Research has shown that many parents find parenting to be stressful, and many parents of young children can also experience severe fatigue. While it is well known that parents who are feeling stressed find it much more difficult to parent effectively, the impact that fatigue has on the ability to function well as a parent is not well understood.

Parent Wellbeing and Fatigue survey
In 2008 we conducted the Parent Wellbeing and Fatigue project which aimed to explore the extent to which parents of young children aged 0-6 years experience fatigue and how this relates to their wellbeing and parenting.

Results from our national survey found that high fatigue was significantly related to low parenting warmth, high hostility and low parental involvement in play and learning activities with their children. This study also found that fatigue was associated with more parenting stress and frustration, and less satisfaction in parenting.

From this study, we were able to identify factors that contributed to significant fatigue, and some of these lend themselves to improvement through appropriate support and clinical intervention. The research team is currently developing an intervention designed to support and help parents manage fatigue symptoms. Our next step is to conduct a randomised trial testing the effectiveness of this intervention with the aim of improving parental experiences and parental wellbeing.

Survey of parents attending Tweddle
In 2009 we conducted a survey of parents attending Tweddle Child and Family Health Service. The study examined the extent to which parents of children with sleep and settling difficulties experience fatigue, how this relates to their parenting, and what factors are associated with fatigue. An important finding was that parents of children with sleep difficulties reported significantly higher fatigue than parents in the general population. Fatigue was related low parenting warmth, high hostility and low parental involvement in play and learning activities. A broad range of factors - parent sleep quality, how many nights a week the child wakes, low social support - were associated with fatigue. These results provide important information that will be used to inform the development of information and resources to help parents in the management of fatigue.