3 Easy Tips to Balance Work and Family
16 August 2015
Read by 3359 persons
Everywhere it's the same, the crazy race to balance family life, work and personal life.
Quick, quick, in the morning, don't be late! The lunch box, the paper to sign, the flat iron, but where is my mascara? A little coffee, no time for lunch, and here the youngest is stubborn because he doesn't want to get dressed and our eldest who locks herself in the bathroom, horrified by an invisible pimple on her nose while her 6-year-old little sister has undertaken to tell us at length her dream of last night following us on our heels. "Mom! You're not listening to me!" We raise our voices to speed things up a bit, but no one seems to hear, so that's it, it's the explosion; we yell, we unleash an avalanche of reproaches, then we drop the children off at school, exasperated, to be immediately overwhelmed by a huge wave of guilt that gnaws at us all day long... In the evening? Back at 5:30 pm, there's supper to prepare, homework, bath time, soccer practice... phew! Does this sound familiar? How much time is left to build a meaningful relationship with our children and appreciate our role as parents? And when you're also a business owner, you often see your working hours lengthen even more and stressful periods are numerous, sometimes undermining our patience.
Children also have their share of stress; between the concern of performing well at school, the fear of disappointing parents, the pressure from the coach and the fear of being rejected by peers, many of them develop behavioral problems behind which hide stress and anxiety.
The impacts of chronic stress caused by overloaded and disorganized schedules are numerous, both in children and adults: decreased or increased appetite, decreased sleep quality, attention difficulties, anxiety, irritability and impulsivity. Thus, the crazy race imposed on today's families can harm both the child's school results and the parents' work performance, in addition to affecting everyone's social and family relationships and physical health.
What to do?
1. ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING: Get up earlier in the morning, prepare lunches and clothes the night before, prepare meals in advance, establish a clear and written routine, delegate some tasks to the spouse and children or hire someone to do it (e.g., a cleaning lady), because sometimes it is preferable to cut back on certain expenses in order to improve one's quality of life.
2. MAKING CHOICES: Stop wanting to own everything and stop aiming for perfection in everything: Big ultra-clean house, latest-generation decor, flowerbeds, trip to the south in winter and RV camping in summer... the gym for the figure, eating healthy all the time, etc. We put so much pressure on ourselves! And all this at the cost of ultra-busy working hours in order to make ends meet. Maybe for a few years it's preferable to live a little more modestly, to accept a little disorder and to postpone certain projects or promotions to take the time to BE with your family. Maybe it's also possible for you to reduce your working hours? More and more workplaces are open to reduced hours.
3. BE WITH YOUR CHILDREN RATHER THAN DO THINGS WITH THEM: Reduce the number of extracurricular activities and outings on weekends in order to spend time relaxing with the kids. If we take the minutes spent driving and preparing activities to invest in the relationship with our children, we will certainly see the family happiness rating increase rapidly. I also suggest taking 5 to 10 minutes per child per day to do what I call a "heart to heart"... that is, simply being with the child, taking an interest in him and what he is doing, without intervening, without giving instructions or teaching anything, and connecting with the feeling of love you have for him.
In any case, life goes by very quickly for everyone. But every minute lost with your children is gone forever. They grow up fast and need quality time with their parents in order to flourish.
Nancy Doyon.
Lasolutionestenvous.com
Posted on August 16, 2015.
Quick, quick, in the morning, don't be late! The lunch box, the paper to sign, the flat iron, but where is my mascara? A little coffee, no time for lunch, and here the youngest is stubborn because he doesn't want to get dressed and our eldest who locks herself in the bathroom, horrified by an invisible pimple on her nose while her 6-year-old little sister has undertaken to tell us at length her dream of last night following us on our heels. "Mom! You're not listening to me!" We raise our voices to speed things up a bit, but no one seems to hear, so that's it, it's the explosion; we yell, we unleash an avalanche of reproaches, then we drop the children off at school, exasperated, to be immediately overwhelmed by a huge wave of guilt that gnaws at us all day long... In the evening? Back at 5:30 pm, there's supper to prepare, homework, bath time, soccer practice... phew! Does this sound familiar? How much time is left to build a meaningful relationship with our children and appreciate our role as parents? And when you're also a business owner, you often see your working hours lengthen even more and stressful periods are numerous, sometimes undermining our patience.
Children also have their share of stress; between the concern of performing well at school, the fear of disappointing parents, the pressure from the coach and the fear of being rejected by peers, many of them develop behavioral problems behind which hide stress and anxiety.
The impacts of chronic stress caused by overloaded and disorganized schedules are numerous, both in children and adults: decreased or increased appetite, decreased sleep quality, attention difficulties, anxiety, irritability and impulsivity. Thus, the crazy race imposed on today's families can harm both the child's school results and the parents' work performance, in addition to affecting everyone's social and family relationships and physical health.
What to do?
1. ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING: Get up earlier in the morning, prepare lunches and clothes the night before, prepare meals in advance, establish a clear and written routine, delegate some tasks to the spouse and children or hire someone to do it (e.g., a cleaning lady), because sometimes it is preferable to cut back on certain expenses in order to improve one's quality of life.
2. MAKING CHOICES: Stop wanting to own everything and stop aiming for perfection in everything: Big ultra-clean house, latest-generation decor, flowerbeds, trip to the south in winter and RV camping in summer... the gym for the figure, eating healthy all the time, etc. We put so much pressure on ourselves! And all this at the cost of ultra-busy working hours in order to make ends meet. Maybe for a few years it's preferable to live a little more modestly, to accept a little disorder and to postpone certain projects or promotions to take the time to BE with your family. Maybe it's also possible for you to reduce your working hours? More and more workplaces are open to reduced hours.
3. BE WITH YOUR CHILDREN RATHER THAN DO THINGS WITH THEM: Reduce the number of extracurricular activities and outings on weekends in order to spend time relaxing with the kids. If we take the minutes spent driving and preparing activities to invest in the relationship with our children, we will certainly see the family happiness rating increase rapidly. I also suggest taking 5 to 10 minutes per child per day to do what I call a "heart to heart"... that is, simply being with the child, taking an interest in him and what he is doing, without intervening, without giving instructions or teaching anything, and connecting with the feeling of love you have for him.
In any case, life goes by very quickly for everyone. But every minute lost with your children is gone forever. They grow up fast and need quality time with their parents in order to flourish.
Nancy Doyon.
Lasolutionestenvous.com
Posted on August 16, 2015.
