I am delighted to introduce Cheryl Lee-White a local parenting blogger who has kindly written this blog all about self-care, which is sooo important!
Time Out for You
Taking time out for you and implementing a self-care routine is probably one of the best things you can do as a parent. It will not only leave you feeling refreshed and relaxed but it will help improve mental health and allow you to parent better.
In our busy parenting lifestyles, it is so easy to put our own self-care to the back of the list and we tend to focus on everyone else but ourselves. This however will eventually lead to feeling burnout.
By implementing small regular self-care into your day you will find that you are better able to focus, think positivity and are less susceptible to stress and anxiety.
So as a busy parent how do we implement self-care?
Before children self-care may have been to go out for the day, spend the whole day chilling in bed, have a spa day or spend the day out with friends. After having children these options may not always be possible so below are some small but effective ways to implement a bit of self-care into your everyday.
Take 10 Minutes
Set yourself at least 10 minutes every day to sit quietly. This sounds so simple but it is often hard to set aside 10 minutes for ourselves. Why not try getting up before the kids, or ensuring if your children nap take this time to yourself before starting any chores you may have. You could also do this in the evening after the kids have gone to bed. You can even use this time to sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy drinking it while it is still warm.
Listen to Music
Listening to music can be a great way to relax your mind and take some self-care. Whether you do this will taking a break or whilst doing your chores listening to music will help relax and de-stress your mind.
Go to https://www.spotify.com/uk/ and search inspirational music to get some uplifting tunes.
Exercise
Exercise is a great way to de-stress and relax your mind. Exercising will release endorphins into your body these are the chemicals the body uses to relieve stress and pain and can also trigger positive feelings in the body.
Going for a run, doing a 10 – 20-minute HITT work out or doing yoga are all great ways to fit exercise into our busy days. You can even do these with children and get them involved too and starting an exercise routine from a young age.
Hobbies
Finding a hobby that you enjoy and taking some time out to partake in this hobby can have great benefits. This can be anything from reading, drawing, painting, baking or knitting the list goes on. Find time at least once a week to carry to immerse yourself in doing something for yourself that you enjoy.
The Author – written by Cheryl Lee-White a lifestyle and parent blogger at www.thesimplemum.com and an award-winning children’s author of The Book of Silly Rhymes and Pete the Cheeky Parakeet.
