6 Ways to Treat Yourself Now That Your Kids Are Back

It’s that time again: your kids are back in school.

For many parents (mostly mothers, with special attention to single mothers), summer vacation is a whirlwind of patience, endurance, and constant juggling between work and family.

And then there’s the back-to-school planning process itself! Shopping for the never-ending school supply list is just the beginning. The pressure on parents to be involved in their children’s school lives can also be overwhelming. And for some, the thought of a new school year can bring on separation anxiety, lingering pandemic concerns, or other valid sources of stress.

So when the kids go back to school, rather than filling every free second with errands, chores, and/or working at your real job (your second work, to be precise), isn’t it? to dare I forget you.

Taking care of yourself is not selfish – you heard it here first. Taking time for yourself and recharging is not optional. Not to mention, when you feel good, it’s much easier to be a better parent, a better spouse, a better friend, and a better employee.

While self-care will look different for everyone, consider these six ways to treat yourself to what you need this September.

1. Take care of yourself

Whether you consider yourself a diva or not, don’t hesitate to book a hair appointment, massage, pedicure, manicure, facial, and/or spa day—whatever you’re in the mood for. If you’re one of those of us who hasn’t gotten a professional haircut since March 2020, it’s time. If you’ve never been one to enjoy pampering yourself, don’t give up until you try. If you’re someone who enjoys it, consider making it a monthly occurrence.

2. Plan a regular date night, with anyone, including yourself

Plan a weekly or monthly date night with your partner, love interest, friends, family, or even just yourself, baby. Often times, the only way to make time for your friends is to plan it in advance. If you and your partner need to set aside Wednesday nights (work nights, so to speak) to pre-planned sexthere is no shame in that! And if you need to write it down a solo pleasure sessiondo it. Your body, mind and heart will thank you later. Up the ante by buying yourself a new toy (or three).

3. Consider hiring a janitor

If you can afford it, save yourself some valuable time by hiring a housekeeper, even if it’s just once a month or for certain areas of the house. You might even save money by sharing with another neighbor. While many people are hesitant to hire another person to clean their space, there’s no shame in taking steps to free up more family time on your days off, rather than spending it stripping beds and cleaning bathrooms.

4. Follow your joy

While people without full-time paid employment will have more time to actively pursue activities that make them happy, you can still make time (if you want to, you can). Whether it’s creating space in your life to read more regularly (eroticism, anyone??), work on that novel you’ve been slowly writing for ten years, sign up for a dance class or start gardening, even a few hours a week can make a huge difference in how you feel about yourself.

5. Get organized

For some of us, the best way to practice self-care is to avoid chaos with a giant whiteboard mounted on the kitchen wall. After all, a family that communicates its needs is a well-oiled machine. Use your sexy whiteboard to track the kids’ activities and your evening commitments with your partner so you can work together to divide up tasks. Create sections that the kids can update themselves if possible.

6. Put your health first

To ease back-to-school stress for you and your kids, make sure you prioritize your health, both mental and physical (they’re inextricably linked). Make sure you do all the things you probably tell your kids to do: exercise, Eat healthyAnd get enough sleepto begin with. You don’t stop needing the basics just because you’re an adult. Deep breathing and Meditation can also make all the difference in the world, as can taking care of any lingering issues. vaginal health Or pelvic floor problems. You could throw a cherry on the cake also : to have one orgasm a day for good measure.

Takeaway: Even when life is busy, you need to make time for yourself. Correction: especially When life gets busy. In fact, there’s no point in putting off your self-care for another day, because when you’re a parent, there’s always going to be something that seems more urgent. So even if it feels like you’re taking up more time than you can afford, do it. Ask the babysitter to step up or your partner to do extra chores for a day, no matter what it takes, and when you come out the other side of what you did for yourself, you’ll see how crucial it was. Life, after all, is for living, not just existing. Take yours.