The other day my 9-year-old wanted a bowl of Goldfish crackers. As usual, I told him if he wanted something “junky” like that, he had to eat something nutritional, like an apple, which he happily obliged. And it got me to thinking: what if I ate what I make my son eat? I’d be much healthier.
When I’m chiming after him to drink some water, I’m busy making my third coffee. While I’m preparing him a well-balanced lunch of protein, fruits, veggies, and some dairy, I’m stuffing stale muffins in my mouth and washing it down with, what else, more coffee. I don’t get 7-8 hours of sleep each night, and instead sacrifice sleep for alone time to binge watch horrible reality TV shows.
We spend so much time focusing on our children’s health and give so much less attention to our own wellbeing. Why is that?
Oh yeah- because our kids always come first.
But maybe it’s time that we come in at a close second. And it’s not just nutritional choices. What about limiting our own screen time? Reading more? Flexing our creative muscles and doing a craft or art project?
I’d like to issue a challenge to all you parents in the New Year: let’s make our family’s health a priority, not just our kids. Let’s hydrate like we encourage our children to do and try to eat more balanced meals and snacks. Let’s wear sunscreen, let’s get regular dentist and doctor appointments, let’s put time aside for naps (or at least resting), let’s get good-quality sleep, and let’s read and create more.
In the end, we’ll all be better parents for it!
A full-time work-from-home mom, Jennifer Cox (our “Supermom in Training”) loves dabbling in healthy cooking, craft projects, family outings, and more, sharing with readers everything she knows about being an (almost) superhero mommy.