The past few years in New Zealand have been big. Scratch that, huge. We’ve collectively navigated a pandemic, multiple lockdowns, a series of devastating weather events, increasing financial pressures and a less-than-average summer to boot (North Islanders, we’re looking at you!). As a result, ‘parental fatigue’ has taken root and is affecting many families across Aotearoa right now.
The year is only just getting started, but for many of us there’s a lingering feeling of lethargy – of running on an empty tank. Anecdotally, some of our kids are also feeling a bit ‘meh’ about the year ahead.
What’s going on and why are we feeling this way? We talked to one of our family coaches, Sheridan Eketone, to help us make sense of this unexpected exhaustion and find renewed hope for the remainder of 2023.