Feeling Worn Out by Your Kids? Why It's Completely Normal—and What You Can Do
When You Love Them—But They Exhaust You
If you've ever whispered to yourself, "My kids are wearing me out," you're not alone—and you're certainly not broken. There’s an unspoken belief that if you’re a caring, invested parent, you should be endlessly patient, emotionally available, and full of energy. But try being all that after a long day of work, school pick-ups, forgotten homework, meltdowns over math, or simply keeping up with the emotional rollercoaster of a child aged 6 to 12. It’s a lot. And yes, it’s normal to be tired. Really, utterly, deeply tired.
The Invisible Load of Parenting School-Aged Kids
Children between the ages of 6 and 12 are developing fast—but they’re also still so reliant on us. They want autonomy yet often lack the skills to achieve it. So you step in—for homework, for organizing their backpacks (again), for emotional triage after a social conflict at recess. You keep track of appointments, permission slips, reading levels, and screen time. This mental load builds up quietly until it starts to feel like it lives in your bones.
Feeling drained after managing all this isn’t a failure. It’s a signal. Your body and mind are telling you: you’re operating at full capacity. And even love has its limits when you don’t have space to recover.
But My Child Is Struggling—Shouldn’t I Be Doing More?
If your child has learning difficulties, anxiety about school, or just struggles to focus on homework, the load is even heavier. It’s hard not to feel a rush of guilt when you lose your temper or secretly dread another evening of coaxing through reading assignments. It’s even harder when you're worried your exhaustion might be affecting them.
Here’s the truth: tired doesn’t mean you love your child any less. Your fatigue doesn’t make you a bad parent. In fact, recognizing it is a powerful step toward becoming a more present, calm one. Setting boundaries around your energy is not just good for you—it teaches your child what self-respect looks like.
Giving Yourself Permission to Rest
Sometimes, five minutes of stillness can change the complexion of an entire evening. Maybe what you need is not another tip or productivity hack, but real permission to pause.
That pause might come in the form of a quiet 10 minutes with a cup of tea before pick-up. Or letting go of guilt when you say, “Not right now,” because you need just a moment to breathe. Or maybe—and this is hard—it’s being okay with not fixing everything the second it comes up.
One helpful option is offering your child a screen-free moment of calm after school, which also gives you a break. Creating these shared moments of rest isn’t lazy; it fosters connection and regulation for both of you.
Finding Supportive Tools (That Don’t Add More to Your Plate)
As a parent, it's not easy to find moments to decompress without feeling like you’re neglecting your child. One gentle option is incorporating tools that simultaneously engage your child and offer you a bit of breathing room. Audio content can be surprisingly powerful here.
A great example is the LISN Kids App, an app offering original audiobooks and audio series for kids aged 3 to 12. It’s a calming, screen-free way for children to relax, explore storytelling, and build focus—all while giving you space to reset. You can download it on iOS or Android.
Used thoughtfully, tools like these can become part of your child’s daily rhythm—and yours.
What If I’m Truly at the End of My Rope?
Parenting burnout is real. If you often find yourself snapping, zoning out, or counting the hours until bedtime, you’re not a monster—you’re a human running on empty. At this point, what you need isn't more coping tricks. It’s help. That could be asking your partner for more support, forming a homework swap with another parent, or just acknowledging: I need rest and joy too.
This might also be the moment to explore grounded strategies in articles like How to Stay Calm When You’re at the End of Your Rope or reflect on your internal cues with How to Manage Parental Mental Fatigue. You don’t have to fix it all overnight. The first step is simply noticing and validating your own experience.
You’re a Good Parent Even When You’re Tired
Here’s what’s most important: being exhausted by your children doesn’t mean you don’t adore them. It means you're deeply engaged and trying—and it matters. It helps to remember that parenting is a living process, not a perfect performance.
Offer yourself the same compassion you give your child on their hard days. Rest where you can, let go where you need to, and remember that healthy parenting starts not with doing more, but with feeling whole enough inside to bring calm to the chaos. You're doing better than you think.
And on those long afternoons where your energy truly runs out, don’t hesitate to turn to thoughtful tools or activities that let you rest without guilt. You’ll find some lovely ideas in our guide to quiet activities for kids when you're completely exhausted. Just know—from one tired heart to another—you’re not alone in this.