Introduction: Parenting While the World Spins
No one really tells you how hard parenting is when you’re healthy — let alone when the room won’t stop spinning.
You wake up groggy and unsure if it’s the sleep deprivation or the vertigo again. Your child is calling from the other room, full of life, and all you can think is: Please let me be able to stand today. You reach for the walls, the doorframe, anything stable, praying the ground won’t tilt beneath you.
This is the daily reality for parents living with vestibular disorders — a group of conditions that affect balance, spatial orientation, and the ability to move confidently through the world.
And yet, here you are. Still showing up. Still trying. Still loving, even when your own body feels like it’s betraying you.
This blog is for you — the dizzy parents trying to care for their kids while navigating a storm only they can feel.
The Hidden Challenge of Vestibular Disorders
Vestibular disorders are invisible illnesses, but their impact is anything but silent.
They range from:
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
- Vestibular Migraine
- Vestibular neuritis and Labyrinthitis
- Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)
- Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS)
- Meniere’s disease
- Bilateral vestibular loss
Each one disrupts the delicate balance system controlled by your inner ear and brain — and can lead to:
- Chronic dizziness or vertigo
- Imbalance and falls
- Brain fog and memory issues
- Light and sound sensitivity
- Visual motion sensitivity
- Fatigue, anxiety, and depression
For parents, these symptoms intersect with the chaos of toddler tantrums, school drop-offs, bedtime routines, and emotional labor. It’s a perfect storm
A Personal Perspective: When Parenting and Vertigo Collide
I remember holding my baby, gently rocking him in the dark, only to feel the room start tilting. I wasn’t moving — but my brain thought I was falling. My heart raced. My vision blurred. I felt like I might faint.
But I couldn’t lie down. He needed me.
So I stood still, using every ounce of focus to steady my body, hum a lullaby, and pretend I wasn’t terrified.
Moments like these aren’t rare — they’re the quiet, exhausting normal for dizzy parents. And they come with guilt:
- Guilt for lying down when your child wants to play.
- Guilt for asking for help again.
- Guilt for not being the “fun” parent today.
But you are not failing. You are navigating the impossible with grace, whether you feel it or not.
What Causes the Dizziness?
Your vestibular system, located in the inner ear, acts like your body’s GPS and gyroscope. It works with your eyes, muscles, and brain to keep you balanced and oriented.
When this system is damaged or disrupted, your brain receives conflicting information about movement, leading to symptoms like:
- Spinning sensations (vertigo)
- Rocking/swaying (non-spinning dizziness)
- Imbalance when walking or standing
- Visual disturbances (e.g. motion sensitivity, light sensitivity)
Triggers can include:
- Hormonal shifts (hello postpartum!)
- Illness or infection (like vestibular neuritis)
- Migraine activity
- Trauma or concussion
- Autoimmune or metabolic conditions
- Chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation
The Physical and Emotional Toll of Parenting with Vestibular Dysfunction
The physical limitations are real:
- You avoid picking your child up for fear of falling.
- You dread the supermarket — too many lights, sounds, movement.
- You say no to playgrounds or carousels because your brain can’t process motion.
But the emotional impact runs even deeper.
Many parents with vestibular disorders experience:
- Isolation – avoiding social settings because of symptoms
- Shame – feeling like they’re not doing enough
- Fear – of falling while holding a child or being alone with them during an attack
- Burnout – from constant compensation and masking symptoms
Vestibular disorders can also impact mental health, leading to anxiety, panic, depression, and even trauma from the unpredictability of attacks.
The Missing Piece: Vestibular Physiotherapy
Here’s where vestibular physiotherapy comes in — a game-changer for many dizzy parents.
What is it?
Vestibular physiotherapy is a specialized form of rehabilitation that helps retrain the brain and body to compensate for vestibular dysfunction.
It uses tailored exercises to:
- Improve balance and reduce falls
- Reduce motion sensitivity and vertigo
- Restore confidence in movement
- Help the brain adapt to or “ignore” faulty vestibular signals
How does it work?
Vestibular physiotherapists will typically:
- Conduct a thorough assessment (eye movements, gait, balance, head/neck coordination)
- Diagnose the type and source of dizziness or vertigo (BPPV, Vestibular Migraine, PPPD etc)
- Design a custom exercise program — often short and manageable for parents
- Offer strategies for pacing, posture, and visual desensitization
Over time, the brain learns new patterns and stabilises balance signals — meaning less dizziness, more function, and better quality of life
Why Vestibular Physiotherapy is Ideal for Parents
Because it’s:
- Practical – focuses on real-world movement like walking, bending, picking up kids
- Efficient – sessions are short and focused
- Customisable – can be adjusted for energy levels, flares, and parenting needs
- Empowering – gives you tools to actively improve your symptoms, not just manage them
At clinics like The Vertigo Co, patients often say they feel “seen for the first time.” It’s not just about the exercises — it’s about being understood and supported through a deeply disorienting experience.
Realistic Strategies for Dizzy Parents
If you’re in the thick of it, here are small but powerful ways to navigate parenting while dizzy:
1. Anchor Your Body Before You Move
Before bending, turning, or picking up a child:
- Plant both feet
- Breathe slowly
- Turn your head slowly and deliberately
2. Use Support Freely
- Sit on the floor to play instead of standing
- Use strollers or chairs to lean on
- Ask older kids to bring toys or books to you
3. Simplify Visual Chaos
- Reduce screen motion and scrolling
- Dim harsh lights
- Avoid over-stimulating environments (busy shopping centres, playgrounds with fast movement)
4. Prioritise Recovery Over Guilt
- Rest during naps or screen time
- Use noise-cancelling headphones like (Loop Switch https://au.loopearplugs.com/products/switch?variant=49478051823954) or FL41 glasses like Auvulux (https://avulux.com/) indoors if needed
- Say no to things that drain you — protect your nervous system
5. Explain in Kid Terms
If your child is old enough, say:
“Mum/Dad’s head gets dizzy sometimes. I just need to sit until it passes, then I can play again.” Kids often surprise us with how caring they can be.
The Power of Community and Validation
Perhaps the hardest part of vestibular parenting is the loneliness — people can’t see your symptoms. They see a parent on their phone or sitting down and assume you’re checked out. They don’t see that you’re concentrating on not falling over.
But there are others like you — in support groups, in therapy rooms, in vestibular clinics, in parenting forums. You’re not the only one.
You are not lazy. You are not weak. You are living in a tilted world and still showing up for your child every day.
That’s not failure. That’s resilience.
When to Seek Help
Don’t wait for it to “go away on its own.” Chronic dizziness may worsens without treatment — and the earlier you start vestibular physiotherapy, the faster your brain can adapt.
Seek a Vestibular Physiotherapist if you:
- Have dizziness triggered by head or body movement
- Avoid looking around too much or watching fast TV
- Struggle with busy places or patterned environments
- Feel off balance even without vertigo
- Have lingering symptoms from a past virus or injury
- Can’t care for your children the way you want to due to dizziness
Final Thoughts: Redefining Strength
Strength is often mistaken for stamina, for pushing through without rest, for pretending you’re fine.
But the strength of a dizzy parent looks different.
It’s knowing your limits and still loving fully.
It’s using your breath to ground your body when your child cries.
It’s reaching out for help and trusting that even now — even dizzy — you are enough.
Vestibular disorders don’t get to define your worth or your ability to be a good parent.
And vestibular physiotherapy might just be the key to helping your brain and body find balance again — so you can parent not from survival, but from strength.
