social support or feeling isolated
Being a single parent
Having competing demands – job outside the home, other children, financial concerns, etc.

Why is it important to address parenting stress?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent at all! You’ve just got too much on your mind.

Parenting stress may relate to our ability to bond with our children, partner, and others. It may influence our ability to be affectionate and present and may place a strain on the family unit. As a result, we, as parents, may feel frustrated or isolated in our interactions with others or ourselves.

There is an opportunity to learn strategies to deal with parenting stress – we promise – please reach out to us if you feel stressed/overwhelmed as a parent, and we would be honored to help.

How is parenting stress treated?

There are several evidence based strategies for targeting parenting stress, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

In these interventions, a focus is placed on collaboratively identifying your goals and values, identifying and characterizing the stressors you may be experiencing, building a support system/network, avoiding exposure to negative triggers, learning strategies to manage frustration, optimizing time for self, and engaging in behaviors that are consistent with values.