Jennifer McDonnow
Blogger at KidsEmail.org | Mom of Two
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It happens to the best of us. Parenting is not easy, so in order to keep things from going crazy it’s important to make time for your own needs. It can help alleviate and redirect stress which will make everyone a lot happier! In order to keep my own sanity I’ve come up with 8 tips to help avoid parental exhaustion:

1. Exercise: This is a big one! Keeping up on your own physical fitness helps elevate your mood and keep anxiety at bay. You can keep it simple, walk around your neighborhood, run up and down your stairs, or check out YouTube for some free workout videos.
2. Find a Hobby: What were you interested in before you had kids? Reignite the spark and find time to do it regularly. You are still a person with separate interests and talents.  Spend some time doing what makes you happy!
3. Pamper Yourself: If you can make the time and set a little money aside, do something that makes you happy. Get a fresh coat of nail polish, grab a coffee at a local coffee shop, or buy some new bubble bath and have some time relaxing to yourself.
4. Have Quiet Time: Kids and adults alike need a break during the day. Depending on the age of your child, have them take a nap or spend quiet time in their room reading books or coloring. When quiet time is happening, have yours too! You could lay down for a few minutes or read a good book. It’s a great time to refocus your energy and center yourself to be more present for your kids and yourself.
5. Schedule a Date Night: It’s important to stay connected to your partner. Schedule a few nights each month to get out. You could trade babysitting with a friend—who knows, they probably need it too! If you can’t find a sitter, leave your partner at home and take a date night with yourself, some alone time may be just what you need.
6. Learn to Say No: If you are feeling overwhelmed, you don’t have to agree to bake cookies for the bake sale, or join every committee you are asked to join. It’s ok to say no! Someone before you probably did too and is basking in the glorious extra time they have.
7. Adjust Your To Do List: Take a look at your to-do list and allow yourself to ignore non-essential stuff and/or things that are not time sensitive. You don’t have to get everything done in one day, it’s ok to adjust plans, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed.
8. Ask for Help: It’s ok to ask family and friends to help watch your kids for an hour so you can run errands or cook dinner. You’ll be surprised to find out that people will be happy to help, but they won’t know when to step in if you don’t ask.

With some practice and a little creativity you can avoid getting to the point of exhaustion. You will not only feel happier, your happier attitude will be appreciated by those around you too!

These are my tricks for avoiding exhaustion. What are yours?

About Jennifer McDonnow

Jennifer is the Administrative Assistant at KidsEmail.org. She is the content writer of the Kids Email Blog and helps manage their social media accounts. Being a Mom of 2, she works hard on providing content to parents in hopes of helping keep kids safe online.

View all posts by Jennifer McDonnow here.

About Kids Email

Kidsemail.org is an award-winning, safe email service for kids. Use Kids Email to safeguard your children from language, predators, images, and video, while keeping them connected to loved ones and learning about technology in a safer environment.

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