Your child’s safety starts with your own well-being. Balancing all of life’s responsibilities, including parenting children, can lead to feelings of frustration, stress and fatigue. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone, we all feel this from time to time.
But, practicing good self-care can help you safely care for your children. Dex Tuttle, injury prevention program manager at Children’s Minnesota, is here to help explain the importance of taking care of yourself and provide resources for you in your community.
Self-care can be small things such as talking to a friend or loved one. It can also include exercising or journaling. We often feel like there isn’t time for self-care, however those are usually the times we need it the most.
Other ways to take care of your well-being as a caregiver:
- Listening to your favorite music
- Taking deep breaths
- Finding community groups
- Seeking out professional help from a therapist, doctor or counselor.
Community resources
- Help Me Connect. This is a supportive service to help families with children between birth and 8 years identify and access services to support healthy child development and family well-being.
- Minnesota’s Parent Support Outreach Program. This program is a voluntary, early intervention program that helps identify strengths and needs to enhance the well-being of children and families. It is available through all Minnesota counties as well as White Earth and Leech Lake reservations.
- Children and youth with special health needs. Additional supportive services can be identified through the “children and youth with special health needs” section of the Minnesota Department of Health website.
Level I pediatric trauma care center
As a Level I pediatric trauma care center, we at Children’s Minnesota have an obligation to our community to ensure families are equipped with necessary information to keep their children free from injury. And caring for yourself is just one way to help reduce injuries in kids.
Alexandra Rothstein