Remember the age old saying ‘You can’t pour from an empty jug’? Well this applies to you too.
If you ever listen to the emergency announcements before take off on a flight on an aeroplane you will notice they ask you to put your own oxygen mask on first. Have you ever wondered why this is?
If you look after yourself first you will be in a much stronger position to help many others around you.
Some people may think this is selfish but actually the opposite may be true.
Suzanne explains more about the jug and the importance of parents caring for themselves too here:
Hi I’m Suzanne Pearson and I’m from Sharing Parenting and today we’re going to talk about filling your jug.
It’s fairly easy today as there’s so much going on to be constantly taking care of others and we have now become schoolteachers we’re doing home schooling we’ve got to manage the food and then look after distant relatives and very soon we’re taking care of everyone else but today we’re going to talk about taking care of ourselves and how important that is.
It’s like we were a jug and on a good day this jug is pretty full; we’ve had good food, a good night’s sleep, seen friends family everything that makes us feel good about ourself.
It’s like an emotional bank account where you have money in the bank but as the days go on – especially these days where there’s a lot of worry and anxiety you can find yourself constantly giving out.
We’re taking care of the children, we’re doing their schoolwork, we’re taking care of the food in the kitchen, looking after distant relatives, looking after bills and very soon we can begin to feel quite drained.
It’s like we’re given out of our emotional bank account and very soon you can feel very empty and when we’re feeling empty it’s hard to take care of anyone else and if the children start to play up or the children get anxious or get angry how hard is it now to deal with challenging behavior ?
Very difficult when we’re feeling drained. So taking care of ourselves is about taking care of the whole family.
Think, how do you fill your jug up?
Well I like to go out some people, then maybe just have an extra time in the bath and maybe just spending ten minutes reading something that you like to read.
I could be listening to some music and spending ten minutes doing that or it could be a nice meal or talking to a friend.
When we start putting money back to an emotional bank account and start filling our jug we’re taking care of everyone because if the children get upset and the children’s behavior changes we are now in a better position to deal with it.
Filling your jug is not being selfish.
Filling your jug is about taking care of the whole family .
So now think about how you can fill your jug.
Think about what you can do for yourself by taking care of yourself.
You’re taking care of everyone else.
That’s the end of today’s tip.
For more information or for other insights contact us.
Thank you
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