Do You Feel Guilty As Parent?: Tips To Cope With Parent Guilt

As working parents, we are not able to provide complete attention to our keep, especially during the mid-week. Our child is growing day by day…some of her habits, behavior, and lifestyle opinions are changing!

Some of the unhealthy behaviors she learns need to be changed as soon as possible. When we come back from work, it’s quite a challenging and difficult task to make her learn new healthy habits as we focus on filling the communication gap between the three of us!

Consecutively, every night when we go to bed, my husband and I keep on thinking are we right as parents, or are we bad as parents? Because the guilt of the inability to provide complete attention to our child rips us apart. If you look at other parents and wish to have it all together to like them… you may be living in a bubble!

Parent guilt is experienced by all parents, be it working parents or non-working parents. Parent guilt is also referred to as mom guilt, mother guilt, dad guilt, or maternal guilt. In this blog, we will be exploring some best and most effective ways to cope with parent guilt.

Parent Guilt in a nutshell…

Parent guilt is experienced when we are torn between the responsibilities of a parent and not being able to provide attention to our child.

When there is a constant race between the professional and parental roles, we as a parent, start feeling guilty about not providing the right attention to our children or vice versa!

Related Read: Stay-at-home mom depression

7 Reasons Why Parents Feel Guilty

Below are the 7 common reasons why we parents feel guilty or experience parent guilt on a regular basis:

1. You both are working.
2. Your child started misbehaving while socializing.
3. Your child suddenly stopped eating or developed awful eating habits.
4. Your child enjoys screen time more than socializing or communicating.
5. You both yell too much at your child.
6. You can’t afford the luxury or extras for your child.
7. You can’t do it all at the same time.

Signs Of Parent Guilt

Below are some of the common signs of experiencing parent guilt:

• Feeling like you are not appropriate as a parent or professional
• Feeling like you have done something wrong
• Feeling like you have a long to-do list but are unable to do it
• Feeling like you are juggling too many difficult and challenging things
• Feeling like you are not able to provide the right attention to your children
• chronic stressing over work or personal things
• Not having or spending personal time with yourself
• Not able to enjoy “me-time” without worrying about getting things done
• Experiencing chronic stress, anxiety, or depression
• Straining your relationship with others

Causes Of Parent Guilt

New parents, single parents, and parents with fewer resources are at high risk of experiencing parent guilt on a regular basis. It can be caused due to internal and external pressures like:

Internal Pressures

• Setting unrealistic expectations
• Unable to adjust to changes
• not able to fulfill responsibilities

External Pressures

• To be a perfect parent
• To have it all together
• To fulfill professional and personal duties responsibly
• To be appreciated as a parent or professional

Impact Of Parent Guilt on Parents

The impact of parent guilt can be different for every parent as they have to go through different challenges on a regular basis. Below are some of the common impacts:

1. Feeling unworthy or failure:

The most common impact of parent guilt is lowering self-worth and viewing us as a failure in terms of parent or job.

2. Reimbursing in other ways:

The other common impact of parent guilt is compensating the guilt with more financial reparation or gifting materialistic things to the children

Effective Tips To Cope With Parent Guilt

Try these below strategies to combat parent guilt:

1. Identify your triggers and try reframing your thoughts:

The most effective way to cope with parent guilt is to identify your triggers. For example, if you are passing so many judgments on yourself, stop doing that; instead, try reframing your thoughts in a positive manner.

2. Do not set high expectations:

Sometimes setting high expectations leads to chronic stress and anxiety. Therefore, recalibrate your expectations and accept the limits.

3. Focus on being mindful:

Whatever you do, do it mindfully so that you can have a sense of satisfaction. If you are working, focus on your work. If you are playing with your child, do not focus on your work.

4. Build a support system and avoid comparisons:

The best way to combat parent guilt is to connect with people who support you. Avoid comparing yourself with other parents or your child with other children. Instead, try to seek inspiration and support from them.

5. Take regular breaks and practice self-care:

Try to give yourself some “me-time” and practice self-care so that you can focus on rejuvenating yourself.

6. Connect with a mental health professional:

If you are feeling chronic stress, anxiety, or depression due to parent guilt, you can try connecting with a mental health professional to find the right balance.

I hope this blog helps you cope with parent guilt. Comment down and share “How do you generally cope with parent guilt.” for more such content, connect with us on all social media platforms.

Thanks for reading!