How to Enjoy Parenting Again When You Are Burnt Out 

Parenting Perspective 

Emotional burnout can absolutely strip the joy out of parenting. When your days are filled with responsibilities, corrections, clean-ups, and logistics, with no space to breathe, laugh, or rest, parenting starts to feel like a cycle of survival. You respond, manage, repeat just because you  are too depleted to feel that love fully. 

This does not mean you are a bad parent. It means you are burnt out, physically present but emotionally frayed, disconnected from the softer moments because your system is overloaded. 

What Burnout Does to Your Parenting Experience 

• It narrows your focus to urgent tasks only 

• It dulls your emotional capacity, making you numb or irritable 

• It drains your creativity and playfulness 

• It makes positive moments feel out of reach , even when they happen 

And over time, you may start to feel guilty and start questioning yourself that why am I not enjoying this the way I used to? But guilt does not fix burnout, restoration do fix it.  

How to Begin Recovering Joy, Even Slowly 

Drop the pressure to enjoy parenting all the time

Parenting is not meant to be enjoyable every day. Some days are mechanical and some are heavy. Release the idea that constant joy is a sign of success. Instead, look for moments of connection, a smile, a laugh, a shared glance, and let those moments be enough for now. 

Rebuild small rituals you once loved

Think back was there a way you used to enjoy your child, bedtime stories, walks, silly games, baking together? Reintroduce one of those activities without expectation. Let it feel light again. 

Reduce emotional overload

Burnout often comes from emotional noise,; excessive voices, too much internal pressure and a number of problems. Try to reduce background input (social media, mental multitasking, comparison) and carve out even ten minutes of quiet for your own mental reset. 

Talk to someone who sees you as a person, not just a parent.

Sometimes, joy comes back when you are reminded that you exist, as a human being not just as a caregiver. That reconnection can be the starting point. 

Joy is not gone. It is just buried beneath fatigue. You will feel it again, gently, gradually, when your heart has space to breathe. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam recognises emotional burnout. It honours both the visible and invisible labour of parenting, especially when done with sincerity, even in exhaustion. You are not judged for lacking joy. You are rewarded for continuing with care and intention, even when joy is absent. 

The Divine Reassurance of Ease 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Inshirah (94), verses 5–6: 

“Thus with (every) hardship there is facilitation (from Allah Almighty). Indeed, with (every) hardship there is facilitation (from Allah Almighty).” 

These repeated Verses remind us that seasons of fatigue are not permanent. Ease is written with hardship, not after. It may come in the form of relief, laughter, clarity, or simply the ability to enjoy one moment again. And it will come. 

The Prophetic Model: The Sacred Act of a Cheerful Face 

It is recorded in Sahih Muslim that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

“Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.” 

[Sahih Muslim, 2821] 

Some days, the cheerful face you offer your child, even if forced, is a sacred act. It counts and it  matters. 

If joy feels far, turn to Allah Almighty and ask: ‘Ya Allah, bring softness back into my parenting. Restore love where fatigue has hardened me. Let me enjoy what You have entrusted me with.’ This is because even the will to enjoy again is a form of hope, and that hope is enough to begin healing.