The term working parent is redundant because the minute your child is born, you become a working parent for at least the next 18 years. Whether you have a full-time job outside the home, a part-time job, or you're a full-time stay at home parent, all parents are working parents.
Well-being and parent are seldom used in the same sentence. It's hard to care for your individual well-being when you always put your child's welfare above yours. For most parents, their family and children always come first. Of course, this is the way it should be. However, this doesn't mean that a parent should put themselves last either.
It's essential to understand that a parent's well-being is just as important as the entire family's well-being. Before you take care of others, you need to take care of yourself. Remember the saying – "You can't pour from an empty cup." This is so true for parents and is something that should always be kept in mind (or written in bold letters on a Post-It stuck on the bathroom mirror just to be sure). Here's how you can manage your well-being as a working parent:
Pockets of me-time
One way of helping yourself stay well is to reserve time to do things just for you—not for your boss, partner, or children. Just something that will make you happy and fulfilled. It doesn't even have to be anything significant. Learn to set aside your work and family responsibilities (even just for a few minutes!) and focus on yourself.
Read your favorite magazine, savor a cup of coffee, or take a yoga class. Another way of spending time with yourself is meditation. This has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety and only takes a few minutes a day.
Don't worry. We won't judge you if you need to lock yourself in the bathroom to get these things done. Prioritizing self-care is challenging for every working parent, but it's a must to avoid burnout. When you have time to re-charge yourself, you'll have more energy to spend on work, your family, and everything else.
Manage your time
Take a close look at your daily or weekly schedule and see if you are spending too much time on specific activities. Are you taking two hours a day cleaning and picking up after your 13-year-old son? Maybe you realized you just spent an hour on the phone trying to get hold of a client who obviously doesn't want to be reached.
Study how you spend your day and see if you can make it more organized and efficient. For example, schedule all the regular calls you have to make on Tuesdays. Talk to your teenage son and tell him that he needs to start becoming more responsible and care for his own things.
An essential aspect of managing your time is also learning how to say no. It's tempting for parents to always say yes to everyone, especially people you want to please. However, saying no to things that will only stress you out more will give you more time for meaningful activities that add value to your life.
Delegate responsibilities
When you find yourself drowning in work, household, and family responsibilities, it's time to start delegating. At home, even young children can be assigned simple household chores. If you have a 4 or 5-year-old child, you can ask her to start setting the table, putting away dishes, or feeding pets.
Older children can be given even more advanced chores like vacuuming the living room, cleaning countertops, and taking out the trash. Micro-managing children can come naturally to many parents. Still, a working parent needs to be mindful that you're allowing your children to do and learn things on their own.
When you delegate household chores, you'll reduce your workload and teach your children responsibility—definitely a win-win situation.
Outsource what you can
Nowadays, you can have practically everything delivered to your doorstep: groceries, medicine, ready-to-eat meals, and even ingredients to make specific dishes. Instead of running to the market a few times a week, which can take at least an hour each trip, explore convenient online grocery options in your area.
Maybe you can just schedule one supermarket trip a month to buy items that aren't available online. This will save you at least a couple of hours a week! This extra time can be spent on other vital things that contribute to your well-being, like a run around the neighborhood or a much-needed call with your best friend.
If you have the extra funds, you can even hire professional cleaners to clean your house every so often, saving you precious time and energy. Some might say this is a waste of money because you can do it on your own, but IF you can afford it, there's no harm in asking for help and, in return, saving your sanity. Some websites and apps allow you to hire people for small errands or projects.
These are just a few ways to help working parents take care of their own well-being. Parents usually (and naturally) put their family first, work second, others around them third, and themselves may be way down on the list of what's essential. Working parent guilt is definitely real. When you're done with work for the day, you feel like you need to switch gears immediately and turn into the perfect parent. However, it's important to remember that this can lead to burnout. Parents need to prioritize themselves and their well-being as well. When parents are physically and mentally healthy, their family and their work will also reap the benefits.