In this era, almost both parents are working. They may find little time to spend with the family. With the following tips for working parents, you can try to maximize what little time you have and make the family time memorable and positive by reducing stress.
Being in stress is natural for all human beings. Life is not about being happy all the times. All emotions are good and valid. But when you raise the level of happiness above all, it reduces stress.
Parents and children both go through stress at every stage of life. Stress creates emotional, physical and conducts problems. These tips for working parents could help you reduce stress at home and increase fun time with your family.
Tips for working parents to reduce home stress:
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Organizing Family Time
- Prepare a schedule to use your time and energy more wisely with the family.
- Fun time must be included in the schedule.
- Family discussions should be regular.
- Discuss not only the problems, issues or any conflicts but also the happy moments and family goals.
- Try to do family activities together such as, play together or exercise together.
- Spend time with each child every day even if it is of shorter duration.
- Make a family calendar to mark the special occasions, meetings, appointments or outings. It will help to avoid time conflicts.
- Spend alone time with your spouse. It reduces distractions and creates a happy environment in the home.
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Defining Basic House Rules
- All the family members should define the basic house rules and agree to prevent conflicts later.
- Having meals at particular time and children going to bed at a certain time.
- Doing the dishes on time and not leaving them anywhere.
- Taking care of siblings when parents are away.
- Being responsible for your things and be organized.
- Calling home to tell the family if you are coming late from the usual time.
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Workload Sharing
- All the chores should be done by sharing the workload.
- Avoid workload on a single family member.
- Specific tasks should be allotted to each family member. Let them choose what they can do.
- Give age-appropriate chores to children. Being responsible at an early age helps to build self-esteem.
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Eating Together
- Spending meal times together is a blessing. A family which eats together stays together.
- Use meal times to share the happenings of the day.
- Train children to help in preparing the meals.
- Plan your meals before. Decide and buy the ingredients together.
- Call home if any of the family members are unable to come for the meal or occupied.
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Managing Family Illness
- Get regular health check-ups for all the family members.
- Be aware of the medical condition of each family member to reduce the stress to manage sudden illness.
- Know the symptoms to avoid panic.
- If any member is on medication, ensure to have the regular supply of medicines.
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Understand Your Children
- Deal with each child differently.
- Work out special methods to deal with the unique characteristics of each child.
- Understand the development stages of your child and move accordingly.
- Give space to teenagers.
- Avoid unrealistic expectations from children.
- Accept your children and respect them.
- Let them do crazy things and have fun with them.
- Share your experiences with them.
- Guide them from distance and let them take responsibility for their actions.
- Do not label your child as a failure, FAIL means First Attempt In Learning. Follow this simple rule and tell your child to keep trying.
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Take Help
- You can take alternative help to care for your young children.
- Grandparents, relatives or friends can help you better. Children will also be comfortable as they are familiar with them.
- Child care centers or babysitters can also be considered. He might face stress initially due to the new environment but he’ll have more friends or playmates to share.
- Try not to threaten your parental role by leaving your child with the caregiver every time.
Involving in your child’s life, keeping a positive atmosphere in the family, following healthy habits and creating happy thoughts are some of the add-ons to raise happy children. Be self-confident and optimistic. Make happiness your family goal with these tips for working parents.
Have more tips for working parents to add that helps to reduce stress? Please share with us your tips for working parents in the comments section.
Wish you a very Happy and Stress-Free Parenting!