As parents, we all want to give our children the very best — the best education, home life, financial beginnings, and more. But what about you?
Parents often forget one important thing — to give our children our best selves. Your mental health and well-being is the most important thing that you could give your children. Before my daughter was born, I had an idea that being a parent was difficult, but I had no idea just how challenging the task was until I joined “the parenthood.” Parenting requires a balance of patience, time management, and resilience. Of all those things, the most important thing to manage as a parent is your own happiness.
After becoming a parent, I found that I had very little time for self-care. Heck, taking a shower is a challenge, and an uninterrupted bath is just a dream some days. Between work and home obligations, it is easy to feel like you are drowning in this parenting sea. I have a lot of support, but sometimes I still feel like there is not enough time in the day.
No matter how limited my free time, I am now intentional about making time for my mental and emotional health. Each day, I attempt to make taking better care of myself a priority. With my hectic schedule, self-care was at the bottom of my task list and often went undone. To assist with creating and maintaining a self-care regimen, I created a daily checklist.
Each day, I attempt to:
- Meditate for five minutes
- Utilize aromatherapy
- Walk for 30 minutes
- Drink plenty of water
- Check in with a friend
Of all the things we give our children, healthy parents should be at the top of the list. This parenthood thing is far from easy, but we owe it to ourselves and our children to invest in our emotional and mental health. Parenting is time-consuming and difficult, but try to make time to be the best you that you can be!
Carlissa Shaw is a local attorney and mother of one daughter, age 2.