Why is self-care important?
Why is it important to take care of yourself when you are a parent?
If you were going to run a marathon, you would probably do several of the items on this list:
- Read inspiring stories about people who run
- Get tips from people who run
- Set up a training schedule
- Learn to pace yourself.
- Eat good food.
- Drink lots of water.
- Stretch your muscles.
- Get as much sleep as possible.
Being a parent is like running a marathon every day!
What are the benefits of practicing self-care everyday?
- Puts Gas in Your Gas Tank – Self Care Gives Energy:
Parenting is hard work and requires energy. Taking care of yourself as a parent means that you will have the energy to really be a good parent.
- When Everything Goes Wrong--Self Care Increases Patience
Parenting requires a tremendous amount of patience every day.
- Start ‘em early – Your Self-Care Increases Your Child’s Self-Care
Our children watch everything we do! If your child is watching you take good care of yourself then they learn how to take good care of themselves too – which will make both of your lives much easier!
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Every couple of hours, I make sure that I take at least 5 minutes to do something for myself. This way I make sure that I have enough energy to be a good parent to my two-year old son -- play train, say “no” a dozen times, pick up a thousand blocks, read Dr. Seuss, ignore his whining, dance to Halloween songs (in January) and on and on and on!
My two-year old loves music. So do I! When we are starting to get on each other’s last good nerve, I say, “Let’s listen to some music – it will help us feel better.” And it always does.
I am trying to stretch my old muscles every day. My son gets down on the floor with me and does “yogo”(yoga!) too.
I am trying to drink more water these days to keep my immune system up, so I walk around with a water bottle. So does my child.
I like to read my People magazine to relax. My son sits besides me reading his Noodle magazine! |
