Parenting is a big job. It encompasses so many different feelings and emotions. It’s a rollercoaster of sorts. And when it comes to having patience, so many parents will agree that it doesn’t always come easy. Think back to the times you’ve run out of patience. You might be there right now, and it doesn’t feel good.
However, there are always things you can do to regain your patience and enjoy your role as a parent more. Here are three things to try out the next time you’re feeling at the end of your rope.
1. Pay Attention to Your Needs
Oftentimes, stress has a sneaky way of creeping in when you least expect it. It could be because you’re so busy in your day-to-day routines to notice, or because you’re just so used to the chaos that you’re desensitized to it. Unfortunately, when this happens, your patience and overall well being are some of the first things to suffer.
And as a parent, you know how this can negatively impact your relationship with your kids. It’s when the little things that might not normally annoy you become intolerable. You might become more sensitive, raising your voice more than you’d like to, or be unable to communicate with your kids effectively. Since none of this is helpful, you must be able to nip it in the bud before it manifests into something more.
Prioritizing self-care is necessary. Keep it simple. Daily exercise, nourishing your body with a healthy diet, and keeping yourself calm and balanced with hemp flower will all go a long way in helping you regain patience.
2. Embrace Routine
Have you ever noticed how helpful predictability and organization can be? Even when life is at its busiest, having effective and established routines can be lifesavers, especially when it comes to your level of patience.
However, it’s important to know the difference between a daily rhythm and being too rigid. If your family is trying to conform under an extremely strict schedule, that’s bound to cause more stress. It can also lead to inflexibility. The trick is identifying areas in your life that need the most structure and building healthy routines from there.
To start, note times when you feel your patience waning. Is it during the morning rush, getting everyone ready for the day and where they need to be? Is it during the day, when you have a list of housework a mile long, but your toddler has other plans? Or is it in the evening when you’re exhausted and wrangling the kids, dinnertime, and everything that comes along with it?
Setting routines during these times will help immensely. They’ll serve as not only the guidelines everyone can benefit from but will give you the nudge you need to press on. Eventually, they’ll become second nature to all. Don’t worry if you slip up; just get back on track the next day. But if you notice something isn’t working, adjust it.
3. Know When To Reset
Who hasn’t been to a place of utter burnout? Burnout doesn’t care about routine, best-laid plans, or how frayed your nerves already are. When it happens, there’s only one solution — to take a step back, reset, and regroup.
Even if it feels counterproductive to do so, taking this break will be more valuable than pushing through. You might not always be able to do so 100%, because life doesn’t work that way. But taking a good look at the entire situation will help you find the areas you can work on.
For instance, maybe you’re losing your patience with your kids because of homework battles every night. They’re tired after different activities and practices, it’s late, there’s school in the morning and instead of resting, you’re arguing over adjectives and math. What can you do? Consider thinning out your family’s extracurricular schedule. Give everyone some breathing room.
Finding more patience is possible, even if it doesn’t feel that way now. Paying attention to how you’re feeling, meeting your needs, organizing your life, and simplifying it where you can help you get there.