Self-Care Isn't Selfish

How often in a course of a day do you find yourself just trying to endure a difficult moment with your child?  You love your children, but this thing called parenting is not easy and it can be stressful and overwhelming. You feel like you are constantly doing things for your children; feeding, clothing, cleaning, driving, teaching, disciplining, and more.  How often do you take time to focus on yourself?

Practicing self-care is actually an important step to being the best parent you can.  When you are on an airplane, they tell you that you need to put your oxygen mask on first before you help others because you will not be able to help anyone else if you can’t breathe.  This rings true for parenting as well.  You cannot pour from an empty cup.

What is self-care?  It is just what it sounds like--taking care of yourself.  Self-care does not always mean going to the spa for the weekend or spending tons of money on yourself.  Self-care can mean doing simple, basic things for ourselves that we may forget or not get time to do during the day; taking a shower, eating a meal, and getting enough sleep are just a few.  Self-care also includes emotional, social, psychological, creative/artistic, and even spiritual time for ourselves.

When we neglect to take care of ourselves, parenting can become a bigger challenge than it already is!  We can become more irritable, exhausted, and overwhelmed. Parenting takes a lot of energy the way it is so it is important to take time to energize.  Otherwise it can become even more difficult to care for our children. Do something today that your future-self will thank you for!