Most parents spend a lot of time worried about their children’s happiness. Many believe that they can only be as happy as their unhappiest child, while others get so disillusioned by adulthood that finding slivers of happiness seems nearly impossible.
You deserve to experience more moments of happiness, for your sake and your children’s sake. It turns out that when you’re happy, you make your kids happier too, so it’s well worth your time to give the five ideas on this list a try!
Don’t Stay in an Unhappy Relationship
Many couples strive to stay together for the kids. It’s true that happy kids sometimes come from families that stay together, but it’s also true that unhappy kids can just as easily be the product of two adults who stayed together when they shouldn’t have.
Happy kids can also come from divorced families. There are ways of mitigating the impact of divorce on children so that they go on to be happier than they were living with two parents who didn’t love each other.
Don’t stay in an unhappy relationship for the sake of your kids. Not only will you be happier in the long run by separating, they will likely be happier too.
Spend Time With Friends
Spending time with friends is easy when you’re young. As you get older and responsibilities get in the way, it becomes more and more difficult until you realize it has been months since you’ve spent time with any of your friends.
Make time to grab lunch, go out for the night, or go on a weekend getaway with your friends! Having good friends reduces feelings of loneliness and boosts feelings of happiness in both the short term and the long term.
You also lay the foundation for prioritizing friendships in adulthood for your children. They are more likely to make and keep friends when they’re adults when they see their parents making time for friends.
Try Affirmations and Positive Self-Talk
It can be hard to get into self-affirmations and positive self-talk because it feels uncomfortable, but you should do it anyway. It is scientifically proven to broaden your overall perspective and reduce the effect of negative emotions.
It’s good for your kids too! When they see you saying positive things about yourself, they are more likely to model that behavior and say positive things about themselves.
Not sure what to say? Here are some positive affirmations to get you started:
- I will accomplish everything I need to do today
- I can do hard things
- I am enough, and I have enough
- I am a magnet for positivity, abundance, and happiness
- I am thankful for my body and everything it does for me
Practice Gratitude for the Little Things
Gratitude is another way to boost your happiness. It activates neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, which are associated with pleasure, mood regulation, and feelings of connectedness.
The trick to practicing gratitude is not to wait for the big things to show up in your life. It’s easy to be grateful if you win the lottery, but taking the time to be grateful for the little things in your life is what enables you to truly harness the power of gratitude.
Instead of feeling grouchy after paying the bills because they’re so expensive, be grateful that you have the money to pay for them. Take time to appreciate a sunset or a delicious homemade cookie. It will make you feel better, and your kids will start to be grateful for the little things around them too.
Engage in Acts of Giving
Generosity comes with a whole slew of benefits, including the ability to counter the effects of depression. Not to mention, when you’re generous, your children learn to be generous too.
Giving money to causes you believe in is one way to be generous, but there are many other ways to give, even if you don’t have a lot of money.
Can you help shovel an elderly neighbor’s walkway? Can you leave a thank-you note for the mail person? Can you cook dinner for a sick friend? There are many ways to be creative and help those around you!
You can’t just focus on your children’s happiness. If you really want them to be happy, you have to focus on your happiness too! Follow the tips on this list to cultivate feelings of happiness in your life and you’ll teach your children to do the same, now and in the future.
