All parents know how tough it can be to manage children, work, and all other responsibilities life throws your way. Although it might feel overwhelming at times to juggle it all at once, there is a way to create a better work-life balance. Stress-free parenting is possible with the right tips in place. From creating routines to being more honest with your children, follow this guide for the best five tips for stress-free parenting.
Create A Routine
Installing routine into your life as well as your children’s life will help them build a structure and create a better work/school to life balance. Creating a ‘must-do’ routine will encourage your children to be more respectful of mealtimes, learning hours, and downtime, which will help you manage the household.
A routine will help your children understand that certain hours should be dedicated to specific tasks, such as homework. If they complete their homework within a set timeframe, they will not only be prepared for school but have more free time to entertain themselves or play outside.
Some children may struggle to complete homework tasks or educational tasks themselves. They might find it overwhelming or too difficult, and therefore do not learn everything they need to from the assignment. Integrating homework hours into your routine will help your children feel less stressed about assignments as you are offering your help and guidance. It will also allow them time to expand their knowledge and comprehend the work.
For example, if your children have a set home-learning task of reading 20 pages before the next day, you can practice teaching reading comprehension. Reading through the book with them and understanding what the story actually means will expand their imagination and improve their cognitive ability.
Set Behavior Rules
Along the lines of setting habits, you should also set behavior rules for inside and outside the house. It can feel too easy to allow children to run wild in the house and do what they want so that you can focus on yourself. But, setting behavior rules and consequences will make your life easier and stress-free in the long run.
If your child is regularly late to dinner or plays video games for an unhealthy number of hours, telling them there will be consequences will encourage them to respect you. Make sure they understand what is acceptable and what is not. By setting rules inside the house, it will make them more respectful and attentive outside the house. They will thank you for it in the future when they realize how little they get told off.
Rule setting will also encourage them to be more respectful and focused in school, which will help them learn and come away from school with more understanding of the education. If they know it is good to be well-behaved at home, they should take this attitude with them into school. If you reward them with a treat for good behavior, it may influence them to stick with a good attitude.
Encourage Honesty
Not being open and honest with your children is a common problem. By not sharing your honest thoughts and opinions, it will encourage them to act in the same way. If you instill into their personality honesty and truth from a young age, they are more likely to grow to be more truthful and open.
Honesty allows everyone to open up and tell others how they are feeling. It also helps to reflect and observe everything with more clarity. Asking your children more personal questions, or telling them your personal feelings will help build a closer bond and trust. In the future, they will feel more obliged to tell you exactly what they are thinking, which makes room for building self-confidence, battling any issues, or building healthier relationships.
Although children may be tempted to lie at times, we can let them know that it will only cause them stress and anxiety and prevent them from being as happy as possible. When they understand that honesty is the best policy, they will feel inspired to be more honest and open with you, themselves, and others.
Journaling With The Children
Making time for non-technology hours is effective for focusing on the present moment for children and adults. Instead of spending an hour in front of the TV, you could spend it writing thoughts, plans, and ideas down in a journal. You could even be creative, and all write a poem to share with one another. Allowing your family time to be together in the present will help you unwind and focus on self-identity. Writing is a great way to track growth, achieve goals, and find inspiration. For children, it is an excellent technique for building writing skills.
Journalling is also an effective way to take care of yourself. When you are a busy parent, it is easy to let time fly and not take time to center your thoughts and feelings. Sitting down and journaling with your children will encourage you and them to reflect and regulate emotion. Whether you or your children feel excited or anxious, writing down your ideas can help you find perspective and learn to evoke mindfulness.
Allow Creativity
On the same note as writing, being creative through other outlets allows time for fun and imagination. Children love letting their imaginations run free through art, dance, music, and activity, so letting them have time to be creative will encourage them to be inventive and grow their passions.
If they enjoy drawing or painting, allow them hours in the evening or the weekends to get arty. If they love to perform a dance or acting routines, encourage them to practice and perform in front of the family. Not only will it encourage them to be more creative and inventive, but creativity can unleash inner passions and build self-confidence.
It can be easy to allow homework or family commitments to overrule a child’s fun time. But, we need to remember and reflect on how we feel when we need downtime to do something we enjoy. Children feel the same about being creative. When they have had a busy week at school or been well-behaved, reward them with their favorite creative activities. It will keep them busy while you can get chores done, have some time alone, or even join in with them.
If you are struggling to balance work and family commitments, then these tips will help you and your children build a closer bond and be happier living together. Allowing time for creativity is as essential as setting rules. All assets help a child grow, build confidence, and learn to respect you. By integrating these into your and your children’s routine, you will both feel less stressed and allow more time to feel happier.
