As parents, it can be easy to hyperfocus on your children’s wellbeing. Most of the time, you may see their needs taking priority over yours. This is a normal feeling. Some parents can even feel selfish when they take time for themselves. This is normal as well.
The best way to illustrate why taking care of yourself is an important parenting strategy is using airplane guidelines. When the flight attendant tells you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, before putting it on your children, it best illustrates why self-care is so important. To properly care for your children, your state of mind, physical health, and emotional wellbeing needs to be taken care of first. This will allow you to be a better parent, caregiver, and guardian.
Here are some ways you can take care of yourself, while taking care of children.
Set boundaries
According to Psychology Today, “It is incumbent on parents to draw boundaries with their kids so they make sure their needs are also met.”
Psychology Today suggests establishing limits on your time and the number of hours you’re going to be available for their activities. With older children, you can set expectations with them of when your self-care time is. Something simple as “I need 10 minutes to myself” can be helpful in letting a teen or preteen navigate time without you.
Practice self-care in the little moments
Being a parent takes a lot of time. Self-care doesn’t have to take a whole day, or even a whole hour. Mental Health Expert Sonali Gupta writes on UNICEF that “The time I take out for myself is what I call my ‘Pause Rituals’ – a conscious pause in the day followed by rituals that are self-soothing at a physical, mental and social level. The key is to focus on just one thing when engaging in these self-soothing practices and to build it into the day, even if it means 10 minutes on a very busy day. I go for a walk alone at a fixed time every day, meditate and listen to soothing sounds in the morning, take a 15-minute power nap (more if I can) and spend time reading non-fiction.”
Have fun and remember that caring for yourself will also positively impact those in your family. It’s a win-win situation.
Take this time to have fun and explore ways to relax. Here are some great resources with ideas of what to do during your self-care time:
Using these resources, and any you can find yourself, we hope you take the time to have a rejuvenating moment to yourself.