• Exhausted by Parenting Your Teen | Erin Leyba | Episode 13

  • Parenting is the most wonderful and most exhausting job you will ever love, but why is it so tiring? Is there anything we can do to change that? How can you stop being exhausted by parenting your teen? Erin Leyba explores this situation with Mighty Parenting podcast hosts Judy Davis and Sandy Fowler. They dig into the reasons you are exhausted by parenting your teen while Erin shares tips for making things better and for bringing the joy back into your life.

    One of the things that’s so wearing in parenting a teenager is driving them to all of their activities and outings. Many parents look forward to the day their teen gets a drivers’ license, and even more so to the day they have their own car to drive. In Real Talk, Judy and Sandy dig into this idea, exploring the pros and cons and sharing a different perspective on what it means to buy your teenager a car.

     

    A Favorite Quote from the Show:

    To avoid exhaustion and be a better parent, each morning ask yourself, “Where is my joy coming from today?”

    High Points And Strategies For When You Are Exhausted By Parenting Your Teen:

    exhausted by parenting your teenParenting in the 21st century means parents are busy and they don’t have a village to rely on. These two things exacerbate our weariness.

    We know we are exhausted when we:

    1. Feel disconnected from people we love.
    2. Lose ourselves, feel separated from what we love to do, what feeds our spirit.

    Fortunately there are solutions to those issues. To prevent feeling disconnected from those you love, feed your relationships with connection, creativity, and fun.

    To find your way back to yourself, to feel filled up again, take ‘me time’ that feeds your spirit and connects you back to yourself.

    Parents need to consciously create space for happiness. Here are a few ways to do that:

    1.       Each morning ask yourself, “Where is my joy coming from today?”

    2.       Acknowledge what you are doing right.

    3.       Focus on joyful moments of family life.

    4.       Note what you are grateful for.

    About Our Guest:

    Erin Leyba, LCSW, Ph.D. is a social work professor and an individual and couples counselor in Chicago’s western suburbs. . She is the author of Joy Fixes for Weary Parents: 101 Ideas for Overcoming Fatigue, Stress, and Guilt – and Building a Life You Love (New World Library). Join her on Facebook or sign up to get free articles on parenting with mindfulness and joy. (http://www.erinleyba.com/

     

     

     

    More from our Guest:

    Links for her book here: