How parents can add self-care to their daily routine
Self-care is a major topic of conversation in today’s day and age. Finding out what form of self-care works best for you, fitting it into your routine, and actually taking the time to enjoy it is hard enough to do with the most basic of schedules, but as a parent, it can seem impossible. Making time to focus on your well-being throughout the day is essential to parenthood. Whether you’re working from home, are back in the office, or are a stay-at-home parent, it can seem like there aren’t any hours left in the day for you to take care of yourself. We’re here to help you find ways to fit self-care into your daily routine with ease.
Start with the basics
Self-care is a process and set of practices that maintain both physical and mental well-being. People take part in acts of self-care daily based on what they eat, the activities they do, and even the hygiene they maintain. First and foremost, when you’re looking to incorporate a bit more self-care into your daily life, you have to understand what you want out of it. For some, they want time for relaxation, for others, they want to be able to enjoy some hobbies that have fallen by the wayside. It’s common to not know where to start, so let’s start with some simple questions.
Questions to ask yourself when creating your self-care routine:
What do you want from this routine?
Do you want to decompress?
What makes you feel your best?
What resources do you need to achieve this?
What will work better for you: self-care at the beginning or end of your day?
Asking yourself what you want out of this routine will help you align with some actionable and attainable goals. It’s also important to note that your self-care routine is not set in stone. If you take time for yourself to relax at night, but you actually find you have more time in the early morning hours for these activities, it’s okay to change things up. Being adaptable is an important part of taking care of yourself. Answering these questions also helps you understand what you need and when you need it. If you need time without your kids in order to fulfill certain aspects of your self-care, hiring a nanny can help alleviate the struggle to find child care. Having a trusted caretaker with your kids during these times will help you focus on your self-care journey for an hour or two instead of worrying about your kids being in the right hands.
Choose your self-care
There are many types of activities we can define as self-care. Truly any activity that reduces stress, increases joy, and overall has you feeling good is self-care. If you’ve been focusing on the well-being of others more than yourself, as many parents do, it can be challenging to think of self-care activities right off the bat. Here are some general ideas that can get your brain thinking about what self-care looks like for you.
Hobbies: Hobbies are a great opportunity to take time for yourself. You can even have hobbies that are both solitary and enlist quality time with the people around you to give you some much-needed social interaction. If you’re a big reader, you may consider creating or joining a book club to meet with friends and family to discuss the most recent read. Being a part of a book club will also give you reading goals that can help reinforce some alone time for reading. Other self-care-oriented hobbies can include some lone tasks, like knitting, gardening, playing music, and even watching a comfort movie or show.
Health: Wellness is a major aspect of most self-care routines and it can take many shapes. Your wellness can be as simple as spending some time on a skincare routine, indulging in a hair mask every few weeks, or just making sure you take your multivitamins each day. Focusing on your wellness as part of your self-care routine allows you to make sure you’re the healthiest you can be. Having the assistance of a nanny makes scheduling your annual appointments with physicians a breeze. Going to these appointments ensures your health is top-notch and will also help create some goals for your routine. Even with the busiest of schedules, you have the ability to keep up with your health from anywhere. Technology allows you to check on test results right from your phone, put prescriptions on auto-refill with the click of a button, order new glasses online when your prescription changes, and have your diet-specific foods delivered right to your door. Keeping up with your health and wellness is easier than ever before.
Meditation: Meditation is a great way to wind down your day or start your morning off right. There are many benefits to meditating, such as helping you gain skills to relieve stress, reduce the negative emotions you feel, and help gain more patience and tolerance. These benefits are just a few in a laundry list of positive outcomes surrounding meditation. While it may seem daunting to start meditating when you have little to no experience, there are many resources to help you get started. Online classes allow you to enjoy the practice from home, or if you want to get out of the house you can consider looking into classes held in person in your area.
Journaling: Journaling is a great solitary activity to incorporate into your self-care routine. There are many positive benefits to journaling. It helps with stress and anxiety management, allows you to document your growth as a person, find inspiration, and motivate self-confidence. Journaling can be especially useful for stay-at-home parents that don’t see much social interaction outside of the household. Giving yourself time each day to write about how you’re feeling and really sit with those emotions helps you better understand yourself and your needs. If you have an interest in journaling but don’t feel comfortable starting with a blank page, there are many journals with different daily prompts to help you feel more intentional about your journaling.
Take small steps
Inviting self-care into your daily life shouldn’t cause you any stress. When you make small changes, they’ll make a lasting impact on your life. Don't be afraid to call in reinforcements when you need some time to yourself. We’re here to help you and your family take charge of your health, wellness, and happiness.