Are you a caged hen?

Getting fresh air and exercising are ways that help many parents stay mentally positive and healthy, but what do we do in the Winter time when going outside isn’t always a pleasant experience. Some parents relish running or walking in poor weather but when we introduce kids into the equation it’s a different matter.

Our response is often to rush into booking things we can do to escape the nest, planxiety creeps in as well as FOMO and we start to panic about the the prospect of being trapped in the house all day with young kids. We want to avoid the potential guilt resulting our kids sitting on their tablets eating Nutella all day but what can we do?

I find myself making pots of coffee, manically hoovering and constantly checking my phone to try and distract myself. I’m trying to avoid thinking about the perfect dad I should be where I’m crafting with the kids, baking and juggling like a court jester – I’m doing all of this in a Victorian setting where children aren’t corrupted by digital media or the ills of consumerism.

But that isn’t reality so instead now I try:

1. Acceptance – accepting that being in the house with the kids isn’t the worst thing in the world; Yes there might be challenges but I try to go into it with a positive mindset

2. Avoid distractions – stop making more coffee and put the phone in a drawer

3. Ask the kids what they would like to do – often it isn’t what you think will make them happy (and what actually might be more stressful than staying at home), my little boy most often tells me he wants to play in the garden (we are lucky enough to have a covered area when it rains)

4. Imagine if you worked away all of the time – this is your one day with the kids; Embrace it

5. Self-talking and breathing – where you do have challenges caused by the kids arguing or generally being difficult, use these techniques to stay calm – calm parent = calm kids.

Read more about rejecting distractions and embracing reality.

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