50 Examples of Self-Care for Moms and Why It’s So Important
What is Self-Care?
Self-care is just what it sounds like. Taking care of yourself. In the medical sense, it means to take care of yourself without the help of a medical professional. In the mainstream sense, it means to perform acts of care that promote your well-being.
There are different areas of self-care including:
• Emotional
• Physical
• Social
• Spiritual
To practice self-care is to practice the ability of identifying your needs and taking time to meet them. Self-care doesn’t always look like taking a bath or doing something lazy. If it makes you feel better to check off your to-do list, or clean your house, then do that!
Why a Mother’s Self-Care is Important
Moms are the care providers for everyone else. Taking care of their children and spouses is their top priority. Moms get so busy taking care of everyone else that there is often no time left for themselves.
However, when a mother does not practice an adequate amount of self-care, she can get burned out. When you are burned out, it’s harder to be the best mother, wife, businesswoman, friend, etc. Self-care is important for mothers because it allows them to show up again and again and continue to give to those around them.
No one can do all the things a mother does without a break and time to themselves occasionally.
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How a Stay-at-Home Mom Can Practice Self-Care
When I researched the struggles of stay-at-home moms, the top issue was self-care. Most moms said they had no time for themselves. Their self-care had gone out the window since becoming a mom. Keeping up with things around the house and taking care of everyone consumes all their time and they get left with a very small amount (if any) time for them.
Stay-at-home moms, and all moms in general, need to find balance in order to practice self-care.
How to Balance Self-Care as a Mom
We, as moms, do not have time to spare. It’s hard to fit anything into our day. I find that I seem to always be behind on something! If the dishes are done, the laundry didn’t get folded. If you played with the kids all day, the house is a wreck. I get it!
I have found that the key to everything as a mom is finding BALANCE. It’s just fine that the dishes didn’t get done today. Or that the laundry will wait until tomorrow. The most important thing is that your family taken care of, right?
So, if you need to skip mopping the floor to take some time for yourself, that’s perfectly okay. It’s also perfectly okay to ask your partner or a family member to help while you have a break. If you allow someone to help you, it does not mean that you failed or are not doing what you’re supposed to be doing.
Finding Time
Make sure that you are balancing your schedule enough to include even a small amount of time for yourself. Like I said, if something else needs to get pushed, that’s just fine. I remember reading something, and I can’t seem to find it again, but it was along the lines of “Your kids won’t cherish the memories of everything being perfect. They will cherish the memories when their parents were happy.â€. This is true. The best memories I have, at least, are those of my family being together and being happy. You can’t show up and be happy and positive if you haven’t taken care of yourself.
How Should Moms Practice Self-Care
Hopefully you will carve out some time in your schedule for yourself and practice some self-care. So, what do you do for self-care? The whole point of self-care is making sure that your needs are taken care of. You’ll need to identify your needs and make sure they are met.
If you are feeling like you don’t have enough social interaction with adults, a form of self-care would be to meet up with your friend for a coffee. If you feel like you haven’t had time to focus on your health, a form of self-care would be to make yourself a smoothie and go for a walk. You get the idea.
The acts of self-care you should practice won’t be the same as what other people do. What you should do for yourself is directly related to your needs. Thing of self-care as solving a problem for yourself.
Examples of Self-Care for Moms
Here are some examples of self-care that you can practice as a mom. Find something that you can fit into your schedule and do it.
- Yoga
- Meditate
- Take a long, fancy bath with bubbles or a bath bomb while you read or watch a show
- Get a massage
- Move for 30 minutes
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Give yourself a Mani Pedi
- Learn something new like an instrument
- Keep personal goals
- See a counselor
- Color in an adult coloring book
- Go to the gym or complete a workout program
- Get outside
- Read a book
- Listen to an audiobook
- Find a podcast to listen to
- Indulge in your favorite snack or meal
- Play a video game
- Watch TV or a movie after the kids are in bed
- Meet with a friend for lunch, a drink, or coffee
- Be part of a social group like a book club or bible study
- Write in a journal
- Get crafty and work on a project
- Go to church or listen to a sermon
- Go for a walk
- Attend a cycle class
- Take a nap
- Take a class (online or in-person)
- Say “No†to things you don’t want to do or don’t have time for
- Give yourself or go get a facial
- Drink enough water
- Eat a healthy diet
- Start a hobby
- Sleep in
- Get your hair done
- Put on clothes that make you feel good
- Diffuse something that smells good
- Do a foot soak
- Get a sitter and go out on a date night
- Find a mommy-and-me group
- Start a group message with other moms
- Stretch (follow a YouTube video)
- Declutter a room in your home
- Take care of things that have been on your to-do list
- Grow plants or a garden
- Complete a devotional
- Get your goals organized
- Make a quick body scrub and exfoliate your skin
- Put on a hair mask
- Do nothing
What Does Self-Care Look Like to You?
A lot of the above ideas came from moms who told me their favorite self-care acts. What do you like to do for yourself? Self-care has changed a lot for me based on the seasons in my life. Right now, it’s hard for me to get time alone with a baby in the house. I like to take baths, listen to audiobooks, and take walks for my self-care. Let me know what you like to do in the comments below.
Favorite Self-Care Items
