For parents mornings can be a nightmare that comes right at the start of the day. Stress and anxiety wake up with you as you struggle with time constraints, fussy eaters, uncooperative kids, training and parenting, and trying to have eyes in the back of your head. By the time a parent finishes with the kids in the morning, there isn't usually much time left for themselves, so taking time in the morning to sip coffee or read the newspaper is yesterdays dream with little reality in sight.
Parents certainly deserve to have mornings where they can breathe normally, think clearly and enjoy the little time they have with their kids before leaving for a whole day to go to work - wouldn't you agree? If you make a few changes, you can reduce stress and anxiety in your morning routine.
If you find yourself in a position where you are raising your voice often, frantically rushing around with hardly the time to breath, not taking time calmly to have breakfast with your spouse or kids, often late to school and work, rushing on the road or feeling sick by the time you make it to the car, then it is time for you to make some changes that will have a positive effect on your morning stress and anxiety levels, enabling a more productive less anxious parent for your kids and yourself.
Here are some tips to eliminate anxiety and stress in the mornings and get you smiling, energetic and happy to face the day and your kids.
Preparations
Choose a time in the evening and do whatever necessary tasks you can so there is less for you to prepare or do in the mornings.
- Get breakfast items ready as much as you can.
- Prepare lunches and snacks.
- Layout clothes so your kids aren't fussing about what to wear in the mornings and you are not rummaging through your closet looking for something to wear.
Get Rid of Aggravations
Another way you can reduce stress and anxiety in the mornings is to fix or change things or situations in that annoy you.
- An alarm bell that rattles you when it goes off.
- An untidy kitchen that means you have to wash dishes before you prepare breakfast
- Squeaky doors.
- Broken items that cost you time in the morning, particularly things that are regularly used in the mornings.
Take one hour before bedtime to look after yourself. Do something that you enjoy or just take that time to relax and do nothing except what you like or want to do. This could be watching TV, a movie, or you’re favorite past time. During this time, avoid agitations as best you can.
Waking Up
- Wake up an hour before it is time for your kids to wake up. This gives you the time to get dressed like you did in the good ole days before you had your kids. You can relax, enjoy your coffee, read the paper, or watch the news - without interruptions and without someone needing you for everything. This can make all the difference in the way you handle your kids in the morning and throughout the rest of the day. It also gives you time to wake up without the feeling that work is right at your bedside. If you get adequate nightly sleep waking up a bit earlier will become easy within just a few days.
- Take 10 minutes to do a light stretching routine in the morning. This gets the blood flowing, the brain working, and has natural relaxation value.
- Drink a glass of water. Why water? The body is more fatigued when it is even mildly dehydrated. This is because the heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. It is here that fatigue rears its ugly head. During nightly sleep there is an amount of dehydration that takes place while sleeping so waking up to a nice cool glass of water will refresh your body and mind, which is a key component to reduce stress, anxiety and fatigue upon waking up.
- Add music and a hot shower to your routine before the kids wake up. Listen to music that you enjoy and makes you feel good, which in turn promotes positive, feel good rhythms throughout the body and mind. A hot shower will wake you up and refresh you.
Fighting with kids to go to bed, bedtimes taking ages to get underway and sleep interruptions in the middle night cause not only lack of sleep for you and your kids but also cause fatigue and anxiety. If nightly sleep is not routine it effects your child the next day and you.
Grow your child into a nightly sleep routine and train them to sleep independently so they are able to fall back asleep on their own when they wake in the middle of the night. A sleep routine also enables a smoother ride at bedtime, which saves you valuable time in the evenings and gives you something to look forward to when you can rely on a quick, pleasant child bedtime.
The value of a speedy bedtime and an independent sleeper reaches out into many areas of happy, healthy parent, parenting and child.
Eliminate Searching
Keep your home organized so that you know where your belongings are. Searching for things you need in the morning is stressful and takes up valuable time. Keeping a tidy organized home has valuable benefits for everyone in the family, especially a busy working mom and dad.
Schedule Something Fun
Very busy schedules deserve something to look forward to. With so many things on your schedule, make sure that one of them is something you can look forward to and enjoy. Something just for you
Keep in Mind
In the event that you are running late for work or school, remember that if most of the time you are on time, no one is going to die if you are late once in a blue moon.
Eliminate your morning nightmare of struggles and fatigue by using these tips to reduce stress and anxiety, and give yourself and your kids the gift of a happy, smiling, patient parent.
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