What it Really Takes to Raise Emotionally Healthy Families Series- Day 29

Consciously Parenting: What it Really Takes to Raise Emotionally Healthy Families — *Book 1 of the Consciously Parenting series*

Self-care

Few people disagree with the notion that taking care of ourselves is important. In fact, most of us usually get excited when we start talking about meeting our own needs. But most people don’t take the time to actually do it. There are too many other demands that need to take precedence.

I suggest that we don’t have the time to not take this time.

I’m also going to suggest that self-care doesn’t have to take an hour or two on a daily basis.

If you haven’t been taking any time at all for yourself, spending only five or ten minutes a day is a wonderful place to start. Taking just a few minutes for yourself is enough to start creating a new, healthy habit.

What can you do today to take care of yourself?

From the book Consciously Parenting: What it Really Takes to Raise Emotionally Healthy Families

Connected deeply and interdependently with community is self-care. This mom is sitting in a field by herself. Who is watching her kids?

In a village, there would have been other mothers who could step in and help out while someone took a break. We need that.

One of my favorite stories about community and self-care was when a group of friends decided to rotate to each other’s houses one day a week to give one mom whatever she needed. Some moms read and took a bath by themselves, others used the time to take a nap. The only rule was that the time was to be used for self-care, whatever that looked like for that mother at that time. It wasn’t a lot, but it was something everyone looked forward to. The other moms would work together to be with the children so one mom would have her turn.

If you don’t have a community like that yet, begin with a few minutes of self-care when you can. But remember that this parenting thing was never meant to be done alone, so keep looking for those people who can be with you and your family and support your need for self and community care!

Author

Rebecca Thompson Hitt

Rebecca is the founder of The Consciously Parenting Project, LLC, and author of 3 books (Consciously Parenting: What it really Takes to Raise Emotionally Healthy Families, Creating Connection: Essential Tools for Growing Families through Conception, Birth and Beyond, and Nurturing Connection: What Parents Need to Know about Emotional Expression and Bonding), numerous classes and recordings, and the former co-host of a radio show, True North Parents.

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