Tips for Positive Stay-at-home Parenting
Ideas to Help Full-time Parents Stay Happy and Healthy
Stay-at-home parenting is said to be one of the most important, fulfilling yet frustrating job anyone can have. Some women meet the challenges of full-time parenting with great success while others struggle to avoid being completely stressed, burned out and/or depressed.
Stay-at-home parents who yearn for stress-free parenting should learn to put themselves first. After all, positive parenting can only start if parents are healthy emotionally, mentally and physically. Here are ideas to help full-time parents stay happy and healthy.
Eat Well to Keep Mood Stable
Parents who are depressed and anxious have very low levels of serotonin, the hormone responsible for improving mood, emotional stability and sleep. So eat foods rich in tryptophan, the building block from which serotonin is made. These include banana, bread, pasta as well as oily fish such as salmon and mackerel.
Foods rich in vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid are also important for the brain to produce serotonin effectively. Get these nutrients from avocados, fish, vegetables, baked potatoes and chicken. To ensure the body gets enough of these nutrients, take fish oil, vitamin B6 and B12 supplements.
Create Self-time
Many full-time mums feel guilty about not doing as much as they would like to for their kids. They feel bad when they have to leave the kids with someone else for two hours, when they don’t have the time to cook elaborate meals, when they can’t tidy up the house regularly, etc. Stop feeling that way. Even the most committed mother has to give herself some time.
Learn to create some self-time instead. Get all the kinds of support and help available – from the spouse, relatives, friends, playgroups, occasional childcare services, babysitters, fitness clubs, etc. This helps give mums some well-deserved self-time and overcome parenting stress.
Do Adult-Satisfying Activities Regularly
It’s true that the lives of many stay-at-home parents revolve around childcare and household chores. However, they can always make the effort to do adult-satisfying activities regularly, particularly after the children have gone to bed. Watch a real movie, listen to classical music, read a trashy romance novel, talk on the phone with a good friend or snuggle up with the spouse without interruptions. Meeting other adults – both parents and non-parents – regularly can also help.
Communicate Clearly with the Spouse
Clear and open communication between spouses often features prominently in happy marriages and families. So be clear about what you are asking of your partner – affection, physical intimacy, company or help with parenting and household chores.
Have a Child-free Area at Home
A home filled with children is understandably messy at times. Unfortunately, some people have a really hard time accepting living in a house filled with clutter. In that case, have a child-free area at home. It can be the master bedroom, the study room or just a space in the attic or basement where children are not allowed to go in. Busy parents with a nice, quiet and tidy little corner to escape to will have a better chance of staying happy and healthy.
Positive stay-at-home parenting starts with taking care of the parents’ well-being. This can be achieved by eating well, creating self-time, doing adult-satisfying activities, communicating clearly with the spouse and having a child-free area at home.
Found this article useful? Read also Stress Management for Stay-at-home Parents, Depression Management for Stay-at-home Mums, Burnout Management for Full-time Mums.
References:
Margot Sunderland. What every Parent Needs to Know. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2007.
Steve Biddulph. The Secret of Happy Children. Sydney: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.
Tips for Positive Stay-at-home Parenting
|
More in Partners & Parents
Latest Articles