Imagine you come home after a stressful day of work. You see your kids at home needing your attention. Tired from work and craving for a little me time, you pacify the kids promising them a day out, and quietly slip into your room. You lie on your couch and probably watch some cricket. While already feeling guilty about not spending time with your kids, you eat dinner and sleep off. The cycle repeats.
Yes, parenting can be tough!! Especially for the new-age parents. With both parents working, it is very hard to have quality family time. Often, spending time with kids comes as a burden adding to self-doubt and stress. Not to mention the stress of teaching them at home and bearing with their boredom of not going out during the post-Covid times. For many of those who go the extra mile to make it a point to spend time with family, this happens at the cost of their wellness – no time for workout or relaxation or even adequate sleep.
Often, stress builds up without you even knowing it. In this fast-paced world, no one pauses and does an introspection. Many fail to understand their stress and its causes, which leads to a failure in taking corrective actions and adopting coping mechanisms (Needless to mention, Repose helps you here!).
The good news is that spending quality time with family (pets too) is a proven active recovery agent. In the stress and recovery plot below, the time spent sitting at the park while watching the kids playing is reflected as a recovery period. Unbelievable as it may sound, it not only builds your bond stronger but also does improve your mental health and thus your overall wellness.
At least once a week, take your kids to the children’s park and watch them play. If possible join with them to boost your activity levels. During weekends, take them to a hobby class and do some activity with them. Go swimming with them. Even better, enroll your kid and yourself in a Zumba class and dance to the peppy numbers. It need not be physical activity, indulge with them in any building activity like a sand house, clay toys, pottery class. Or watch some cartoon with them after work (It doesn’t hurt much to be a child again!). And once in a while, plan for a vacation with family and enjoy to your heart’s (quite literally!) content.
All you need is some planning to integrate such activities into your schedule. And before you know it, it will become a part of your lifestyle.
This children's day, pledge time to your kids. And yeah, by doing so you are recovering yourself too! That is the best gift you can give to your kids, and to you too!!
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