Managing Stress During Back-to-School Season
There are many stressors that come with being a parent: managing finances, juggling work and household priorities, and getting your children to school, the doctor, and other activities. Transitions such as back-to-school season can exacerbate these stressors due to changing routines and new schedules. Stress can have a profound impact on parents, so much so that the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory about the state of parental mental health, calling it a public health emergency.
Katie Bierch, Parent Support Services Manager
“The well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of children,” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in the report. And with 41% of parents facing stress so severe that most days they cannot function, the impact of this stress on families is immense. The mental strain can affect parents in many ways, including “limiting working memory and negatively impacting attention resources, cognitive functions, and psychological well-being.”
But there is no break from being a parent, and while some parents can afford resources such as mental health counseling or paid childcare, many don’t have the financial means to do so, meaning they must continue to parent while facing these levels of stress. While many things are outside a parent’s control, there are things they can do to manage stress in their home. FamilyWise staff shared some of the tips they used during this back-to-school season to ease the transition.
Carl Hayes, Wraparound Coordinator
“Make [the transition] exciting,” said our Parent Support Services Program Manager Katie Bierch. “Talk about friends they might miss, new classes, and new teachers.” She also emphasized that routine is important, such as having a consistent bedtime or a homework routine.
Our Wraparound Coordinator Carl Hayes, who is parenting a 13-year-old, also talked about how important routine is. “We made a routine when he was younger, so now he knows what he should be doing.”
While setting routines is important, it’s also important to remember that things won’t always be perfect. “Give yourself (and your kid) grace! It’s a tough time, give yourself grace as emotions are high in times of transition,” said Chief Program Officer Britt Seidel.
Britt Seidel, Chief Program Officer
Carl reiterated this, saying, “You have to roll with the punches.” He talked about how, some nights, activities will get in the way of your routine, and you have to be flexible and prioritize what’s important.
These tips, along with other skills such as practicing gratitude and taking time to decompress, are all important in easing transition periods and managing stress.
You can read the full U.S. Surgeon General’s report to learn more about the issues surrounding parental mental health and wellbeing and what we can do as a community to support families: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/parents-under-pressure.pdf.