It's one of those mornings. It's raining, the traffic is heavy making you feel late for the school run. The baby is crying - she just wants to go to sleep. The moon is full and the kids are behaving like lunatics. One child hits another. Game on. You feel your shoulders tighten. Hands grip the steering wheel a little firmer. It feels like it takes you hours to get out of the car and across the road to school, all the while it is raining and those kids just won't let up. You just want to SCREAM!!!
Sound familiar?
We've all been there. This used to be me. Especially if I had worked late the night before. The unrelenting stress of being a parent. It doesn't go away. But the way in which you react to the stressors determines the way you cope.
My solution? Breathe. 5 deep full breaths. In and out. In through the nose, and out through the mouth with an audible "haaa" sound. It works wonders. You can even get the kids in on it too. Ask them to pretend that you are all trying to blow up the biggest balloon in the world. They will have a giggle at seeing you doing something so silly in the midst of their squabbling. Seeing you taking full deep breaths and blowing out with full puffed cheeks will get everyone laughing.
And we all know that laughter is the best medicine.
By demonstrating positive coping skills during stressful times, we are teaching our children valuable tools, that they too will mimick later on.
Having a new baby in the house with two school kids certainly poses many a stressful situation at times. Fortunately, my two big kids are old enough to lend a helping hand and from my breastfeeding chair I can feed the baby and direct the flow of the morning or afternoon. Sure, I still feel stressed from time to time, or overwhelmed...usually by the amount of laundry...first world problems.
How do you cope with parental stress?
Nic Nurtures
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