The Importance of Self Care as a Parent

Happy New Year!

It is 2023 and I want to ask you to take something in to the New Year that will serve you, your children and your whole family throughout it: self-care.

Self-care is important for everyone, but it is especially important for parents. Anyone who read last week’s Christmas blog post will know what I mean by that.  Parents are often so busy caring for their children that they don’t take time to care for themselves. This can lead to burnout and chronic stress. When you are taking care of others, it can be easy to forget about yourself. But if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of your family. That’s why it’s so important to make time for self-care, even if it’s just a few minutes each day.

Self-care can look different for everyone, but there are some basic things that all parents should do to take care of themselves. Getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and exercising are all important forms of self-care. But self-care can also include things like taking a break to read or watch a movie, spending time with friends, or doing anything that makes you happy.

One of the things parents struggle with is the endless ‘to do’ list: the parenthood juggle of life. It can feel like there’s just not enough time in the day to get everything done, let alone take care of yourself. But if you don’t make time for self-care, you’ll eventually reach a breaking point. That’s why it’s so important to schedule in some ‘me time’ every day, even if it’s just for an hour.

Often, when parents do find an hour to ‘not do anything’ they can easily fill it. How many times have you found ‘an hour’ and thought, ‘oh I’ll just do….’ and find something from the list to fill it? How many times have you sat down with a cuppa and, instead of relaxing and switching off, felt guilty that you should be doing something, or that you are wasting time? This is actually a sign that you really do need to relax. If this resonates with you, then you need to make a bracketed time a couple of times a week that you can call your own. To do with what you want. You need it in order to balance as a person.

If you’re not used to prioritizing self-care, it can be difficult to know where to start. But there are plenty of resources out there to help you get started. There are online courses, books, and articles about self-care for parents. You can also talk to your doctor or a therapist about ways to incorporate self-care into your life.

Making time for self-care is essential for all parents. It will help you be a better parent and a happier person. So don’t wait, start incorporating self-care into your life today and make 2023 the year you rework how you approach life, and yourself.