My secret to getting enough time for myself is being intentional with my time and setting small boundaries. I try to prioritise what actually matters each day and let go of things that aren’t urgent. Even short moments count like going for a walk, listening to music, or just sitting quietly without distractions. I’ve also learned that saying no sometimes is necessary not selfish. Protecting even a little bit of time for myself helps me reset and feel more in control rather than constantly overwhelmed by everything else.

Have you thought about having her grandparents have a sleep over at your place first and you go out to the movies for a couple of hours. Grandparents and your daughter could watch a favourite movie together. Gradually building up a great relationship with your daughter and her grandparents. My kids love going to their grandparents place where they do things like planting flowers with granny and Pa and making cupcakes, bring a packet mix and eggs etc ask Granny can she help with making cakes. Bring seeds and plant them and watch them grow at the grandparents place. Going there often to see them sprout then plant them out. These types of activities encourages children to include doing stuff with grandparents and talking about what you are planning there are so many things we learn from the children and putting the grandparents together.

The old saying it takes a village to raise a child. My daughter organises to spend time with me or have sleepovers so I can spend time with my granddaughter and free her up for time to herself or to run errands on her own. She also organises her other single mum friends to help by taking their children for 2 hours to give her friends a break and they do the same for her and that gives the kids play times together. I have a huge kids play centre around the corner so trips to nannas are always fun. Sometimes it’s just having me there to play with my granddaughter so she can have a long shower in peace and wash and dry her hair.

To prevent burn out self care is very important indeed ! As a single parent I think it’s very important for you to create that village whereby you ask family and friends to help with pick ups and drop offs or to watch your child for a few hours. You don’t mention how old your child is but when your child is going to school or child care I think it’s important to utilize these hours. Also prioritizing is extremely important

Me time is so important for mums – If you have close friends drop the kids at their place for a few hours and gather some time for yourself. Do the same in return so the friend can have some me time for herself as well.This really helps 😉 It is good for you and your kids well being.

If your daughter will not do sleep overs, would it work for her to have play dates with her grandparents which might give you some time after work or on the weekends. Even a couple of hours might give you time to get errands done and some time to yourself. My kids loved time with their grandparents – they were so spoilt.

Definitely take advantage of the help you have available to you. Resilience is such an important quality to instill into our kids. She has people who love and care for her willing to look after her. I would make sure she knows that. That you’ll be back soon, and only a phone call away to check in and say hello (be careful saying you’ll pick her up the moment she asks, because then she will immediately ask). It might be hard the first few times, but soon she’ll see that she has lots of fun and different experiences at their house. You deserve some time to yourself, and she will benefit from the confidence she’ll gain from short stays without you

In a nutshell, you need to exercise some tough love. If the grandparents are ready and willing to help- let them! Start small, drop your daughter over at the grandparents for play dates during the day and encourage her saying that they will do lots of fun things together. Then get some chores done child free. Once she is more used to it, start doing overnights and collecting her in the morning. Eventually, you might be able to stretch it to an afternoon pick up. It is good for you and your daughter. It will help with her social interactions.