The topic of work and stress and family is always a sore point for many of us. As Americans, we probably work harder than many folks around the world. Our work environments are so fast-paced and intense that we frequently work longer than the eight hour work day and leave feeling that we still have so much to accomplish.
How does this effect our teens and our families? Our teenager feels our stress when we come home. As parents, we don't even have to talk about how stressed we are - our teen can pick up on this by our tension. Sherri just wrote a blog about yeling at our teens - I think that many parents yell because of the stress they accumulate during their work-day. How do we deal with this differently?
I strongly suggest that as parents we find a way to transition from work to home. On the drive home, listening to peaceful music or a book on CD about relaxation, family relationships, or spiritual thoughts can be so helpful in setting a boundary between work and home. Consciously telling yourself that you are going to leave the work stressors there and be an open and present parent to your teen before walking in the door of your home is a very valuable tool. And this will be helpful for you as well as your teen.
Balancing work and parenthood is never easy. But each step you take in being aware and taking action to improve this boundary is a step towards helping your teen.
Dr Debra
Very interesting blog. Its really difficult to balance professional and personal life. But you need to handle things carefully so that your professional stress should not effect your family relationships.
Posted by: Florida Permit Test Online | 07/28/2011 at 07:07 AM