Being a parent can be exhausting no matter the age of your children. It all starts with sleep deprivation when you have a newborn and changes with ages and stages, but it never really goes away. Being the parent of teenagers comes with its own challenges and in turn, a new type of exhaustion.
If you are the exhausted Mom of teenagers, it is certainly time to get a handle on things.
TIPS FOR THE EXHAUSTED MOM OF TEENS
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SCHEDULE YOUR TIME
The first thing that helps you to manage your exhaustion is to manage your time and schedule. Teens can keep you really busy running from event to event, appointments and even social gatherings.
If you have things planned out and scheduled, it is far easier to manage your time than if you just fly by the seat of your pants.
Get a special planner to write down everyone’s schedules or a large family calendar so that everyone can see when each event is happening.
KNOW WHEN TO SAY “NO”
Teenagers have a very busy schedule but so do you.
It is ok to say no sometimes when it comes to playing taxi for your teens. Go over the schedule you have made as a family and be realistic.
If the event is really not an important one, or if it interferes with another commitment, it is ok to say no or even help your teen to arrange another mode of transportation to and from the event. Perhaps even carpooling with another parent.
PICK YOUR BATTLES
Choose your battles wisely.
Sometimes as parents, we need to look at the big picture. Just because we have always said that we will only feed our children organic produce, doesn’t mean that it’s the MOST important thing to you and making it a big deal will only exhaust you further.
Decide what is worth focusing on and what you can just let go.
TAKE TIME FOR YOU
It’s funny that when your children were younger, you always said you would find the time to take care of you when they got older and more self-sufficient.
That time has come though, and you still aren’t allowing yourself the time to ensure that you are taken care of. Let it go!
Your teen is more than capable of throwing a frozen pizza in the oven so you can enjoy a good book or a relaxing hot bath. There is no shame in pampering yourself once in a while. After all parenting teens IS pretty exhausting sometimes.
Beating the exhaustion that comes with parenting is important. You do not want to allow yourself to burn out completely. Make a schedule, stick to your guns and remember when to pick your battles. At some point, this will all start coming naturally to you.
Just remember to never feel bad to take a moment for yourself. You deserve it.
You may also like this post on HOW TO PARENT WHILE SLEEP DEPRIVED:
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