Stay at home mom slump

Dec 01, 2011 1:30 PM by Christina Holt

Posted in Parenting / Parenting Tips & Advice

Change It Up When Things Get Dull

Being a stay at home mom can get rather monotonous and after time, it's easy to feel like you're just along for the ride. There are simple ways to break away from the schedules and routines -- even for a few days or weeks at a time -- to help freshen up your mental well being and make time for yourself. After all, if mama's not happy, nobody's happy.

mom-exercising-with-stroller

Exercise

Dust off the jogging stroller and take your little one for a spin. The fresh air, change of scenery and exercise will freshen your mind and change up your daily routine -- especially if you walk to different locations each time. Use this as a way to check off your daily errands or as an excuse to plug in your headphones and listen to something other than Raffi and Yo Gabba Gabba.

Pre plan and change it up

If you normally go grocery shopping on a Wednesday morning, clean house on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, run errands on a Friday and fold laundry on a Monday -- after a while, you are sure to feel the monotonous routine and daily demands wear on you. The best way to break out of monotony is to pre-plan and to change up your routine. By organizing your upcoming week, you end up with more time to yourself and less time scrambling to get the kids out the door in the morning.

Pre-plan meals and school lunches over the weekend

Plan out dinners and school lunches for each night in the coming week
Go grocery shopping only for the pre-planned dinners and lunches, and keep all the ingredients together or organized for each day
Pack perishable and non-perishable lunch contents in airtight plastic containers -- for each school day

Tips for planning healthy meals >>

Start a new hobby

Have you ever wanted to start a scrapbook, keep a journal or make handmade gifts? If you carve out 20 minutes of your day to work on a new hobby, you will instantly feel better just knowing that you are doing something different and accomplishing something new -- something that gives you a sense of satisfaction knowing that you will complete a task with a new end result.

Hobbies for stay-at-home moms >>

Join a playgroup

Search for local playgroups with other parents and children the same age as your child. This is a great way to boost your confidence, interact with other adults, change up your routine and it gives your child another way to be social.

How to find playgroups

Ask your friends if they belong to a playgroup or where they found out about the local playgroups
Check with your church, library, community center or local club to see if they offer Mommy and Me classes or other resources
Start your own playgroup with friends from the park or on a site that promotes group gatherings