New parents, working parents, stay-at-home parents and single parents, they all have different parenting styles, but one thing is for sure – they are all under a lot of pressure. This everyday stress not only affects their health, but also messes with their parenting, patience and desire to be a good parent. So, if you want to really give your kids the best childhood possible, you need to learn how to cope with all that parenting stress.
Get Organised
The way you start your day has a huge impact on your stress levels. If you’re always late in the morning due to breakfast issues or lost socks, you need to be better organised in order to alleviate stress. For instance, plan or prepare breakfast in advance and lay out your kids’ outfits in the evening. This way, you just need to heat up the breakfast, order your kids to get dressed and you can be out the door without any hurry.
Divide And Conquer
Many parents, especially mothers, tend to think they need to do everything alone, but that’s not true. There are some tasks that need to be done by mums, but every other chore can be divided. Spouses can make lunch and dinner, clean up or help with feeding just as well as mums can! Toddlers and babies can’t really help, but older kids can do their part of the job and reduce parents’ stress. If you divide your chores, you’ll conquer stress in no time.
Have Fun With Kids
Many parents are so concentrated on their kids’ academic success and sporting achievements that they forget that kids are just kids. A huge part of parenting involves just loving, cuddling and laughing with your little ones. Not every moment needs to be scheduled with a specific goal in mind. Don’t get too upset if your kid needs some help with maths – you don’t have to go searching the internet to help them with homework. Today, you can find an online math tutor to help your kid before a big test and you can spend the rest of the day playing, watching TV or just relaxing. These professionals can not only help your kid better than you, but also allow you to spend time with your child that doesn’t include school work.
Have Fun By Yourself
Sure, you’re a parent, but that doesn’t have to mean that you need to give up all your hobbies, friends and relaxation. Every once in a while, you need to have some quality “me time” and book a spa treatment, have a few drinks with your friends or go out for brunch and shopping. That time away from home will not make you a bad parent – au contraire! It will release stress and allow you to be loving, caring and energetic with your kids and partner.
Concentrate On The Good News
Parents today can be very negative, especially if they spend the day listening to the news. All those negative things we see can send our stress responses through the roof. But, not everything is so bad. Every day, your child smiles, they give you hugs, they have fun in school with their friends and they sleep soundly in their beds at night. Make sure to keep these positive images in your mind and you’ll boost good mood and allow good hormones to be released into the brain.
Seek Professional Help
Sometimes, nothing you do will allow you to relax and relieve stress. It’s totally understandable if your stress levels reach their maximum and you get unable to fight it. Unforeseen events and changes happen every day, people get sick, natural disasters occur and jobs get hard. In case you start feeling really overwhelmed, don’t try to soldier through and keep everything inside. You can always find a good support system that will help you deal with stress in a healthy way. There are excellent counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists that have training and experience in dealing with your type of problems. And sometimes even just discussing your stress can help with coping.
Don’t let stress ruin the best part of your life – parenthood. Learn how to control it and how to deal with your negative thoughts and you’ll enjoy being a parent more than ever before. Having kids is a gift, so you need to make sure you cherish it!
Author Bio
Diana Smith is a full time mom of two beautiful girls interested in business and marketing related topics.
In her free time she enjoys exercising and preparing healthy meals for her family.