Quick And Easy Self-Care Strategies For Parents Everywhere

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If you’re looking for quick and easy self-care strategies for parents, then you’re reading the right post.

After a day spent trying hard not to yell at our vivacious child, we realised that we were very close to burnout and that we needed to do something.

Fast.

Like many, we don’t want to be angry parents.

We want to teach our child how to live his bliss and we know that the most effective way to do that is to lead by example.

In a hurry or just curious?

Go straight to Real Subliminal and download your FREE audio today!

Unfortunately, we didn’t quite start at the very beginning or followed a plan.

We simply started googling for self-care strategies for parents because we’ve read time and again that you can only really be an effective parent if you take care of yourself first.

While on our googling binge, we came across this image. For some reason that no one knows (yeah, right), it really made us laugh (silently, of course, because our toddler had FINALLY fallen asleep and no way was I going to risk waking him up again).

Anyone else here a permanently exhausted pigeon who could really use coffee 24/7?

We see a lot of memes making fun of a parent’s lack of sleep and constant tiredness (because let’s face it, we’ll cry otherwise). Along with hearty congratulations, “good luck” is one of the first things that new parents hear.

In our case, we were actually in for a pleasant surprise.

We expected hourly wake-ups, sleepless nights as well as lots of screaming because Jade was like that as a baby. She used to cry for hours on end as soon as the clock struck 6PM. To this day, no one knows why.

Anyway, when LG was born, he wasn’t a unicorn baby but he only woke up every two hours and didn’t cry unless separated from us. He very rarely screamed his lungs out.

We were ecstatic.

And yet, we were still exhausted pigeons.

Now, he’s 2 years old and we are just slowly realising that in the midst of this madness called parenting, we need to remember ourselves.

We’ve all heard of the saying that it’s better to give than to receive. Actually, and probably more importantly, we all need to remember that we cannot pour from an empty cup. What can you give if you have nothing?

The problem with self-care

The problem with self-care, you might say, is that we’re just too busy.

Most modern households need to have both parents working full-time just to pay the bills (although with a good financial plan, you can find a way to live comfortably on one income.)

We don’t normally have extended family close by to help out. Or if they are close by, they’re also probably working full-time.

We’ve lost our tribe and we’re now rushing around like mad. Who’s got time for self-care? We barely have time to nip to the loo.

Your self-care strategies

So, as busy parents juggling multiple things, what can we do?

Well, we asked our readers for tips and you generously answered. Here’s a growing list of simple self-care strategies as given by ordinary busy parents (emphasis ours).

1. “Every day, make time to do something that’s vital to YOU. For me, it’s reading.”

– Seonaid, Thunderpoint Publishing

2. “Mummy and baby fitness classes. Counts as a social group for them and me. Great for mental and physical well-being.”

– Sally

3. “Take some time off by myself, even if it’s just a cup of coffee outside or when the kids are asleep, it’s making sure I carve a little time without phone, without anyone asking me or touching me, just me.”

– Nahomie, Epanouie Within Photography

4. “Listening to music and eating chocolate.”

– Milady

5. “Sleep and rest.”

– Criselda and Nimfa

6. “Pray. Self-Forgiveness. Forgive Others. Thinking positive thoughts with a smile. Exercise. Reading a book. Listening to relaxing music. Watching a movie. Going out / celebrating with friends. Drinking coffee or tea. Sleep. Declutter things. Massage. Facial treatment. Shopping.”

– Mildred

7. I like reading books, riding on my exercise bike for 1 hour and listening to music.

– Orsha

Our Self-Care Strategies

If you want to know what we do at home and, therefore, what we recommend, then you can check out the list below.

We find them extremely effective and tend to minimise explosive blow-ups and allow us to react with grace under pressure.

Side Note: If you’re looking for our list of unique self love gift ideas, then check out our post The Gift Of Self-Care: Self Love Gift Ideas That No One Ever Thinks To Give.

1. Be gentle with yourself

Remember Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata, “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”

So, don’t berate yourself for past failures. This doesn’t help.

Talk to yourself the way you would talk to your best friend – with great care and love.

If you’re having a tough time seeing the beauty in you, then we recommend listening to Lisa Nichols’ Discover Your Worthiness Meditation.

Not into guided meditations or just can’t follow along?

Then you’ll benefit from listening to a subliminal recording. For more information, you can take a look at Real Subliminal’s Boost Your Self-Esteem audio.

Side Note: I love listening to these audio files whilst I’m doing a spa-at-home day. Changed my life!

2. Play with your children

Yes, you’re touched out. Yes, sometimes you just want to be left alone. And that’s fine. All perfectly normal.

Just remember that children laugh way more than adults and if you let their joie de vivre touch you, you’ll be enjoying the very real physical benefits that laughter can give you.

Don’t know how to start?

Try asking them if you could join whatever they happen to be doing at the time.

Then, let them direct you.

Are they building a fort? How can you help?

Playing a video game? Most games have two-player options.

The key is to join them and then do what they say, not commandeer playtime.

As many parenting experts say, play is when children should have full control of whatever happens. So, no vetoing whatever they want, okay?

Obviously, this doesn’t count if there are obvious safety risks involved.

But if they want to their T-Rex to be Humpty Dumpty and make them fall off the wall, don’t ruin the moment by scoffing at the absurdity of it all.

For more ideas on how to incorporate play in your parenting, you must read Lawrence Cohen’s Playful Parenting.

3. Meditate

On top of the 12 benefits that healthline discussed, I believe that letting your thoughts go without judgement is perhaps one of the greatest benefits you can ever get from meditation.

It doesn’t even have to be that hard.

YouTube has a plethora of meditation videos designed for beginners.

Also, did you know that you that there are some forms of meditation where you don’t even have to sit cross-legged somewhere and focus on anything in particular?

Yep, you can.

They’re called Subliminals and these are what we use when the only time we have to meditate is right before falling asleep.

There are many videos on YouTube that contain subliminal messaging but since you don’t know who actually is behind them, we’re wary of using them.

If you’re interested in trying these out, we highly recommend Real Subliminal, which has over 9 years’ experience and is well-established in the industry.

In a hurry?

Go straight to Real Subliminal and download your FREE audio today!

4. Write on a journal

There’s something unbelievably cathartic in the simple act of putting pen to paper and dumping your thoughts there. Have you tried it? Forget typing on your laptop or your phone.

If there are worries swimming in your head, try writing them down – all of them, with no filter. You’d be surprised how much better you feel afterwards. If you’re lucky, you might even manage to come up with a solution. The brain is strange that way.

We sort of fell into bullet journalling on a whim and never looked back. Seriously, the most effective way to declutter your mind and get a semblance of inner peace – much needed in today’s chaotic world.

The following products are our top picks for bullet journalling because, if you don’t already know, it’s as much art as anything else. It’s like those zen colouring books you see becoming ever more popular.

We highly recommend!

5. Get enough sleep

When people get stressed, the first thing that suffers is sleep. Ironically, this then leads to more anxiety and an inability to concentrate (which won’t help you find a solution to whatever problem you’re facing), which further leads to loss of sleep.

It’s a vicious circle.

If you find yourself consistently losing sleep, unable to fall asleep in the first place or waking up before you get a full night’s rest, consider trying tapping therapy for anxiety or even guided meditation for insomnia.

Alongside these mental exercises, you can also try the following products, which has helped Jade tremendously (PS. Some of them are really pricey but they go on sale often so when they do, grab them!).

6. Go out with your partner

If you have one and with friends or family if you don’t – Some quality time with other adults can help you recharge and remember that you are your own person. You have an identity beyond being a parent that needs to be acknowledged.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, different people have different ways of taking care of themselves. After all, we all like different things.

And we don’t even need to go somewhere fancy (although we can) or spend a lot of money (although again, we can) to focus on ourselves.

Sometimes, we just need to pause, take a deep breath and smile.

It can really be that simple.

How about you?

How do you take care of yourself? How do you relax and recharge in this mad, stressful world?

If you have any tips that you’d like to share, please drop them in the comment section below. We look forward to hearing from you! 🙂

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