Parenting is hard work. Be sure you take care of yourself.
Do you ever wake up in the morning, having slept well and feeling refreshed and ready for the day? In this scenario your jug is full.
Then the day begins: no one is doing what they should be doing. Your older child is complaining he can’t find his football kit and doing nothing to help himself. Your middle one is totally engrossed in a screen and oblivious to your instructions to start getting dressed. The dog has just been sick on the carpet, and your toddler throws a tantrum because all the Choco Pops have been eaten.
By the time you leave the house your jug is only about three quarters full.
You need to fill your jug, especially when parenting is hard
Things are no better at work. The phone won’t stop ringing, you can’t get anything done, and your boss is on the warpath.
Your jug continues to empty throughout the day.
Back home, and the house is a tip, the children are arguing, tea has to be cooked and you are feeling shattered. Your jug is almost empty, and there is a busy evening of cooking, clearing up, tidying, bedtimes, supervising homework, doing the washing, etc. ahead of you. Maybe you don’t sleep so well that night and wake up with a jug that is already half empty at the start of the next day.
If you are operating with a jug that is never full, or perhaps even nearly empty most of the time, it is very important to try and find ways to to fill that jug up as often as you can. We all need time out to rest and relax, and to have a break. And sometimes we need to ask for help.
If you feel pressure building up, try to find a way to have a little regular time out whenever you can. Parenting is hard work often, make sure you fill your jug!