If you’ve ever found yourself eating leftover chicken nuggets off your toddler’s plate while frantically answering an email and mentally calculating how many minutes you have before soccer practice, congratulations—you may be experiencing family burnout. As a working parent of two young kids, I know the hustle all too well. Mornings are a frantic dash…
https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/WP-Banner-scaled.jpg8962048Lauren Hallhttps://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.pngLauren Hall2025-04-02 11:07:192025-04-02 11:09:01Family Burnout: How to Spot It, Stop It, and Bounce Back
Last week, I had lunch with my five-year-old son and his kindergarten class. I try to eat lunch with him at least once a month, so all of his classmates know me fairly well. One extra talkative student planted themselves next to me and proceeded to tell me all about how one of their parents…
https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/WP-Banner-3-scaled.jpg8962048Lauren Hallhttps://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.pngLauren Hall2025-03-28 13:25:432025-03-28 13:25:46When a Parent Goes to Prison: The Unseen Sentence on Children
If you want to test a family’s strength, observe them during the throes of a long winter—or a sweltering summer. Just as nature transitions through the seasons, so do our family dynamics. The rhythm of our lives often mirrors the weather outside our windows, and research suggests that these environmental changes can influence everything from…
https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/WP-Banner-2-scaled.jpg8962048Lauren Hallhttps://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.pngLauren Hall2025-03-14 14:11:362025-03-14 14:11:40The Science of Seasonal Family Shifts
Family Burnout: How to Spot It, Stop It, and Bounce Back
If you’ve ever found yourself eating leftover chicken nuggets off your toddler’s plate while frantically answering an email and mentally calculating how many minutes you have before soccer practice, congratulations—you may be experiencing family burnout. As a working parent of two young kids, I know the hustle all too well. Mornings are a frantic dash…
When a Parent Goes to Prison: The Unseen Sentence on Children
Last week, I had lunch with my five-year-old son and his kindergarten class. I try to eat lunch with him at least once a month, so all of his classmates know me fairly well. One extra talkative student planted themselves next to me and proceeded to tell me all about how one of their parents…
The Science of Seasonal Family Shifts
If you want to test a family’s strength, observe them during the throes of a long winter—or a sweltering summer. Just as nature transitions through the seasons, so do our family dynamics. The rhythm of our lives often mirrors the weather outside our windows, and research suggests that these environmental changes can influence everything from…