Faced with parental burnout, places to shed tears

Coffees are already served on the table, and cakes are just waiting to be devoured. Around the room, toys and stuffed animals are still in order. It's not until 10 o'clock on this August morning that the first parents walk through the door of the Maison verte in Niort (Deux-Sèvres). After taking off their shoes and rummaging around, the toddlers cross the red linoleum to throw themselves into the ball pit. Since 2014, the children-parents meeting place, inspired by the model created by child psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto , has fulfilled a valuable function: breaking the isolation of young and old. On average, a dozen parents visit the place—free of charge and without an appointment—every Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday morning. "The place allows them to unwind. They come to have a coffee, talk, exchange good advice and take a breather,” explains Mireille Jarry, director of the structure.

Herbal tea in hand, Anaïs, in her thirties, wanders through her memories. After giving birth in 2020, the feeling of exhaustion lasted six months. Her days became heavier than expected: between preparing meals, piling up laundry, her eldest daughter, the hormone surges linked to breastfeeding, the constant pressure to be a good mother, and a baby who barely sleeps more than twenty minutes.