Health Tip: How Working Parents Can Avoid Burnout

-- When a parent works full time, it can be difficult to balance responsibilities at work and at home.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests how to ease the pressure of feeling overworked:

• Try to relax during the day, even if for a few minutes of meditation, a short walk or a brief period of silence.
• Prepare for greeting your family when you return home, allowing you to separate from work stress.
• Figure out ways to reduce stress when you arrive home, such as by ordering take out occasionally, by getting a sitter or by hiring someone to help with laundry and other household chores.
• Use the weekends to work together as a family, cleaning the house and finishing chores that are difficult to accomplish during the week.
• Be realistic: Do not try to accomplish too many things in one day.
• Take relaxation time for yourself. Go for a walk, go to the gym or read a book.