Self-care tips for parents

PARENTS are great multitaskers, and as such, you might get out of balance and suffer symptoms of emotional and physical fatigue, depression and other health issues when you neglect self-care.

Burnout happens when you have been under excessive and prolonged stress. You become overwhelmed and begin to lose the motivation to do even the simplest things that need to be done.

Burnout drains your energy; makes you feel helpless and even resentful towards your children. It is therefore very important to create a self-care commitment because for you to take care of your family, you must first take care of yourself.

Self-care tips

1. Act now!!! Prevention is better than cure. Don’t wait until you suffer a burnout before you begin self-care. Make it a priority for you. Create a balance between your work, your children, your home upkeep and self-care. Create time for self-care in your schedule. Self-care can be visits to the spa, exercise routines, your hobbies “alone time”, a foot massage, pouring yourself a drink and lounging all by yourself etc.

• If you don’t have lumps of time, just take few minutes to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, massage your palms, your feet etc.

• Get enough quality sleep, eat nutritious meals and do some exercise even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

• Be sensitive to the signals your body is giving you and adjust ASAP! For instance, if you keep having recurring headaches, that’s your body telling you to slow down.

• Learn to say no to some requests and invitations sometimes. You don’t need to be everywhere everytime.

• Turn off the TV, put your phone and other devices away. Go outside and look around, enjoy nature, take a break, read a book, go for a walk.

•  Identify your triggers — those things that stress you, and tame them. For instance, if you get easily annoyed or irritated when you are hungry, then ensure that you eat at the appropriate time.

• Stop feeling guilty and don’t beat yourself up. Don’t begin to judge yourself or feel incapable as a parent. Be the parent your children love just as you are.

• Stop over-scheduling yourself and your children. Don’t overstuff your daily schedule with too many activities. Fix only very important tasks as the major frame of your schedule, then any other thing can be fixed in if there’s still some more time.

1. Do things for yourself. Take an online class, discover your purpose and do things in that direction, engage in your hobby etc. These little things to do for yourself make a huge difference in your emotional health.

1. Spend time with your spouse. Just having a conversation with your partner can give you the emotional boost you need.

1. Let your spouse help you.

1. Delegate if you have to.

1. Ask for help when you feel overwhelmed.

Finally, self-care is learning to know yourself and your limits. You can’t give what you don’t have. You can’t run your home on dry, you need to replenish yourself. A tired and stressed nice mum will soon become a yelling and angry mum, so you need to watch out so you don’t get worn out.

Remember, you can’t be the mum your children want and need unless you take care of yourself.

Did you find this helpful?

• For questions and more information on positive parenting, please send a chat to 08154299992 or find me on Instagram @winninginparenting