Parenting is one of the hardest and most challenging things anyone can do. Unfortunately, once some people have children they dedicate their entire lives to raising their little ones, while others choose to be completely uninvolved in their lives, to the point that they do not receive the emotional support that they need at such a young age.
What these parents fail to see is that both cases could be damaging for both the parent and the child. A balance between looking out for your child and giving them their space is better than going extreme on either side. Here are tips on how to raise your children and still have a life.
Don’t Sacrifice Your Life
Caring for your children and making sure they are safe is your job as a parent, but you shouldn’t sacrifice taking care of your needs. Taking care of yourself teaches your children the value of self-care If you have always dreamed about having a spa day, then go ahead and do it.
Yes, having some occasional me-time might take time away from cooking dinner, or getting necessary groceries, but it will benefit you mentally and rejuvenate you.
Another thing you should be doing is making time for exercise. Exercising has many positive effects; it improves your mood substantially and keeps you physically healthy. So don’t let being a parent distract you from accommodating your own needs.
Don’t Be a Helicopter Parent
Helicopter parenting is being too involved in your child’s life or doing things that they are capable of doing alone. Some parents think that by hovering over a child like that they are paving the way for them to succeed and protecting them from unwanted consequences.
However, the consequences of that style of parenting can have serious harmful effects on children and that includes raising a child that never learns to cope with life struggles in a healthy way, which makes them more susceptible to becoming anxious adults.
Moreover, it negatively affects the child’s self-confidence, as they get the message that their parents don’t trust them to do these things on their own, so they end up with low self-esteem and confidence issues, not to mention the negative effect it could have on you as a parent.
By being constantly worried about your child, trying to clean your child’s messes, and completely immersing your life in theirs, you forget to forge a life of your own.
On the flip side, attorneys from this law firm also report that many parents, despite being protective, tend to take their children being injured on the playground way too lightly.
Even if the injury is not life-threatening, you can still get compensation for your child’s injury if you think a playground was not safeguarded.
There’s Nothing Called a Perfect Parent
Many parents are guilty of completely controlling their children’s’ lives to make up for what they couldn’t achieve as children. Some parents take this too far by completely depriving their children of choice, but this only makes them grow up dependent on the help of others.
While you should take the necessary precautions to keep your children safe, you should also give them the space to make mistakes and never scold them for occasionally messing up; instead, encourage them to learn from their past mishaps.
When you do this, you teach your children how to make their own decisions and that it’s okay to fail. As a result, you are paving the way for raising responsible adults. Additionally, this means less work for you as you grant your children the freedom to experience life from their perspective, and in the process, they learn to be self-reliant.
Planning Becomes a Lifestyle
If you weren’t much of a planner before you had children, and just relied on spontaneity in your day to day life, with children this has to change. You need to adopt planning as a new routine.
For instance, if you want to go out with your spouse, you need to make sure a good babysitter is available at that time. Besides, you have to make your plans around your child’s sleep routine, and if you are going out as a family, make sure to choose kid-friendly places.
Planning will introduce a new sense of organization in your life, which will improve your quality of life because you will know what to expect and therefore won’t be stressed about obstacles when you face them.
Parenting might sound like a lot of work that requires your complete dedication. However, it doesn’t have to be a fulltime job. You can raise your child to meet their full potential and have time for yourself as well.
As long as you are stress-free and not anxious all the time, you’re probably already on the right track. And remember that when you improve your quality of life and you are happier, your child will be happier too.
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