You’ve built a career or a business

You’re providing for your family.

You’ve checked every box you thought you were supposed to check.

And yet — deep down — there’s a nagging thought:

“Will I look back one day and realise I missed my kids’ childhood?”

This isn’t just occasional dad guilt.

It’s a growing, researched problem called parental burnout.

The Hidden Epidemic of Dad Burnout

According to a 2023 systematic review published in BMC Public Health, parental burnout is a unique form of burnout with devastating consequences.

Unlike everyday stress, parental burnout includes:

• Emotional exhaustion from constant demands at work and home.
• Emotional distancing from children (physically present, mentally absent).
• Feeling fed up with the parenting role.
• Loss of parental confidence and efficiency.

This can be even more dangerous for business dads because it often hides behind high performance.

High Performers Are Especially Vulnerable

The traits that help you win professionally can quietly push you toward burnout at home.

The research shows that the biggest risk factors include:

• Perfectionism: A study by Roskam et al. (2018) found that perfectionism is one of the strongest predictors of parental burnout.
• High need for control: Struggling to adapt when life doesn’t go to plan- I always talk about influence not control.
• Low emotional resilience: Carrying stress longer than your system can handle.
• Isolation: Having few safe spaces to share the pressure (this is a big one for me, it can be easy to remove yourself when stress becomes to much).
• Cultural pressure: In Western, individualistic cultures, burnout is 5x more common.

And here’s the real trap:

The more burnt out you feel, the more you double down at work…

… while your family gets less of you.

The Cost of Burnout

Parental burnout doesn’t just affect you. It impacts:

• Your marriage: Increased conflict, disconnection.
• Your children: Reduced emotional presence means a higher risk of emotional issues.
• Your health: Sleep problems, stress disorders, and even physical illness.
• Your legacy: The very thing you fear most — regret.

The Solution Isn’t More Time Management

Many dads think: “If I could just organise my schedule better, I’d be fine.”

But the research is clear: this is an energy and emotional resilience problem, not a time problem.

What you actually need is:

• Stress tolerance training
• Energy system management
• Emotional regulation strategies
• Purpose realignment
• Recovery protocols
• Self-compassion — yes, that too.

You’re Not Alone — And You’re Not Broken

Parental burnout doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

It means you’re human.

I coach high-performing business dads through this challenge, helping them sustain leadership at work while reclaiming their presence at home.

Because your children don’t need perfect. They need you to be present.

Keep showing up for them!

Ren, X., Cai, Y., Wang, J. et al. A systematic review of parental burnout and related factors among parents. BMC Public Health 24, 376 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-17829-y

Roskam, I., Brianda, M. E., & Mikolajczak, M. (2018). A Step Forward in the Conceptualization and Measurement of Parental Burnout: The Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA). Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 758.