I know that the tendency to overreact in the parenting department is not the sole property of the single parent, but I also think that with only one of at the head of the household, we do not have someone else to balance us out or help us get calm about things before we unleash on our children. Not to mention that stress and exhaustion can make it tough to see things clearly and with any sort of distance or perspective. As single parents, therefore, I do think we need to be careful to get our bearings before we respond to things and watch out for overreactions.
I know for a fact that when I get tired, or am overextended and under stress and strain, I am not able to take things as easily as when I am well-rested and calm. When I look back over the years, I can clearly remember times when I lost my temper or completely overreacted to things my children did for no other reason than that I was just over-strained. I had to learn as a single parent that I needed to avoid reacting or making major decisions when I was exhausted. I just couldn’t think clearly and I had a tendency to overreact and create more problems than I solved.
Additionally, I think that when we parents have been through all sorts of trials and tribulations, we have a tendency to want to protect and prevent those things from happening to and with our children. Maybe we feel like we’ve committed enough mistakes for the whole family and want to keep our children from marching down the “wrong path.” So, we freak out when they do something we don’t think they should. Our overreaction usually doesn’t help matters, however, and our children just think we “don’t understand.” Step back, gain perspective, get an objective opinion–whatever you can do to get yourself calm before reacting and responding will help to counter a tendency to overreact.
Also: Why Does My Child Keep Overreacting?
It Doesn’t Feel Like I’m Overreacting at the Time!