Practicing self-care when you have children
- samiadmoore1
- Mar 8, 2022
- 4 min read
[1]
Self-care is important. I have said it before and I will say it again, in fact I will keep saying it until you believe it. Self-care is important.
Self-care comes in many forms, from spending some time alone in order to recharge and eating the right kind of food to sleeping, meditating, and exercising, there isn’t one right way to care for yourself, however, what happens to this when you have children?
A friend recently told me “I used to go on about self-care all the time and then I had kids. And it became more important than ever, but the last thing I would do.”
And so, whether you have a new-born and you are trying to find a path through the new life you are now living, a rowdy toddler who won’t let you sit for five minutes without emptying that ever so needed coffee all over the floor, or a parent to more than one little angel, as my friend said, it is more important than ever to practice self-care.
I have written 5 easy ways in which you can practice self-care when you have children. Have a read and begin your self-care journey with your little one/s.
Sleep. [2]
With a young child, it is hard to sleep but as many people have said in the past, “when baby sleeps, you sleep”. I don’t want to hear any of this “but I have washing to do” or “the dishwasher needs emptying,” housework will wait. Your body needs to replenish the sleep that you have missed and so curl up with your little one or on the sofa nearby and let go.
If you are fortunate enough that your child sleeps through the night, don’t stay up looking through social media or binge watching the new series of Dexter, go to sleep. YOUR BODY NEEDS SLEEP……SO SLEEP!!!
Manifestation. [3]
Each morning, when you wake up, tell yourself that you are good enough. You are worthy. You are beautiful. You can take on the world. Your children are lucky to have you and you are lucky to have them. Say something nice to yourself. The more you say it, the more you will believe it and you will create an aura that is beautiful and full of self-worth.
Cry. [4]
If you are feeling down, embrace the emotion. Don’t push it away and try to ignore it. Allow yourself to acknowledge it, feel it and connect with it. The more you understand the feeling, the more you will recognise it in the future and the reasons behind it and for the love of all that is good in the world, talk about it. TALK ABOUT IT!!! Please don’t hide away and think that you are alone. Many parents have burnout, and feel low, yet they don’t talk about it. It is easy to hide from what is happening rather than talk about it but to help yourself, and look after yourself, you need to talk.
Embrace nature.[5]
It is easy to forget about the great outdoors when you live in the United Kingdom due to it being winter all year round, however nature is your best friend. Being out and about releases endorphins into your body and makes you feel better within yourself. You and your children could find new places to visit, build dens, run through streams, smell flowers.
Use grounding techniques [6]
Grounding is a good way to release unwanted tension within your body, whether you are aware of it or not. Holding onto tension or stress, is harmful to yourself, therefore if you haven’t slept much, your little one is struggling, or you just wish to use it (like I do every evening) using a grounding technique can relax you and help you feel refreshed.
This technique takes a few moments:
Sit or stand with both feet firmly on the floor. Be upright and close your eyes.
Picture and feel a warm light above you, touching the top of your head. Allow it to slowly move downwards, feel the warmth in your face, over your eyes, around your mouth, allow it to move down slowly.
Feel it on your shoulders, relax and let your body embrace the warmth it brings.
Allow it to travel along your arms and hold it in your hands for a brief moment before letting go and relaxing your fingers.
Feel it move down your chest, across your stomach, into your hips and the top of your legs. Allow yourself to feel its warmth and picture the light.
Let your body push it downwards, so that it is moving through your legs and into your ankles and feet then push it through your feet into the ground.
Take three deep breaths: One, inhale (count to three in your head) exhale (count to three in your head). Two, inhale (count to three in your head), exhale (count to three in your head). Three, inhale (count to three in your head), exhale (count to three in your head).
Once you have finished your third breath and you feel ready, open your eyes
It is important that self-care makes you feel good within yourself, and it is something that you enjoy. Why not practice and let me know how you feel afterwards, you could even do these with your child regardless of their age. If you have other ideas of what self-care looks like to you, why not message me.
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