As parents, we either forget or we never knew how important it is to take care of ourselves in a loving and compassionate way with boundaries. In order to take care of others, we must take care of ourselves. Like on an airplane, the stewardess tells parents to put the oxygen mask on first so that they can put the oxygen mask on their children.
One way of taking care of ourselves is to take care of our personal needs by not getting:
- too hungry,
- too angry,
- too lonely,
- too tired or
- too stressed.
A good way to remember this is by using the acronym h.a.l.t.s. The absence of any one of these needs can cause us to be easily frustrated and less likely to think straight or behave well in any situation.
Another way to take care of ourselves is to save our energy by;
- not arguing with children,
- guiding children to solve their own problems and
- setting boundaries
When we use these Love and Logic skills, we model how to take care of ourselves and our children learn the importance of taking care of themselves.
Parenting can be hard! Especially if the parent spends 12 or more hours a day with their children, they have a child with special needs or they have more than one child. Having fun and building other important relationships is vital to your “h.a.l.t.s.” Finding and keeping at least one reliable babysitter is paramount to having the freedom to cultivate other interests.
I am here to support you in making parenting fun.
