If you find the experience of parenting small children stressful, you are not alone. Studies suggest that up to 50% of parents report stress about parenting, child behavior, or child development. Clinical interventions include increasing social supports, training on coping strategies, and more.

A powerful, effective coping strategy for everyday stress that gets little air-time in the parenting world is the establishment of boundaries, perhaps because establishing boundaries feels antithetical to parenting. If your child gets up in the middle of the night, they will wake you. If you are having a super hard day, they will still ask you for attention and soothing. How can you establish boundaries when your children are little?

Instead of thinking about boundaries in terms of your relationship with your kids, think about them in terms of how you set up your lifestyle. It isn’t about them—it’s about you. In the 24/7, mentally, emotionally, and physically draining work of raising small children, it is common for your nervous system to get overloaded, leading to feelings of anger, overwhelm, anxiety, and sadness. The solution is to identify........

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