When you become a parent, the focus shifts from yourself to your kids- it’s just the natural order of things. However, it doesn’t mean that you should give up on yourself entirely, you’re still allowed to have ambitions and goals for yourself. And actually, achieving them can make you happier and therefore a better parent! Here are three ways you could develop yourself when you have children.
Fitness
Good health is important for absolutely everyone, but even more so when you have little ones depending on you. Not only do you need to set a good example to them, but you need to ensure you’re around for them as long as possible! This means eating well and getting enough exercise to ward off the many preventable illnesses that can develop otherwise. As a busy mom you might wonder how you can possibly achieve your fitness goals when you’re tied up looking after your kids all day, but it can be done if you put your mind to it. One way is to get the whole family active- run around at the park together, jump on a trampoline or bouncy castle, kick a football around or play rounders. This can burn off just as many calories (if not more!) than a gym session. If you do want to hit the gym, see if you can find one which has a creche, or find out if your partner or a loved one could watch the children for a couple of hours each week. When you’re already tired and overworked the last thing you might feel like doing is exercise, however it’s so worth pushing yourself to do. You’ll actually have more energy overall, and will find that doing your day to day tasks is much easier.
Learning new skills
As children we’re constantly learning new things, in an education environment our minds are always being expanded and our curiosities are explored. However, as an adult it’s easy to fall into a rut, when you do the same things day in day out, it can cause you to stagnate. As humans, we’re often at our happiest when we’re learning new things so make the effort to improve your skills. If you’ve always wanted to be a social worker for example, take the first step by doing an msw degree online. If you’ve always been interested in photography, do an online diploma. It doesn’t have to be academic, you could take a class in baking or cooking, floristry or art. Consider your goals and passions and go from there.
Organisation
Again, being organised is something that everyone can benefit from, but even more so when you’re a parent. As you’re not just running your own life, you’re running that of your kids too. It’s up to you to make sure they have what they need each day for school, that they’re attending their appointments, that they’re eating healthily. Have some systems in place to make this easier. Meal prep, or plan meals ahead of time so that dinner time is never a hassle. Get your home organised so you always know where things are- it doesn’t need to look like a show home but it should be practical. Have routines, such as laying out clothes for the morning after before bed so there’s no rushing around before school. You’ll feel so much happier and on top of things.
