Are you one of those parents who looks on with a mixture of jealousy and admiration at mothers of other children who seem to take it all in their stride? Do you marvel as they persuade their kids to eat kale and not crisps and have children who seem to love to expend energy running around the park rather than sitting on the couch playing video games?
Juggling your life when you have children is not easy, and things can become very stressful indeed if you are looking to maintain, start or progress in your career. It can seem to be something of an impossible task.
Inevitably as a mom, you may start to feel a little guilty when it comes to trying to do it all, but this is to be expected and shouldn’t stop you from trying to keep your work life moving in the right direction. Indeed, for some, it is a necessity as you look to bring in the financial stability you might need to keep your home life balanced.
Obviously, your chief concern is the well-being of your children, and you want to be sure that they are healthy from a physical and mental perspective and it might sometimes feel that your busy lifestyle can negatively impact on that, but there are many ways and routines that you can look to formulate and enact that can prove to be all the difference.
Here are seven ways you can look to keep your kids healthy even if you feel there aren’t enough hours in the day.
Encourage Regular Exercise
In 2023 there are many distractions that can come into play when you are trying to keep your kids healthy. Regular exercise is key, but the allure and temptation that can come from video games, social media, and mobile devices can make this a hard sell.
Here you should try to encourage your kids to see exercise as not a chore but something that is fun and just happens to have physical benefits, as opposed to the other way around.
This is perhaps easier if you have more than one child as that way, the kids have a regular outlet. Set aside a period of the day, for a few days of the week, where you actively encourage this period of exercise.
Whether this takes the form of a particular sport or just pushing them out the door to take a walk around the block, the way this works best is if it becomes almost second nature.
Meal Delivery Services
This industry really caught on during the coronavirus pandemic and continues to be hugely popular today. It could really help revolutionize meal times for you and your family while also aiding a push towards a more healthy diet without racking up massive expenses that you might be wasting from takeout services.
As a busy mom, you may not have time to cook and plan meals, and more importantly, you might not even be able to shop effectively so that healthy foods are always in the house. This is where meal delivery kits can be a lifesaver.
Meal delivery kits come in all sorts of varieties and types, but essentially they are a great way to buy meals in bulk, with ingredients already prepared and a minimal amount of effort is needed to plate the finished product.
Obviously, there may be financial constraints to consider, and some services are on the more expensive side, such as brands you are familiar with, like Hello Fresh, but there are many Hello Fresh alternatives worthy of your attention, such as Home Chef, Fresh and Easy, and Sunbasket.
When You Kid Is Sick, Keep Them at Home
If you work during the day, the last thing you need is a sick kid. There is sometimes the tendency to push your child to go to school if their ailment isn’t that serious, and in many ways, this is not a great course of action to take.
Studies show that kids who are sick and go to school will take longer to recover than if they were just to take a day or two off. This isn’t what you want to hear if you are a working mom, and hopefully, your place of employment is supportive of your needs to take care of your children, but sadly that isn’t always the case.
If you work remotely, then this is less of a problem, but generally speaking, your kid will spend less time off sick if they are given the time and space to recover in the first place.
A Happy Child is a Healthy Child
As well as physical health, the mental health of your child is vital. What tends to exacerbate any issue in this regard is a lack of communication. If your relationship with your child is an open and communicative one, then the chances are your kid will maintain a strong sense of mental well-being.
This isn’t something that happens by chance or accident. If you establish a close bond that is honest and open, then it’s less likely that issues that occur in your child’s early years will develop into problems that lead them to be unhappy. A happy child is a healthy child.
Don’t Feel Guilty About Your Busy Lifestyle
Kids, no matter their age, can pick up on their parent’s moods, feelings, and general state of happiness. They know if something isn’t quite right. Many moms will, at some point, feel a sense of guilt as they try to juggle all aspects of their lives and will have a perennial fear that, in some way, their child is suffering as a result.
The guilt you feel, while understandable, is not an emotion that will lead you in a positive direction. Once you understand that the feeling of guilt impacts the entire family unit, you may be better prepared to adjust your perspective.
Set Boundaries In Terms of Screen Time
Sometimes you will have to be a mean mom. There will be points where you have to put your foot down, and this may well occur in relation to the amount of time your kids spend glued to their screens.
Trying to wean them off this particular addiction, and often that is precisely what it is, isn’t easy, but the sooner you do so, the easier it will be to manage. This has secondary benefits if you look to replace these precious minutes and hours with family time, which can be coupled with healthy outdoor pursuits.
