Written By: Brad Krause

Teaching your kids about self-care will set them up for success in all areas of life. They will feel more confident, in control, and better able to handle life’s many challenges. Work with your children to encourage healthy self-care activities like exercise, balanced eating, and getting enough sleep. Here are some tips from The Family Life Project to help you support the development of your child’s self-care skills!

Create a Calming Home Environment

According to Thrive, all the different elements of your house can impact your mental health. For example, clutter or disorganization is a key source of stress for kids and parents alike. Try to create a relaxing home environment that inspires your family to keep up with your self-care goals. Get rid of clutter, bring in some houseplants, and create a calming atmosphere with layered lighting. You may even want to diffuse essential oils like lavender and lemon to freshen your home and give everyone a little mood boost.

Make Time for Your Children When Life is Busy

Life is always going to be busy. You will always have ongoing projects to complete and errands to run. Don’t put off the things that matter most to you! Prioritizing what’s important in your life sets a great example for your children. Culture Creative explains that putting your health and happiness first can actually improve your career! Look for ways to spend quality time with your kids during busy periods at work. Be available at bedtime to chat or read a story, plan some new experiences together, or have your kids help you with household chores.

Model Healthy Ways to Manage Stress

In a world where almost everyone is stressed almost all the time, it’s clear that stress management is critical to one’s health and wellbeing. Teach your kids how to manage stress in healthy ways. Better yet, model good stress management habits so your kids can internalize these behaviors themselves.

If your kids are very young, start teaching them about stress and how to identify it. This is an important practice in self-awareness—which is fundamental to self-care. LifeAsMama offers several tips to help your kids improve their self-awareness skills so they can identify their needs and engage in self-care when they’re facing discomfort. Show your kids what feelings look like, help them identify the feelings of others, and establish a household commitment to free and open communication about feelings.

Some of us don’t really learn how to identify our needs and care for ourselves until well into adulthood. Give your kids a head start by encouraging self-care skills from a young age! When your kids are introspective and aware of their physical and emotional needs, they’ll be able to make the best decisions for their health and wellbeing.

Check out The Family Life Project website to find counseling services, parenting classes, informative articles, and other valuable resources to help enhance your family life.

This article was reprinted with permission. Visit the author’s website for more articles and free email subscription http://selfcaring.info/