How to Avoid Burnout

Burnout can happen with any job. And face it: being a stay-at-home parent is a job, much more so than the 40-hour-a-week variety your golfing buddies have. With additional pressures facing a stay-at-home dad, such as social misunderstandings or a perceived lack of masculinity, burnout can happen quickly.

But it can be avoided. You already were a father, now you are just the primary care giver. And you already love your children. So the key is loving your job and staying happy.

An easy way to get into a rut in this position is to stay home every day reading the same books, playing the same games and watching the same shows. If you start counting the hours until your wife gets home, you won’t be much different than any cubical-bound wage laborer, and unhappiness will surely follow.

Do Stuff With Your Kids

Get a zoo membership. Go to the children’s museum. Check out daily activities at the library or community center. Any mom could give you this advice. But you can take it a step further. Take your kids along for the ride while doing things you like to do. You’ll have fun and the kids will get a great experience as well.

Take them to a matinee baseball game, go fishing or let them help shop for car stuff – anything that interests you will likely interest them. Take advantage of your time with your kids, and there’s no reason you can’t have fun while you’re at it. Planned activities don’t have to happen every day, but they will keep life fresh.

Take a Break

Most jobs have some sort of breaks built into the day, but breaks are harder to come by as a full-time caregiver. Getting lunch is a challenge, let alone a true time out. But take advantage of possible breaks when they present themselves. It’s impossible to think you can go an entire day without a free second to collect your thoughts.

If your son is at preschool for a couple of hours and your daughter is taking a nap, take a nap yourself. Get that coveted shower in. Surf the Net. Those dirty floors can wait; you need a breather too.

Your Own Time

Make arrangements with your wife to get out of the house on your own every now and then. It could be a Saturday afternoon or an evening after the kids are in bed. Do nothing, catch a movie, go work out or hang out with the guys. There are no weekends as a stay-at-home dad. You are always on the clock. So take advantage of the chance to refresh and remember who you are.

Go on a Date

Leave the kids behind, again, and enjoy time out with the woman you love. Get some much-needed adult interaction and give her a break at the same time. Remember why you are doing what you are doing and who you are doing it for.

Soak it Up

Focus not on how hard every day is, but rather that you are privileged enough to spend these special years with your children. While many people miss much of their kids’ formative years, you get to be right in the middle of the action.