{"id":55558,"date":"2025-12-22T08:02:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T07:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/en\/?post_type=news&p=55558"},"modified":"2025-12-22T09:08:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T08:08:30","slug":"christmas-burnout-when-the-festive-season-exhausts-parents","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/en\/news\/christmas-burnout-when-the-festive-season-exhausts-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas burnout: When the festive season exhausts parents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Behind the decorations and happy faces, many parents experience the holiday season under intense pressure. Recent research sheds light on how Christmas stress can lead to parental burnout\u2014and tactics to prevent it.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

December starts, the first advent, the first Christmas trees or the first sip of mulled wine signal the end of the year. Worn out by the past months and darkening days, we begin the count-down until the long-awaited Christmas holidays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the 24 December approaches, this joyful image of the festive season hides something altogether. Stress sets in as we rush through stores and e-commerce websites in search of the perfect gift, spend entire evenings planning menus, decorations, and already overloaded schedules\u2014well before the holidays even begin. Does this sound familiar? You\u2019re not alone. A study conducted among 300 parents in Great Britain by researchers from the University of Luxembourg examined this phenomenon known as \u201cChristmas burnout.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n \u201f<\/span>\n End-of-year celebrations do not always rhyme with joy and well-being for parents. Hosting a gathering, trying to please the family and taking care of children during school holidays represent a significant source of stress, added to that of the past year.\u201d\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Dr. Ziwen Teuber<\/p>\n\n\n

Research Scientist at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education<\/p>\n\n

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\nSmiling at all costs: a reflex with harmful effects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While parents are expected to enjoy \u201cthe most wonderful time of the year,\u201d many force themselves to smile despite deep exhaustion. \u201cWe observed that parents experiencing burnout tend to deny their emotions and try to appear cheerful so as not to spoil the holidays,\u201d the researcher notes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although well intentioned, this attitude is not without consequences. \u201cThe gap between our real emotions and those we communicate to our children is harmful both to long-term mental health and to the quality of the parent\u2013child relationship. Over time, disconnecting from one\u2019s emotions leads parents to become emotionally absent, and interactions deteriorate,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To limit these negative effects, parents should dare to express how they truly feel. \u201cOf course, messages must be adapted to children and conveyed with care, but saying that you are tired is better than pretending everything is fine,\u201d adds Ziwen Teuber. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nPractical ways to get through the holidays more peacefully<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However, researchers also identify several ways to avoid starting the new year completely drained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n