Pro Mom Project

In September 2024, the United States Surgeon General released a warning report about parental stress as a public health issue. And at 35 pages long, there was plenty to report.

Put simply, the document apprises that this exhaustion stems from pressure for parents to do everything, be everything, and provide everything for their kids while facing higher-than-ever demands on their time and financial resources.

I am certainly susceptible to these parenting challenges. I feel the pressure to provide for my family in this increasingly-expensive world while simultaneously carving out as much time as possible to spend with my kids during this precious and short season of life. Simultaneously, I want to get my kids involved in extracurriculars so they can discover their passions while learning teamwork and discipline along the way. I also need time for myself to dedicate toward fitness and dates with my husband and some semblance of a social life. Trying to balance all of this while also maintaining sanity and a responsible budget creates the perfect storm for burn-out.

While not a magic solution for all sources of parental strife, I believe that stress can be tamed significantly through effective planning practices. This is why I developed a scheduling methodology that helped me to define the availability and constraints of my time, prioritize and stratify activities, lay the activities into an organized and realistic schedule, and iterate areas of improvement as I put the schedule into practice. The schedule inherently differentiates between tasks that are “must-do” vs. not, meaning on extra-demanding weeks I can quickly identify activities that can be maneuvered or eliminated to accommodate additional priorities. The schedule also gives me permission to say “no” to any activities that do not rank high on the priority list; it becomes clear what is “worth it” for me to participate in vs. what I should opt out of in order to balance my career, family, and personal needs.  

Whether through the process or another approach, I hope that any parents reading this article can develop the tools necessary to plan and execute their schedules in a manner that aligns with their family’s goals and needs. I hope society can evolve to provide proper support for families raising the next generation. I hope that our parenting culture can become one of hope, enjoyment, and support for one another. I hope to be even a small part of that change for the better.

Let me know in the comments what aspects of parenting cause you stress as well as your best solutions for combatting mental and physical fatigue!