I think all moms can agree that self-care is important. We spend so much of our time and energy caring for our families and taking care of the house that we often neglect ourselves. We all know self-care is important, but we never seem to make it a priority. What’s worse is that we often feel guilty for trying to take care of ourselves. Probably because the time we spend on ourselves is the time we could be spending on other things that need our attention.
Why Self Care Is Important
Here’s the problem with neglecting self-care as moms. If we don’t take care of ourselves, eventually we’ll burn out. We can’t care for our family when we burn out. At least we won’t be able to care for them on the level we should be. Once we burn out we’re simply going through the motions getting the bare minimum done with minimal effort.
Ladies, our families need us. Because they need us, they need us to take care of ourselves too. If you’ve ever gone through a period of burn out, I’m sure you can relate that your family suffers right along with you.
The problem we often face is that we’re busy, and can’t spend a lot of money on things like massages on a regular basis. So the trick is we need some self-care activities that are inexpensive and don’t require a whole day. Ideally, we should spend a little time on self-care every day. Here is a short list of some ideas to take care of yourself a little bit each day.
Quick Self Care Ideas
- Read for pleasure – Get lost in a story. I wouldn’t count self-help, parenting, homeschooling, or books about your child’s special needs diagnosis as taking care of yourself.
- Paint your nails
- Take a bath
- Go for a walk
- Get crafty – If you enjoy creating things set aside some time to use that talent and create something.
- Relax while listening to uplifting and/or relaxing music
- Meet a friend for coffee
Other Self Care Tips
Whatever activity you choose for taking care of yourself, it should be one that is life-giving to you. Something that you enjoy and will rejuvenate you. It should also be something you do for yourself for no other reason than to simply do something for you.
It’s also important to communicate to your spouse the why self-care is so important for you. If your spouse understands, he will be more likely to support you in taking care of yourself. He might even help you make it possible by offering time to take care of the kids.
Helping your spouse understand why you’re spending time doing things for yourself will also avoid any misunderstandings. If you suddenly start practicing some of these self-care methods without first explaining to your husband, he might think you’re ignoring your family (or him). This can lead to the feelings of guilt we often feel when taking care of ourselves. So avoid all misunderstands, and guilt trips by being upfront on your need for self-care.
Lastly, if you are also a special needs mom like myself, make sure you find time for respite as well.
Reading for pleasure sometimes drops by the wayside as a homeschool mom because you have so much to read already. I like the idea of going out to coffee with a friend more often.
I agree reading for pleasure is more difficult for a homeschool mom.
Oh, I needed this. I never do anyting for myself. When it was warmer, my oldest daughter and I used to go for walks often, but the weather has been keeping us in. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it Shelly, we’ve been snowed in here lately too.
Reading for pleasure is my bread and butter. Without reading time, I can’t imagine how I would function. I love to get lost in a good book.
I love reading! Great list of self care tips!
Joining a gym. Going to group fitness classes. Hour long classes like kick-boxing and Zumba are fun and I love getting lost in the music. Yoga is also relaxing. Also, I usually don’t know anyone in these classes just a few familiar faces. No one knows my issues with my special needs child, and I don’t know theirs- we are just all getting rid of our stress together. We feed off each others energy.
I do several of the tips suggested. Being isolated makes you feel disconnected with the rest of the world. Not being able to get out to do even just the little things people take for granted, made me look at, “What talents do I have that can make me feel positive and help my self worth?” My mom taught me how to crochet when I was young and I was pretty good at it. But I had not done it for years. I went to a ladies bible study on Proverbs 31. So I picked back up my crochet and discovered YouTube and found a group of ladies that enjoyed crochet and knitting. I now make things at my own pace and sell at craft shows. Would not had been able to if not for my husband watching my son. Being creative help me to relieve some stress and I have something I can connect with others. Crochet is portable to go to doctor visits, OT, etc. Just keep putting items in a tote, makes great gifts in a pinch. Hope my story helps you find an outlet for your stress.
glad you found an activity to do for yourself!