7 Ways that My Toddler Has Improved My Self-Care

Prioritizing creative play

Toddlers love to be into SO MANY THINGS. (Another surprise, I know!)

One of the many gifts my child has given me is prioritizing play.

After all, currently, playtime is his job.

So, as his mom, I’m learning to prioritize playtime for him (and me!). That can include…

• Blowing bubbles
• Playing outside and wandering
• Water and ice cubes
• Enjoying loose parts (i.e. open-ended items that can serve many functions. For us that includes neon zip ties, ribbons, crepe paper, pipe cleaners, pom poms, etc.)
• Making new foods together
• … you get the gist

Not only is play essential for children, but playtime is so good for us adults, too! It helps us:

• Relieve stress
• Improve brain function
• Stimulate the mind and boost creativity
• Improve relationships and connections with others
• Keep you feeling young and energetic
• … and much more.

By the way, you DON’T need to wait for a kid to show up in your life to play. Start now. Pursue something for the delight of doing it.

My toddler has helped me prioritize and seek out play, which is also part of self-care!

Less mindless scrolling/tech time

When my son is 30something, I don’t want him to mostly remember his mom burying her head in a phone, laptop or TV.

Look, technology isn’t bad. Being obsessively focused on it, though, isn’t helpful or healthy.

It’s been so helpful to remember that this little person is currently looking to me as a model for life.

What do I want to teach him to prioritize? What am I modeling?

Like you, I enjoy a good scroll fest. My toddler has helped me start giving myself better boundaries to enjoy technology but not get lost in it.

I’m a #workinprogress about this, but it’s definitely helped me begin a better path for self-care.

Wrapping up the strategies to be more than a hot mess mom

As I’ve shared, my toddler has actually helped me improve my self-care in so many ways. The areas we’ve discussed so far include:

• Implementing a consistent, healthy eating routine
• Pursuing healthy movement each day
• Playing in the sunshine and the shade
• Prioritizing daily rest times
• More effective focused time
• Prioritizing creative play
• Less mindless scrolling/tech time

If you’re a parent of small children, I hope this post encouraged you to find some more sweetness in your season of life. What has been YOUR experience with self-care and small kids?

If you’re not a parent or just don’t have small children, I hope this post gave you ideas for how YOU might be able to start improving your self-care – whether or not kids are in your picture. How do you plan to improve your self-care?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and personal ideas for self-care. Let’s chat in the comments!

You can live intentionally with passion and purpose as God’s beloved.

P.S. Want some crazy simple steps to start living intentionally? Grab the Embrace Your Potential Playbook. It’ll help you zoom in on your God-gifted personality and give you practical tips to be more intentional, passionate, and purposeful as God’s beloved so you can become the best version of yourself.