Are we our own worst critics?
Mother Guilt
Does 'mother guilt' stop you from leading a healthy, active lifestyle?
There can be a real resistance to doing things for yourself once you becme a mother. The days of spoiling yourself with an indulgent massage, shopping spree, movie with girlfriends, long hair salon appointment, day at home cuddled up with some tear jerking dvd's or evening out can seem like distant memories.
Let alone, spending money on special items or specific foods for yourself or allocating a time each day for exercise, relaxation or a taking a class.
As mothers we tend to put our families needs and wants first every time as we forever strive to be the very best mums we can be and ensure that our families are happy and all taken care of in every possible conceivable way..
We become so busy looking after everybody else that we forget to take care of ourselves too. Whether we are a stay at home or working mum are lives seem so exhausting at times we might even look back and wonder how we did it all.
We can all too easily forget that as the loving warmth of our family we are so important and by not taking care of ourselves we can overdo it, we can run dry of energy, we can burn out.
The guilt you can sometimes feel as a mother, especially when your children are very young for even considering taking an hour to yourself to do something that is solely for your own benefit or pleasure can be intense. You could even just be to exhausted at the mere thought of trying to find an hour in a day, let alone be able to relax in it.
We can sometimes find it hard to ‘justify’ to ourselves that it’s really OK even if our families are supportive of the idea.
Are we our own worst critic's? Do we as mothers push ourselves too hard and expect too much from ourselves? Do we often see as ourselves as the last priority of the day?
We need to remind ourselves that we are so important to our families, our babies our children so we should be important to ourselves too and this includes looking after health. Our mind, body and soul.
We are worth the effort and we do deserve to feel vibrant and full of energy each day.
For lots of great ways to relax, exercise with your baby and children, eat better as family, boost confidence and even unleash your creative side check out my book, The Pram Diet.
Buy it here
This is true you do feel such a need 2 try and be the perfect mum and what is that anyway? we do beat ourselves up and i sure skip meals and snack on rubish because its easy. :-P Tracey
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely XX
DeleteHi, I totally agree on your blog post. Why do mothers left themselves to be the last resort? And why not define something for yourself that energises you and makes you happier as a person. You will be a better mother as a result of taking some time for yourself! I just finished a long post on 'Redefining Mother Guilt' on the topic if you want to have a look. http://blog.drivenwoman.co.uk/2013/10/10/redefining-mother-guilt/
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Miisa
Couldnt agree more Miisa, off to check out your post XX
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