It doesn’t matter if you’re a working-class mom, a stay at home mom or a combination of both—which is possible—you are a working mom.
Whether your children are small, well behaved or trouble makers, being a mom is a really rewarding experience, yet an extremely daunting task. And that’s why moms need a break.
Are you a mum who likes to feed your toddler while keeping an eye to a starved animal over the fence, at the same time?
Are you a mom who respond to work emails at 2 a.m on a Saturday while your young toddler cries profusely for the breast milk?
Are you a mom who takes days (let’s be real here, 5 days) without taking a bath at the expense of bathing your kids daily with a mommy –approved-soap?
Well, I see all of you.
But we all need a break at one point, lest we break– a break from overwhelming family chores, break from multitasking–doing two, three, five, ten things at once. Mom’s strength doesn’t lie in the ability to stir the milk with one hand while soothing the baby with the other. Let’s break from ambidextrous duties in our twenties and thirties and forties which demand more from us than one strong hand will allow.
Taking a break doesn’t make you a lesser mom. You need to be a strong mom and say “well, I want to be a role model to our children. I want them to feel mom’s love—that mommy cares for them and is still committed to her work. Yet I need to take a break before I break, which is still good for them”
Here are the reasons why you, mama, deserve a break.
1. You’re not a super mom
Nobody is a superhuman, and therefore no super mom. Basically, balancing work and family is a daunting task. All is required is to do your best, and doing your best requires a break because it’s energy-consuming.
Take a break from the daily tasks to refresh and re-energize yourself. I mostly advice busy moms to take a trip to a beautiful destination and get to unwind. Caribbean vacation at Turks and Caicos is the ultimate for an all-inclusive vacation. Whether you are alone or with a family, the Caribbean destination offers the best beach vacations with kids to relax, and unwind from hard work, in a fresh ocean breeze.
2. Independence
The good thing about taking a break as a mom is that you teach your kids to be independent. When you constantly hang around your kids, they become overly dependent. This means that your kids will, less likely do things on their own, even when they become adults.
Taking a break from your kids makes you literary absent from them and this gives them an opportunity to do stuff on their own.
And no, this is not a leeway to neglect your kids in the name of taking a break. Make sure there is somebody to be in charge of them. And once these kids become independent, they will always appreciate what you do for them.
3. Life doesn’t end at ‘mum’
While we agree that parenting is completely an act of selflessness, it doesn’t have to make you lose yourself completely.
Solution?
Yes, the solution is to give yourself space. It’s ok to go see friends, go out for meals, and go for an exercise or even head to a beach resort without tagging your kids with you.
Family is 100 percent everything, but don’t forget you come first too sometimes. You need to make time for yourself and do the things you enjoy less you embrace signs of depression and boredom and eventually bid goodbye to your identity.
4. A great way to address burn out
Mostly, parents don’t get to “turn off”, but knowing when you’re running on empty, taking a step back can make all the difference.
Have you ever had this notion that once you get a few things done, that’s when you will switch off? But sometimes it’s hard to get the switch to turn off, especially when dealing with children. It feels hard to prioritize yourself but it’s so worth it.
A break makes you address your burn out, and it makes you a much better mom, wife, and person.
5. Relieve stress
The typical day of a busy mom would consist of conferences, seminars, cooking, disciplining your child and coordinating various tasks. The hustle sometimes may over power you and make you become irritable. Children won’t understand you, as they think it’s your normal routine. That’s why if a busy mom doesn’t take a break they are likely to yell at their kids or do substandard jobs.
Having an occasional break helps you remain calm and still during highly stressful days of parenting.
6. You have needs, too
Parenting involves lots of work which drains one physically and mentally, and it’s important to remember to take care of your needs too.
This all comes down to space and time; whereby you create space and make time for your needs. Be confident in your choices and needs.
Become aware of things that make you feel like’ you’ when you get stressed up. Those become your main escape doors from work or kid stress.