Self Care Tips for Busy Parents

A tired parent will struggle to offer their best to their child. As a parent, remember that your well-being is important in managing all the roles you are asked to fill. The happier you feel about your own well-being, the better you will parent your child. Every busy day, there should be some space for yourself.

Here are nine suggestions to build your own personal well being package.

Mini Meditation Sessions

Make five minutes each day for a quick meditation session. Use a meditation app or simply sit quietly, focusing on your breath. Even short moments of mindfulness can reduce stress and improve mental clarity.

Prioritize Sleep

Establish a consistent bedtime routine and aim for quality sleep. Even if you can't get a full eight hours, prioritise rest by winding down with a book, reducing screen time before bed, and creating a calming sleep environment.

Move Your Body

Incorporate short bursts of physical activity into your day. A 10-minute walk, a quick yoga session, or a brief dance break with your kids can boost your mood and energy levels.

Delegate Tasks

Don't be afraid to ask for help or delegate tasks. Share household responsibilities with your partner or older children, and consider outsourcing certain chores if possible, such as grocery delivery or hiring a cleaner. Ask yourself the question, “does everything need to be done today?”

Enjoy a Hobby

Set aside a few minutes each day or week for an activity you love, whether it's reading, knitting, painting, or gardening. Engaging in a hobby can be a great way to relax and recharge.

Connect with Friends

Schedule regular catch-ups with friends, even if it's just a quick phone call or a virtual coffee chat. Maintaining social connections is important for emotional well-being and can provide a much-needed support system.

Practice Gratitude:

Spend a few minutes each day reflecting on what you're grateful for. Keeping a gratitude journal or simply noting three things you're thankful for can shift your focus to positive aspects of your life.

Take Micro-Breaks:

Throughout your day, take micro-breaks to stretch, breathe deeply, or simply step outside for a moment. These short pauses can help refresh your mind and reduce accumulated stress.

Develop a Sense of Humour.

When you laugh especially at yourself you feel better and begin to take things less seriously. This is great for your well being.

Mindfulness teaches us to focus on the moment and to enjoy the experience that we are living in at the time. By developing an optimistic outlook and celebrating the great work you are doing, rather than questioning what isn’t done well, will soften your feelings about yourself and enable you to savour the day.

Taking time to rest and recharge yourself makes you more attentive as a parent

-Gail J Smith

Let's get our kids involved in sport and fitness

As a family you can have quite an influence on your child developing a love for physical activities and sport. Your home can become an active environment where sport and fitness are highly valued as lifestyles. As a result, your child will see that enjoying and participating in sport is a way of life.

Consider:

Be Active Together: Set aside time for family activities like biking, hiking, or playing catch. Seeing you enjoy physical activity will inspire them to join in.

Find Their Interest: Expose them to various sports and activities to see what they enjoy most. Whether it is soccer, swimming, or dance, finding something they love increases their motivation. They will one it if they choose it!

Celebrate Efforts, Not Just Wins: Praise their participation and effort in sports, not just victories. This builds confidence and demonstrates simply the joy of being involved.

Create a Fun Environment: Make physical activity fun with games and playful challenges. Organize neighbourhood play dates or mini-tournaments with their friends. Use your backyard for sporty games with balls. Netball rings etc.

Set a Routine: Incorporate regular physical activity into their daily schedule. Consistency will breed more interest in repeating the activities.

Limit Screen Time: Encourage breaks from screens by setting specific times for physical activities. This can be all part of your weekly home routine.

Involve Their Friends: Arrange play dates or group activities with their friends. Children are more likely to engage in sports if their friends are participating too.

Join a Local Team or Class: Sign them up for local sports teams or classes. Being part of a team provides structure, social interaction, and a sense of belonging, which can be very motivating. Share in the sports activities by being a coach or becoming a member of the club etc.

Set Goals and Track Progress: Help them set achievable goals and track their progress. Celebrate milestones, no matter how small, to keep them motivated and focused. Smaller and more frequent goals are the best.

Active family conversation: Be a family that enjoys talking about sports. Celebrate some great achievements that you hear about such as the Matildas and Australia winning international events etc.

Keep our children active and physical

We are often focused on developing our intelligence which involves social, emotional and cognitive skills. What we need to keep in mind is that physical activity connects very much to our developing mindset and that children need to keep working on their physical development throughout their lives. In some cases, this is not difficult, as many children demand to be active and commit to different sports etc. very early in their life. There are of course some children who are reticent to be active and participate in team sports which are so beneficial for them on a range of levels.

There is considerable evidence that mental well-being is improved through physical activity. The synchronicity of mind and body is critical to good mental health. Who doesn’t really feel good when they are not physically active and moving well? Learning involves the brain, the body and the soul. At any age, physical activity helps us grow and feel so much better in ourselves. We learn better, we think better and we act better when we are more active.

This article is to remind us of the importance of keeping our children active and invigorating their days with movement of some sort.

Consider:

• When a child joins a sporting team, they gain immense skills in socially engaging with others, learning to be a team member and working in a collaborative manner under pressure.

• Keep your child regularly active. Consider joining them daily with a bike ride or just a walk around the park. The habit is a powerful reminder of what will make a difference to them in the long run.

• Use your backyard. Put up a basketball ring, a bounce set etc. Let them use all their domestic spaces to exercise and feel free.

• Talk about physical fitness frequently. Chat about heroes that work to keep fit.

• Set up routines with physical fitness for the family. It might be weekly bike rides or walks in parks. Develop a pattern where your children think that routine fitness is a family affair and one that is important to you.

• We often find after exercise that we are mentally more alert and keen to take on the challenges of the day. Choose the best time of the day for family exercise. Timing is everything in this matter.

• School has excellent opportunities for children to join various sporting teams. Encourage this and support them by attending sessions where possible. Children learn a lot more social skills when playing sports with peers. They also learn about empathy and cooperation as a team member.

• If your child does not show interest in sports, at least take them walking, hiking, cycling etc. to keep them interested in being physical. Competitive sport is not for everyone. Lead by example and take them along for different physical experiences.

• Children talk up their sports and enjoy engaging with each other through games etc. Keep your child aware of the value of being active and physical. This keeps them in tune with their peers and strengthens their relationships with them.

• No child likes to feel unaligned with their peers. Being in tune with their physical needs and educated in the value of physical fitness gives them mental aptitude. They cope well with their peers and feel equal.

• It is all about alignment with mind and body. As your child grows, teach them that being physically active can improve general health and give them a great sense of personal satisfaction. As they become more familiar with the benefits of being fit they will want to keep up the momentum. They will notice the difference themselves.

Finally, with all that is said today about mental health, I cannot recommend anything better for family stability than collective involvement in family physical activities. It is so good for the body and spirit and that wonderful sense of togetherness without complications.

‘Exercise not only changes your body, it changes your mind, your attitude and your mood’’

                                                                                          Unknown

Giving sport a high profile

I hear the debate is raging yet again about providing adequate sport in schools for children. Now I understand it is also about the schools offering defined skills in sport and giving children a real taste of engagement and a sense of feeling active through physical activity.

I understand that schools need to provide sport across the week. It offers children so much on so many physical and social levels. Some years ago, it was mandated by the government, the amount of time that must be given to sport across the week in schools. I can certainly see the reason and respect the concepts behind all of this. However, let’s be realistic. How much can teachers offer to children, given the heightened expectations that are already placed on them. Some teachers have a natural disposition to teach sport, are passionate about it and can teach very specific skills. Not all teachers have that skill and will work to the best of their ability to provide physical exercise and sporting activities but it is not their strength.

If we want to engage our children in sport, I think parents should engage their children in a sports activity that will offer them very specific skills in one area. The argument that rages at the moment is all about getting children involved, interested and passionate about being fitter and enjoying sport as a way of life. This is where parents should take responsibility and as a family engage in sport as a way of life. For example, join a football club, tennis club, swimming team etc. Find the sport that draws your child into it with enthusiasm and a developing drive to improve their performance.

Fabulous benefits of out of school sports

By engaging in organised out of school sport your child will:

• Learn about the value of teams and how they influence the individual.

• Understand how to improve their performance. They will come to recognise in themselves improvement through effort.

• Value healthy competition. Supporting other team members is also a great skill in human compassion and empathy.

• Understand cooperation and teamship.

• Value the importance of being fit.

The list goes on and yes teachers will do their best in the limited time they have to raise the profile of sport for children. However, it will not be the same as children taking part in an organised and well-managed team sport. They will be mixing with like-minded children and enjoy their parent’s involvement. The conversations at home are enriched as you talk about the sporting experiences and joy of the challenge.

 Of course, I caution that parents should research the sporting club and be satisfied that the values are what you want for your child. Once you join the club, you the parents will so gain from meeting like-minded parents.

Sport outside school is also about long term commitment. It requires regular attendance and loyalty to the sporting activities and events. It reduces a child’s downtime at home, which can often lead to reduced hours in front of a screen and it requires good family planning across the week.

Children initially will often vacillate about what sport they wish to join and there is some perseverance needed from parents here. However, keep the longer-term goal in mind. This is about your child actively involved in a sport that builds fitness, raises their awareness and joy of physical fitness and engages them for the long haul in physical sport.

Having a developed appreciation of the value of sport only comes from personal engagement and the joy of feeling well physically.   

“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”

— Pele