4 Parental Wellness Tips for the New Year
Written by Kristi Yeh, LMFT
The New Year is a natural time for people to reflect on the past year and think about what they want from the year ahead. I hope these four wellness ideas will leave you feeling supported and empowered for 2023.
Set New Year’s resolutions or intentions—if you want to. If you want to learn more about setting realistic goals, check out this New Year’s guide that features BJ Fogg’s tiny habits tools and S.M.A.R.T. goal setting.
The Mental Mile also had the opportunity to interview self-care psychologist and author Suzy Reading about goal setting and celebrating ourselves in 2021.
If you are interested in using Reading’s Vitality Wheel to set intentions for 2023, you can learn more about the eight vitality categories and access a free worksheet in the free downloads section of the blog.
Pace yourself and honor your limits. Depending on the season of parenthood, the literal season, how we slept the night before, what is going on at work, physical health, etc. our energy shifts. Get into the habit of checking in with how you are feeling and adjusting your pace when possible. The dishes might need to wait that night, and trust that you will have other bursts of energy where you can get more done. Our energy does not always match our to-do list, and that doesn’t mean we are “lazy,” it is simply part of being human.
If you are interested in this topic, check out these four books:
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity by Tracee Stanley
Rest to Reset: The Busy Person’s Guide to Pausing with Purpose by Suzy Reading (coming in February 2023)
Prioritize self-care for you and your family. Becoming a parent makes nourishing yourself more difficult, but here are 7 Ways to Make Time for Self-Care from Kristi Yeh’s recent blog post for the Nourish App. The Nourish app specifically focuses on wellbeing for mothers, and features a variety of wellness experts that share practical and powerful ways to fill your cup.
Self-care not only helps parents, but it helps all people—including children. Read 40 Family Self-Care Ideas to nourish the entire family system and help your kids incorporate the self-care habit from an early age.
Reflect on your values and spend your time accordingly. In the midst of a fast-paced culture, mounting responsibilities as a parent, and social media messages about parenting—take time to reflect on what truly matters. Pick 1-3 core values to focus on at a time, otherwise you might get overwhelmed. Reflect on your values every few months, or perhaps yearly, to help you refocus your time and efforts. If you want inspiration and guidance, check out the Parent Self-Care Core Values Planner.
Another meaningful New Year’s idea is to create or revisit a family manifesto. Your family manifesto might feature positive mantras, beliefs, core values, and more. The growth mindset company Big Life Journal has a wonderful guide for creating a meaningful family manifesto that can increase connection and belonging in your family.
“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”
And while there is a big focus on goal setting during the first month of the year, there is no time limit for reflection and intentions. Making mental health and wellness a priority takes effort, practice, and consistency. Set your own pace, celebrate your victories, expect setbacks and meet them with compassion, and have fun along the way!
Kristi Yeh is a parent of two, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been practicing in California for over ten years. She currently works in school-based mental health at a public elementary and middle school. A part of Kristi’s role entails discussing self-care with parents. Research shows that the better the adults take care of themselves, the healthier our children are at home and school.
