A few weeks before I found out I was pregnant with my first child, an acquaintance told me "use Pinterest as much as you can now because you won 't be able to do it when you have kids." I was intrigued by the notion that I would have to give up on my personal interest to be a mother. Needless to say, her statements motivated me to make self care a priority when I became a mother.
When flying and preparing for a flight, the flight attendant instructs us to put our mask on first before helping someone else. Why...because you will die in the process of saving someone else. Self care is the first thing to go when you become a mom and with each kid, it is easy to lose more of yourself. Women have a belief that it is their job to be the "martyr" …show more content…
In my counseling practice, I encounter moms who are depressed and anxious due to their perceived inability to manage multiple duties often times while working full time. These women like many of us are taught to be selfless. Therefore, doing anything other than that make us feel as if we are not doing something that women are capable of doing. Leading to the thought, why can’t we make everything work. If being able to do everything was possible, we would not be talking about self identity and self care. What I try to offer moms is hope about being able to maintain their identity and self care while being a mom. I typically recommend the …show more content…
Browse books at your public library while sitting with your kids in the play area. Include a few kid and adult activities when you plan a family vacation. Have your friends and their kids join you at the park for a day of fun.
Protect Your Space
Make NO your favorite word. Turn down invites. Do not feel obligated to take your kid to every party they are invited to. Only do things that bring a smile to your face when you think about doing them. If you are lukewarm about engaging in an activity, just say no. Set perimeters around when you are available to talk to people. A perimeter might be not answering your phone on weekends, setting a Do Not Disturb on your phone after a certain time.
Our kids are our greatest teachers. They naturally think about themselves first. We have learned how to make ourselves less of a priority because of our beliefs around being mothers and women. We can revert to our natural selves by making a decision to put ourselves first again and not making excuses for not doing so. The mother that told me I would no longer have time for Pinterest was wrong, I still use Pinterest and maybe more often since I’m always looking for ideas on how to do things more
When flying and preparing for a flight, the flight attendant instructs us to put our mask on first before helping someone else. Why...because you will die in the process of saving someone else. Self care is the first thing to go when you become a mom and with each kid, it is easy to lose more of yourself. Women have a belief that it is their job to be the "martyr" …show more content…
In my counseling practice, I encounter moms who are depressed and anxious due to their perceived inability to manage multiple duties often times while working full time. These women like many of us are taught to be selfless. Therefore, doing anything other than that make us feel as if we are not doing something that women are capable of doing. Leading to the thought, why can’t we make everything work. If being able to do everything was possible, we would not be talking about self identity and self care. What I try to offer moms is hope about being able to maintain their identity and self care while being a mom. I typically recommend the …show more content…
Browse books at your public library while sitting with your kids in the play area. Include a few kid and adult activities when you plan a family vacation. Have your friends and their kids join you at the park for a day of fun.
Protect Your Space
Make NO your favorite word. Turn down invites. Do not feel obligated to take your kid to every party they are invited to. Only do things that bring a smile to your face when you think about doing them. If you are lukewarm about engaging in an activity, just say no. Set perimeters around when you are available to talk to people. A perimeter might be not answering your phone on weekends, setting a Do Not Disturb on your phone after a certain time.
Our kids are our greatest teachers. They naturally think about themselves first. We have learned how to make ourselves less of a priority because of our beliefs around being mothers and women. We can revert to our natural selves by making a decision to put ourselves first again and not making excuses for not doing so. The mother that told me I would no longer have time for Pinterest was wrong, I still use Pinterest and maybe more often since I’m always looking for ideas on how to do things more