Becoming parents is a momentous occasion. It is a period in one’s life that brings great joy, happiness and hope for the future. Additionally, it can bring stress, anxiety and at times, begin to affect your marriage and your overall well-being. So, how do we avoid the sometimes stressful pitfalls of parenthood?
Be willing to get a sitter.
I know that there are some people who just don’t do it and I need to preface this piece by saying that ultimately, the decision to leave your child in someone else’s care is really up to you, but here’s my argument for leaving baby behind for a few hours, overnight or even while you go on vacation.
It allows mental freedom.
When I say “mental freedom,” this most certainly doesn’t mean you stop thinking about your child together. What it means is, every once in a while, you get out for a nice meal where you get to eat your food before it gets cold because you’re not busy cutting up everyone else’s, taking little ones to the restroom because they just “have” to go right now (even though they went five minutes ago) AND you may even finish a conversation from beginning to end. And there is merit in that mental break – trust me!
It builds a reconnection between you and your spouse.
When you get out of the house on your own with your spouse, whether that’s for a couple of hours for a nice dinner alone, an overnight at a local hotel on the beach or a full-blown vacation – each version of this quality time with your spouse is valuable.
Oftentimes when couples have families, they forget to continue building time for each other into the overall health and well-being of the family. There may be some who argue they can’t do this kind of thing, but I beg to differ – sure, you may not be able to get out and splurge, but you can trade favors with close friends, have grandparents come – or if all else fails, turn everything off after the kids go to bed and have a date at home – but make that happen.
Allows you to refocus and enjoy your life as a parent more.
When you feel like you’ve had time to regroup and have some down time, you’ll be ready to continue on with the rigorous extracurricular activity schedule with a smile, or manage that work project late into the night because you’ll have had time away from those things. Or you’ll have time to look forward to by planning these things regularly into your schedule.
Getting a sitter allows you the ability to focus on yourself, your relationships and things in your life that aren’t just about your kids, because while our kids trump everything else in the world – that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be looking to balance it out a bit with some quality time away from them so we can just “be” in our own heads on occasion.
But that’s just one mom’s perspective.
What are your thoughts on getting a sitter or having family care for your children so you can get away for a date, evening away, or vacation just you and/or your spouse?Â
Image via Flickr Ed Yourdon
