May 13th, 2020 / 0 Comments

Parenting requires a lot of things – patience, gentleness, consistency and most of all, energy. But the chronic stress that many of us are experiencing from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can drain that energy and lead to fatigue. Now, more than ever, it’s important to take care of yourself!
Self-care – whether it’s baking, taking a bath, going for a bike ride or reading a book – can help you recharge your batteries and get back that much needed parenting energy. And the great thing about self-care is that it doesn’t have to take much time. Just 30 seconds of stretching or meditation every few hours can make a world of difference. Self-care gives us more bandwidth so we have increased capacity to manage stressors – including children who are likely to be having meltdowns and pushing limits.
As an added bonus, modeling self-care for your children helps them to learn healthy strategies to manage stress, too. Talk to your kids about the ways you choose to take care of yourself and how you handle your big emotions like fear, frustration, sadness and irritability. You can even practice some self-care and coping skills together as a family.
So give yourself a timeout every day. Take a break and try one the following ways to calm yourself and be in the moment:
When parental stresses begin feeling overwhelming, focusing on the negative can make you feel more out of control and can make those emotions even bigger. Positive self-talk can help you feel calm and identify the things you can do to control the situation. Next time you feel yourself being overwhelmed, try saying, “I can do this. It will be okay. I’ve done this before and I can do it again.”
Here are some more ideas for parental self-care during this pandemic:
And remember, it’s okay for your kids to be watching TV or playing video games during your self-care time. Just do what you need to decompress, and do it as often as you can!
Posts from Laura Gray, PhD
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Talking to children about a positive COVID-19 test result
Doom and Gloom: COVID-19 fears and January
How do I get a 7-year-old child to stop screaming when she doesn’t get her way?
Helping your child support a friend with mental health challenges