How to be a more joyful parent

“If you want to support others, you have to stay upright yourself.” – Peter Hoeg 

Parents are one of the busiest people you can find. Parenting is demanding and on most occasions parents find that they barely have any time left for themselves due to increasing responsibilities associated with raising their little ones. 

Previously, we have discussed parental burnout and how parents can make time for self-care. In this article, we will cover tips that can help parents support themselves by bringing in more joy in their lives. 

Tips to support yourself as a parent by bringing in more joy

A book by Erin Leyba, Joy Fixes for Weary Parents: 101 Quick, Research-Based Ideas for Overcoming Stress and Building a Life You Love, lists tips that can help parents support themselves better by inviting more joy in their lives. Erin Leyba, PhD, specialises in helping parents with young children. She is an individual and marriage counsellor. 

Here are some of the tips mentioned in her book:

• Write a gratitude note to all the experiences, hobbies, and other things that you left behind or kept on hold to become a parent you wanted to be for your child. Mention how long it will take you to get back to these things. It will help you get a perspective of your current situation and will give you something to look forward to. 
• Think of everything you want to accomplish with your child before they turn ten. Try to think of all the little or not so little things that you have loved doing or experiencing with your child. It will help you understand your priorities and subsequently, will help you become more joyful. 
• Contemplate on one change at your home that would make you feel significantly better. Put in conscious effort to incorporate it into your everyday routine. It can be as simple as opening the curtains first thing in the morning, playing a video game you love, or waking up two hours before children for some alone time. Reward yourself, just like you reward your child. 
• While thinking about all the difficult times you have had with your child, like almost all parents do, try to notice something to be thankful for, something graceful about that event. Remind yourself of something that made you fall in love with your family all over again. 
• Think of everyone who has come to your rescue when you called upon them. It can be your spouse, in-laws, parents, friends, or even strangers. It will remind you of your support system and take a bit of your parental stress away. 

Any or all of these things will help you support yourself, just like you support your family. Being grateful, being consistent, rewarding yourself for all the effort you put in parenting your children is the key to being joyful parents who know how to support themselves. It will also help you level up your self-care game and prevent you from falling prey to parental burnout. 

Did you enjoy reading this article? Did you find these tips helpful? Let us know in the comments below. If you require supplemental information or have topics that you would like us to cover. Do mention those in the comments section as well. 

Also read, 

• Key Tactics The Pros Use For Building Listening Skills In Children
• How To Apologise: A 4-Step Guide for Children  

Reference: 

Leyba, E. (2017). Joy Fixes for Weary Parents: 101 Quick, Research-Based Ideas for Overcoming Stress and Building a Life You Love. United States: New World Library.