Burnout can appear in any profession and even in your personal life. Though it might seem like an in-home care position would be less likely to cause burnout, this is a false assumption.

Psychology Today describes burnout as physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by repeated stress felt over a period of time. Daily stresses can be major sources of burnout, which often include the duties that come with being a family or a nanny!

At Preferred ChildCare, we want to do our best to support our amazing nannies, even when burnout occurs. Continue reading below and use these tips to help you recognize and tackle burnout as a Nanny.

Why do Caregivers Experience Burnout?

Oftentimes, burnout arises when you are feeling overwhelmed and overworked, and in today’s modern society, that’s not difficult to imagine.

Families might feel like they have too much on their plate–jobs, taking care of their household and children, running errands for their family, taking their child to activities or sports practices and games, and more. The list goes on and on! That’s why a family hires a nanny: to help manage all of these responsibilities. However, when families start to hand over too much responsibility to the nanny to get rid of their own stress, this can inadvertently lead to job burnout for their nanny as well.

As the family adds to their nanny’s responsibilities, the nanny can feel like there is not enough time to accomplish everything the family expects while still being able to adequately take care of the children. Furthermore, if there isn’t open communication with the family, the nanny might feel like they have no way of expressing that they feel overwhelmed.

Depending on the situation, nannies might also feel like they don’t get enough time off or feel like they are not able to take days off when they need to. Everyone needs rest, so when caregivers aren’t able to rest, this can also contribute to experiencing burnout.

Tips on How to Handle Burnout as a Nanny

Try these tips below to learn how to tackle burnout as a caregiver.

1. Set Boundaries With Your Work and Communicate Them With the Family

When you are clear on your own work-life boundaries, you can communicate them well and prevent unrealistic expectations for yourself from forming. Be clear about your expectations and what you are comfortable with. Consider how much notice you need to be able to work late. What kind of accommodations are you comfortable making? Do you communicate when your work starts to feel overwhelming?

2. Schedule Personal Time for Yourself

As a nanny whose main job is to care for others, it can be difficult to think about yourself. However, scheduling time for yourself can help you tackle burnout as a nanny before it even begins. Participate in hobbies and activities you enjoy doing outside of work, spend time with your own family and friends, and don’t be afraid to take a break from working with kids if you need to outside of your job.

3. Spend Time with Adults Outside of Work

It is crucial to spend time with friends after spending so much time looking after your charges. It is natural for you to want and need to be social and have grown-up conversations after spending all day caring for children. This will help you reset and recharge you to be the best nanny you can be and tackle burnout from the start.

4. Have Regular Check-ins With the Family

We are big fans of creating a sense of teamwork to create solutions in the children’s best interests. Regular communication will help provide opportunities for you to voice your concerns when you start to feel like your responsibilities are becoming overwhelming or unrealistic. With regular communication, problems won’t come as a surprise, and you won’t feel like you are on your own when you need help.

Prevent Burnout Before it Begins

Our biggest tip for tackling burnout as a nanny is to establish an open and honest communication channel early on to discuss situations as they arise and prevent burnout before it begins. Communicate your boundaries at the beginning of your relationship and find ways to destress outside of your work. Most importantly, don’t wait until you feel overwhelmed to ask for support.

For more resources on how to have a successful family-nanny relationship, check out our other blogs here at Preferred ChildCare!