Parenthood can seem so stressful at times that you are tempted to quickly pack a small bag, book a ticket to Tahiti, and leave a note behind saying, “Good luck in your future endeavors. I’m sorry, but I just needed a break. Here’s $200 for lunch money for a month until I get back.”
Of course, you don’t really do that, but most parents can totally sympathize. This is why one of your primary duties is not only to raise healthy, well-adjusted kids but to take it upon yourself to learn how to relax. Sad to say, even if you graduated from an Ivy League school, never once in your entire educational training have you ever had a course in how to relax and enjoy your life.
Photo by kevin liang on Unsplash
Here are some healthy ways to relax:
- Make one room in your house a sanctuary of peaceChoose a small room, that is 100 percent for moms and dads only. Then add a super comfortable chair (perhaps a massage chair,) an iPad or cell-phone filled with your favorite music, and perhaps the family pet.You may have to take turns going into your sanctuary unless you have a CCTV system to monitor the living room, but even five minutes twice a day will have you feeling recharged and refreshed.
- Get a fantastic king size bed. Good sleep is critical to your mood and emotional sanity. By all means, don’t skip on your bed. We prefer a king size bed, but whatever you do, just make sure it is comfortable. Make your bedroom a pleasant and relaxing place to be.
- Get plenty of exerciseYou don’t have to take off to the gym to exercise. You can buy a yoga exercise video and a yoga mat, invest in a Peloton machine, or even revive Richard Simmons and sweat to the oldies. Even if you get only five minutes at a time to exercise, if you do enough sessions during the day, it all adds up to stress relief, in addition to making you healthier.
- Eat healthyNothing will contribute to stress relief like eating healthy. Avoiding a ton of sugars or simple carbohydrates are the keys to quick improvements in your energy levels. Also, buy an air fryer, to drastically cut down the amount of oil you use in your cooking.If it’s all too much for you, try subscribing to a boxed meal service where they ship you a healthy meal. All you need do is unpack it and follow a few simple steps. With this kind of service, there’s no need to go to the grocery store so often, no nutrition counting, no need to pay service charges for delivery take-out food, and there are numerous choices to fit every palate.
- Learn to meditateYou don’t need to spend $1,000 or more on learning transcendental meditation. In practically every decent size city, there are extension courses or courses at the local YMCA that will teach you how to meditate. Whether it’s learning deep breathing meditation, mantra meditation, watching your mind chatter, or following the advice of Eckert Tolle on YouTube, meditation is a fantastic way to reduce your stress way down.
- Take a single night’s vacationMany non-parents suggest vacations as a way to reduce stress, not realizing that vacationing with two kids in tow is about as stressful as a Chevy Chase National Lampoon Vacation movie. Three hours in and you are ready to return home.Instead, call on the grandparents, your best friends, or even hire a baby sitter to
have a fantastic, overnight, romantic date night that will remind you and your partner why you married in the first place.
- Find your funny boneParenthood is filled with lots of boring chores, which can become stale after a while. Instead of hiring a housekeeper, which can get outrageously expensive, make a game out of it. If they are old enough, get your kids involved. Put on a wonder woman costume, and give your kids each a Halloween mask of their own. Let the kids put on big wool socks and ice skate across your kitchen floor instead of mopping.It takes some creative mental energy, but trust us, once you put on your thinking cap, chores will rarely seem routine again. In fact, your kids may take the hint and even clean up their room on their own.
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