Self-Care for Parents

Date: July 9, 2020 l Author: Terri Galindo, LCSW, LMFT

Parents! In order to pour out to our families, it is so important that we are filled first. When we are on an airplane, we are always advised to put our masks on first, and then help loved ones. The same thing goes for parenting.

Bob Barnes, founder of Sheridan House Family Ministries, once said, “You teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are.” If you are running on empty, and find yourself constantly stressed, angry, and/or lacking peace, your family will likely follow suit.

Self-care is critical for your family’s health and happiness as much as your own. Here are some ways that you can begin to include the practice of self-care into your life:

  1. Take a breath. Settle yourself. In his book, Get Your Life Back, best-selling Christian author John Eldridge talks about incorporating a one-minute pause into your daily routine. This is one way throughout the day to “get off the merry-go-round” for a moment to quiet yourself and check in with yourself.
  2. Create daily activities that bring you closer to God – this can be prayer time, life group discussions, listening to worship music, memorizing scripture, or attending church – things that encourage your soul and fill you up.
  3. Look for others that can relate to your particular challenges and uplift one another.
  4. Think about those positive experience you have had in your life and cling to them in times of trouble. Practice gratitude.
  5. Identify ways you can intentionally move closer to overcoming past trauma that you may be carrying as baggage into your present relationships.
  6. Stay away from negative media and negative people.
  7. Seek connections with people who can help – people who love you. Accept their care. Break the pattern of only caring for others and not allowing others to minister to you.
  8. Seek counseling and pursue whole-life healing.