Whether you’re exhausted from a sleep regression or a kid calendar on overdrive with friend birthday parties, parental burnout is real—and it’s becoming more rampant, according to studies. A recent report published in Clinical Psychological Science describes parental burnout as the moment “when the daily stress of parenting becomes chronic” causing an “intense exhaustion that can lead parents to feel detached from their children and unsure of their parenting abilities.”
The scary part? The impact of parental burnout can have consequences—not just on mom and dad, but on the child, too. That’s why lead researcher Moïra Mikolajczak tells Science Daily that parents should do “whatever allows [them] to recharge their batteries and avoid exhaustion.”
That’s why we decided to check in with real moms who have found their own practical solutions for when they need a minute to reboot.