I purposely wanted to include self-care in parenting tips because the reality is if we do not take care of ourselves first how can we be expected to care of our children and family. I always like to use the analogy of flying. What is the first thing the flight attendant tells you before take off? "In case of an emergency put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping anyone else." Good point right?! I want to stress that is important to take care of yourself before there is an emergency.
It is hard for most of us to prioritize taking care of ourselves. We are busy with work, caring for other people & the day to day stress in life. As parents we often put our kids' activities, educational needs, & health first & tend to neglect ourselves. It is important to remember that we have to prioritize our needs.
I admit that I am not always the best at self-care. I have struggled with being a "people pleaser" but as a therapist I have learned the importance of emotional boundaries. Like most of us I have struggled to ask for help. When my mother-in-law was in her final stages of cancer, I realized that I could not be there for my husband if I did not access my support system. I called & texted my mom, sister, best friends, as well as friends who lost love ones to cancer. I also encouraged my husband to ask for support. I explained to him that I could not be his sole support system. I knew he needed to be there for his mother, stepfather, sisters & kids. At one point, I even reached out to some of his friends to update them on what was going on. I am happy to say he did reach out to friends & was given lots of support!
One of the things I do is to pay attention to how I am eating. If I am craving junk food, what stress am I avoiding. If I haven't done my morning walk, I ask myself have I over scheduled my day? Keep in mind there are lots of ideas for self-care including healthy food, exercise, spending time with loved ones, asking for help, & so on. Do what feels right to you!
I included a couple of links to articles about self-care ideas.
https://themighty.com/2016/04/self-care-ideas-for-a-bad-day/
https://www.developgoodhabits.com/self-care-ideas/