Parent Support With Mindful ME: How To Ease Stress & Anxiety During This Time, Mindful Parenting

Contributed by expert contributor: Joanne Jewell, Mindful Parenting Expert From Mindful ME

This week QiDZ Head Of Marketing, Nourhan Hassan, chatted with Joanne about the stress she is feeling while home schooling her 5-year old daughter while also taking care of her 10 month old baby.

My challenge is that now I feel that I have to replace all of the activities and entertainment that my 5-year old daughter was used to having before: school, friends, after school activities – it’s all me now.

I also feel whatever I do it’s not enough and am feeling the pressure both ways.

I don’t feel it’s enough for her and this also doesn’t leave much time for myself.

I also have a 10 month old baby, so I am struggling to to fit in the demands of my preschooler with the baby’s routine and also working.

It’s much more challenging to think of the positive in this situation, however I would say we now have more time to bake together which is something we both enjoy. Both challenges and positives are for my 5 year old.

It sounds like you have very high expectations of yourself and this could easily lead to you also having high expectations of your daughter – this can result in both stress and anxiety for both of you.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind when you start to feel the stress:

• There is no such thing as a perfect mum or perfect daughter, we are all imperfect and that’s okay

 

• Focus on less doing and more being – it sounds like you are practicing this in the baking and both enjoying it – being definitely results in more joy

 

• Take the pressure off yourself, practice self compassion and recognize that whatever you are doing is enough

 

• Take some time for yourself – your children will benefit from this – “put on the oxygen mask first” and say No to the things that aren’t important

 

• Allow her time to be bored – this is when the creative juices flow. If she tells you she’s bored that’s okay, allow for this feeling to come and it will also pass if you can resist rescuing her from it!

 

• Focus on what you can control and practice staying in the now rather than worrying about what your routine was in the past or might be in the future – Now is all we have!

 

 

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