Cross-cultural studies of parental burnout have found that the individualism of modern Western society plays a greater role in parental burnout than either economic inequalities across countries or any other individual and family factors including the number and age of children.

So basically our societal values centred on independence and self-reliance are a huge contributor to the difficulties many parents feel in coping with the pressures of day-to-day life with children.

Add Covid into the mix and we have the move towards “agile working” which makes parents feel like they have a “great deal” because they can leave work to pick the kids up. In fact they are often making up far more hours late at night than were lost on the school run. The lack of separation between work and home is not the revolution in work-life balance that many thought it would be, and that adds to the pressure on families.

So if you are struggling, you are not alone. The majority of parents I hear from are grappling with this, at least to some extent. In fact the majority of parents I know are struggling with this, at least to some extent.

Figuring out how to protect yourself from burnout isn’t an easy task. But the thing about burnout is that it sneaks up on you. So even by starting to increase your awareness of the issue about it you are starting to protect yourself.