Parenting can get too much. Kids need continuous attention. It can get overwhelming at times to be after them. Surely you love your kids, no two ways about that. But you need a break too. Taking a break from your children won’t mean you’re not a good parent. Let’s normalize taking a break as you’re 24*7 surrounded by them. You don’t get your own space. You don’t even get enough time with your spouse. Work is also hectic at times, plus household work, to take care of the elders in the house and a number of tasks are to be completed.
Taking a break from your children will help you rewind and restart. Giving importance to yourself once in a while isn’t that bad. It may sound cruel, but it’s the truth. Maybe nobody has spoken it out till now so you are not in the hang of it to read. But read on. You won’t be disappointed after reading this one:
Why Taking a Break from Your Children Is Important:
1. You’re always overworked:
Taking a break from your children sounds like a nightmare when you’re a parent. But it is the truth. Managing work, home and your kids is all you do. It leaves you totally exhausted. You always feel lethargic, tired, and gloomy. You feel you’ve lost yourself in this whole thing. Only work, home and the kids are what your life becomes. Find ways in which you can find some rest. Arrange something for your rest time. If the kid is of eligible age, admit him/her to a playgroup or nursery. The kid will be busy over there for 2 to 3 hours minimum.
2. Ask for help:
Talk to your friends or family about the issue. Request them to take care of the kid for a day or two. Tell your kid too in the form of a story. Tell them you have got to go to work out of town and you can’t take them with you. Hence, you’re leaving them with so and so relative or friend. Make sure the kid is well-versed with the caretaker. Kids will feel secure in this manner.
3. Appoint a babysitter:
You can opt to get a babysitter for a day. You can spend some time with your spouse. Hire a babysitter for a day who will look after the kid. The time period should be at least one or two days. Both, you and your kid, should learn to be away from each other for some time. In this way, your bond will only grow stronger. Make sure the babysitter is a professional one who knows his/her job well. See to it that the kid is safe with him/her. If possible, keep a family member or friend with the kid to ensure all goes well.
4. Kids need to understand:
Taking a break from your children will make them understand. They will understand that you can’t be around them all the time. They should be able to bear the absence of a parent being around. Doing so will also give an opportunity for the kids to know there are other people around them who love them. They can also take good care of them. Doing so may enhance the bond with the people the kid stayed with. In the future, maybe you will get more opportunities to do the same.
5. Builds confidence in kids:
Train your kids. Go out of their sight purposefully for some time. 3 to 4 hours of not being around won’t cause an issue. It helps the kids gain confidence and they start to socialize with people other than their own parents. Their uncles, aunts, and grandparents are people who love them as much as their parents. Kids being kids, they don’t pay heed to them till their parents are around. Don’t tell them that you’re going out. They may not accept and create havoc. Eventually, you don’t get to go out on your own.
6. You need to refresh yourself:
Getting out of the regular day is important. Make a plan for taking a break from your children and head out. Give the responsibility to some other person you can confide in. Go out when the child isn’t noticing your presence. You need to regain your mental peace. You can even take a nap if you need. Refreshing yourself by taking a short one-hour nap is the best thing you can do to refresh yourself.
7. Join a hobby left behind:
There are some hobbies that we leave behind. Those are left behind due to some or other reasons. You can think of joining them again. Be it music, dance, sports or any other hobby which you like. You can go out of sight of your kid at least for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You start neglecting yourself automatically when you’re a parent. Taking a break from your children while you relive your hobby will make you happier. It’ll help you to enhance the bond with your kid instead.
8. Breaks are necessary:
Taking a break from your children’s prolonged activity is necessary. All of us need “me time” from our daily routine. Even if it’s work, don’t we take vacations? Go for trekking or hiking? It’s similar to the kids. It’s more than a full-time job that isn’t going to end anytime soon. Later you will develop anger issues and it will affect the child’s own growth. So it’s better to take a break from your children. Come out of the guilty feeling if you feel so. It’s not a good way to treat yourself.
Conclusion:
If you’re thinking of taking a break from your children just take it without a second thought. Reach out to your relatives, friends, or family members who can help you out with this. Make sure the child knows them well. This is the most important. Join a parent group who are in the same situation. Discuss what they do in such a situation. Try if you can do so too. If yes, what better than that, isn’t it?
Also Read: Ten Things You Can Do for Your Mental Health
