Managing your needs as a parent

Over the years, I have learned the hard way that neglecting your own needs as a parent has some pretty rough consequences. I have neglected my health, my sleep, even my teeth while I hustle to take care of family, home and work. Even though my 70-hour work weeks are gone—how could I have them now, without a baby who sleeps most of the night and morning?—I still find it difficult to sneak in some exercise, flossing and even sleep sometimes. Parenting alone can make this happen, but when you homeschool and work, too, it’s pretty much buying time wherever you can.

But there are severe consequences when you ignore your own needs. Your body falls apart. You start to require medications or dental surgery or even more severe treatments that could have been avoided had you simply slept more or seen the dentist regularly. These costly procedures do not only take your money and time (both of which you may or may not have), but they also rob your kids of that time spent with you, too. If there is pain involved—and there probably will be—you can also rob yourself of the joy of simply being with your children and enjoying your time with them.

So the question is not why, but how. For starters, you can do what doctors recommend when you have a newborn: sleep when baby sleeps. Add on eating when your kids eat (and actual veggies, not their leftovers or the crusts of their sandwiches!), exercising when they exercise (how about taking classes together, or even just biking together?) and flossing when they floss and not only will it get easier, but you’ll also be modeling great habits, too.

How do you manage your needs as a parent?

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia