Monday, September 17, 2012

Mama Monday!

Read this in the archives and just thought I would share it again with all SAHMs!Enjoy!

How to Cope with Stay at Home Burnout
OPI: StatesvilleMommies Subject: How to Cope with Stay at Home Burnout
Being an at home parent may be the best job you'll ever get, but it's HARD. You're on call 24/7, and when you go on vacation, you still have the same responsibilities. And if you have a home business or work at home job, life can be even more challenging.
The first step to coping with burnout is preventing it in the first place. Don't overfill your schedule with activities for the kids or yourself. Take a little time for yourself every day. You don't need to be alone, but you do need to relax a little. Whether this may be during the kids' naps or when they're in school, even taking just a few minutes for you can really help. Then you can take advantage of the time to get things done with a clear head.
Make sure your expectations and those of your family are realistic. If you're running a home business or have a work at home job, you can't be expected to keep as perfect a house as a mother who does not. Pick a day to do the laundry, the vacuuming and other housework that doesn't need to be done on a daily basis and leave it until then… unless the urgent need arises, of course.
When you get angry, don't consider yourself an imperfect or bad parent. We all get angry sometimes. What is more important is how you react to the anger.
Make sure you get enough sleep. The more tired you are, the more stress you are going to feel, and the harder it will be to cope with it. If necessary, take a nap at the same time as the kids do, so they're not getting into trouble for lack of supervision.
Plan fun activities once in a while to relieve stress. Depending on your needs and the needs of your family, this can be alone or with the entire family. Go to the beach, a park, zoo, mall, wherever it is you can relax and just have fun.
Consider planning or even cooking meals and snacks in advance. It's easy to give your children healthy snacks if you have sliced vegetables and/or fruits ready to go in the fridge. A few minutes' work early in the week can save you time. Meals may also be prepared in advance and frozen for those nights when you're simply too tired to cook. Plan your meals for leftovers that will freeze well, and say goodbye to expensive frozen dinners from the grocery store.
If writing out your schedule helps you, then keep a written schedule. If it makes you feel overwhelmed, then don't. Just because your best friend says it keeps her on schedule to have a calendar with everything she needs to do on it doesn't mean the same will work for you.
Finally, don't let other parents make you feel you owe them favors just because you're at home and "have time." You're doing a full time job taking care of your family, not just loafing. Your schedule may be just as full as theirs, if not more so.

0 comments:

Search

Loading...

Grab Our Button

Follow Us

Powered by Blogger.

Labels

9/11 adoption awareness month Attachment Parenting awards Awareness babies Baby Baby baby blues bazaar behavior birthday party breakfast breastfeeding Bruce Sallan Business calendar cancer Celebration childbirth cloth diapering coffee Committee Spotlight connection contest cooking couponing craft crafts crock pot cultural awareness month Culture dads delivery dinner discipline Diversity Domestic Goddesses Domestic Godesses Earth Day Easter Education Elementary School events Family fish food Forum Focus forum spotlight Fox 8 Friendship fundraiser gear Generations get involved with TM giveaway Glue Guns goodsearch green living guest blogger hanukkah health and wellness Holiday holiday bazaar humor jumblzar June Jamboree Kendra kids labor lunch Mardi Gras meet and greet meet the staff Member Relations Menu Monday military families MNI MNO mom mom's night out Mommies Talk moms on the clock Mother's Day Motor Mania movie movies National Auction National Forum natural living need New Year's Next Step Ministries Nursing online auction Opinions organization ovarian cancer piedmont parent playdate post-partum depression potty training pregnancy Premium Membership preschool quotes Reading recipe Recipes Relationships Safety Santa Letters Savings SGS shy girl social siblings snow snowflakes Spirit Night sponsors spring St. Patrick's Day Summer support Taste teenagers television texting Thanks Thanksgiving The Mommies Network TMN toddlers Travel Triad Valentine vegetarian Veterans Day video vote webinar Weigh-In Challenge WGHP winter Wordless Wednesday Zumba

TMN Blog Roll

In partnership with