This is a sponsored guest post.
There is nothing in life that quite compares with being a parent. The love you feel for your children is beyond intense and anyone who ever told you that parenting wasn’t a 24/7 job has probably never been a parent! While there are those amazing moments filled with love and affection, there are also times when the stresses of everyday life just wear you down. Instead of letting those stresses ruin an otherwise beautiful experience, why not learn some well-placed tips for dealing with the stresses of parenting?
Learn to Recognize the Signs
One of the things you can do when learning to deal with stress is to recognize the signs of stress so that you aren’t suddenly overwhelmed. From being short-tempered with family members to experiencing physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, you can often prevent things from getting out of control by recognizing those points where you are at your limits. Stress is one of the leading causes of irregular or rapid heartbeats, so learn to listen to what your body is telling you!
Learn to Step Away
You will be told over and over again that as a parent you need to pick your battles wisely. Unfortunately, that’s only ‘half’ the advice you should be given. It also means that often you need to step away from situations you can do nothing about. You obviously can’t leave young children unattended so that you can step away, but you can have a contingency plan in place for those moments you just need to find that quiet within yourself.
Contingency Plans
Let’s look at a few of those contingency plans you need to have in place. Perhaps you have a neighbor or family member who will mind the kids for a half-hour or so while you take that much-needed break. It’s better to take a few deep breaths than to lose control with the kids. Perhaps you were so distracted you locked your keys in the car and the house key is on the same ring! Don’t panic. Call a locksmith! You can learn more at Action Lock Doc. Maybe you have a family room with a DVD player or cable TV. Let the kids watch that one program you keep in reserve for those moments you need them to settle down. These would be the shows that kids are always asking to watch but you strategically hold back for those moments when you need to call out the reserves. Believe it or not, it works!
Talk It Through
While you might not have the luxury to have a family therapist in your area or one who is covered by your insurance plan, you must have that one friend or trusted confidante you can share your innermost feelings with. Don’t keep things bottled inside you because there will come a point when those feelings literally explode. Think of that can of soda that fell and you didn’t let it rest before opening it. Soda sprayed everywhere leaving a sticky mess behind. This is the best metaphor for those stressful feelings you keep bottled inside. What a sticky mess you’ll experience if you don’t give them time to settle down.
Every parent experiences stress, sometimes beyond what they can cope with. There is nothing unusual about that and it doesn’t mean you are a bad parent. It means you are human, after all. Learn to cope with the stress you will certainly experience as part of the natural order of parenting and although you can’t always expect smooth sailing, you might not encounter gale-force winds.
