Taking Care of Yourself
Being a parent is a very stressful job indeed. Many times we have a bad day, although not exactly like the one depicted in Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day :
“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” – editorial review
Bad days would make us stop being patient and loving, let alone to be an effective and good parent. If we, as parents know how to cope with the stress in bad days not only our health will not be at stake, but also it is a blessing to our young ones.
Here is a free online tool offered by H. Wallace Goddard, Extension Family and Child Development Specialist, to help you deal with stress and replace it with peace. The tool is to help you:
- identify the stressor (What makes you feel stressed?)
- know your own stress reaction (What does stress do to you?)
- list things you love to do (How can you deal with stress?)
- make a stress plan.
My favorite part of the article: 21 tips for dealing with stress
Here are some examples:
- Recognize the things that bother you.
- Recognize that you may not be able to fix everything at once.
- Throw away stresses that you cannot change.
- Replace stressful thoughts with pleasant ones.
- Allow yourself to have vacations from stress.
Take care of yourself, fellow parents !
Replacing Stress with Peace [humsci.auburn.edu]