Parenting is one of the toughest jobs ever complete with exhaustion, sleep deprivation, depression, domestic isolation, and relationship breakdown. Consider these statistics:
- Researchers reported that having a child can have a negative impact on happiness of both mothers and fathers, with the most significant impact being about the “continuous and intense nature of childrearing.”
- About 14% of new mothers have postpartum depression.
- About 1 in 5 mothers have anxiety.
- Studies over the last 13 years by the Gottman Institute suggest that between 40 and 70 percent of couples experience “stress, profound conflict, and drops in marital satisfaction” after having a baby together.
There is good news in Joy Fixes for Weary Parents: 101 Quick, Research-Based Ideas for Overcoming Stress and Building a Life You Love by family therapist and parenting blogger Erin Leyba, PhD. In 101 short, simple chapters Leyba integrates current research findings, illustrative stories, and actions steps to assist parents in becoming “fiercely deliberate” about their joy.
“Joy Fixes are not about chasing happiness — a temporary pleasure,” she writes. “Rather they are about nurturing joy — a deep-down sense of peace and connection. The most powerful way to build joy is by bringing creativity, presence, and compassion to your most important relationships.”
Blending mindfulness tools, Internal Family Systems therapy, solution-focused therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy, along with plenty of successful examples, Leyba skillfully helps parents reorient themselves to a state of calm, humor, and peace. They learn ways to use joy as a focal point, a destination, and as fuel for their relationships. Oh, and there’s no shortage of oh-thank-goodness-it’s-not-just-me stories (with joyful endings) from the parenting trenches.
ABOUT ERIN LEYBA, PHD
Erin Leyba, PhD, an individual and marriage counselor, specializes in helping parents of young children. In addition to writing her popular blogs, she speaks often to parenting and childcare groups. The parent of three young kids, she and her family live in the Chicago area.
Offering moms and dads practical, motivational help based on the strategies, thoughts, and tools she’s developed over her years of counseling families Joy Fixes for Weary Parents: 101 Quick, Research-Based Ideas for Overcoming Stress and Building a Life You Love will help parents stay joyful — in spite of everything. Including mud pies that come into the house and stepping on wayward Legos.
