Everyone knows that getting regular exercise is important. Exercise helps you lose weight, tone muscle, and stay healthy. Did you know that exercise can actually improve your ability to parent your children? This revelation could give parents a whole new reason to start exercising.
Stasia Bliss wrote an article at Liberty Voice about the many ways that exercise improves parenting. She notes that when you are exercising you are nourishing yourself.
Personally, I see what she is suggesting as “me time”. When you are exercising, your entire focus is on yourself and what your body is doing. It is a time when you can shut off the demands that come from your job, your spouse, and your children, and give your body what it needs to stay healthy.
It can be extremely difficult to constantly be caring for others while neglecting one’s own needs. Parents that exercise are getting some of their physical (and emotional) needs met. That makes these parents better able to care for their children.
WebMD says that exercise reduces stress, helps people ward off depression, boosts self esteem, and improves sleep. You have probably heard of a “runner’s high”. That’s when the body produces endorphins that make a person feel euphoric as a result of exercising.
Parents who use exercise to reduce their stress are making it less likely that they will “snap” and say or do something to their children that they will later regret. Typically, when a parent uses hurtful words, or does something harmful to their child, it is because the parent is stressed out. It is much harder to stay in control of one’s self if you are under stress. Exercise can reduce that stress.
Sleep is restorative. Parents of infants, or very young children, frequently find it difficult to get enough sleep. You may not be able to find a way to get more hours of sleep each night. That being said, exercise can help you to get more restful sleep in the few hours that you do get.
It may sound odd, but in addition to improve the quality of one’s sleep, exercise also increases a person’s energy. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with young children! Parents don’t usually have a lot of time to focus on themselves. Exercise provides a whole bunch of benefits all at once.
Parents who exercise are taking good care of their bodies. They are also providing a good example to their children in regards to exercise. Children tend to mimic what they see their parents doing. Show your kids that exercise is important and something that you actually go out and do. You are teaching your children how to properly care for their bodies. That can help make the whole family healthier!
Image by Will Ockenden on Flickr.
Related Articles:
* Exercise and Endorphin Release
* Sneaking “Me” Time Into Your Day
* Parents Need to Make Time to Release Stress