Parenting on E: How to Care for Yourself When You’re Burnt Out and Touched Out

Summer might bring longer days, but it doesn’t necessarily bring more rest for many parents and caregivers.

When the school year ends, routines shift, and suddenly, you’re “on” all the time with snacking, scheduling, sunscreen, screen-time battles, and zero alone time. It’s a season that looks relaxed from the outside, but let’s be real—it can feel like survival mode.

And if you’ve been feeling burnt out, touched out, or mentally done by 10 am, you are not alone.

The Real Talk No One Puts in the Summer Brochure

Summer with kids can be beautiful and exhausting. It can be full of memories and overstimulation. You can love your children deeply and still crave time away from them.

This isn’t a sign you’re ungrateful or “doing it wrong.” It’s a sign that you’re human, and parenting requires emotional labor that doesn’t ease up just because the sun’s out.

Signs You Might Be Burnt Out or Touched Out

Burnout for parents and caregivers doesn’t always look like yelling or shutting down. Sometimes it’s:

• Feeling numb even during “fun” moments

• Flinching at one more touch, question, or need

• Losing patience faster than usual and feeling guilty afterward

• Fantasizing about running away (just for 24 hours of silence)

• Struggling to recognize yourself in the mirror

  If any of this sounds familiar, take a breath.  You’re not a bad parent. You’re a very tired one. And that matters.

Realistic Self-Care for Burnt-Out Parents

Let’s be honest. No one’s handing you a spa day or a child-free weekend right now. So let’s talk about what care can look like in real life, with limited time, energy, and support.

1. Create 10-minute Pockets of Peace. You don’t need hours to feel a shift. What could you do with 10 minutes that’s just for you?

• Sit in the car after a grocery run and play your music.

• Lock the bathroom door and scroll in silence.

• Stretch while watching cartoons with the kids.

• Step outside for air, barefoot if you can

2. Ask: What can I let go of today? Not forever. Just today. Maybe it’s folding laundry. Perhaps it’s replying to texts. Maybe it’s the guilt of screen time. Let it go and live.

3. Lower the bar to meet your energy, not your ego. Some days, a reset means paper plates and cereal for dinner. That’s still parenting, and that’s still love.

4. Speak to yourself like a friend who’s in the thick of it. If your friend said, “I’m exhausted and I feel like I’m failing,” would you tell her to try harder? Or would you say, “Of course you’re tired. You’re doing so much. Rest is allowed.” Give yourself the same grace.

This Is a Season, Not a Life Sentence

You won’t always feel this tired. You won’t always be this needed. And while that’s bittersweet, it’s also freeing: you don’t have to be superhuman. You have to survive this season with some softness for yourself.

Your needs don’t disappear just because your kids have more. And your humanity doesn’t go on hold because you're a parent.

Closing Reflection:

If no one’s told you lately, you’re doing so much, and it’s okay to be tired. You are still a good parent when you’re running on fumes. You are still worthy of care, quiet, and kindness.

Start with one small moment today that reminds you:

I Matter Too!

By: Sylvia J. Jones