Hey there! You’re listening to the Mighty Mommy with some quick and dirty tips for practical parenting.

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Finding time for themselves is one of the greatest challenges moms are facing nowadays. We all have such busy schedules with our kids that we are running from ballet class to baseball to the grocery store and then home to make dinner. With all this running, when do we have time to stop and take that minute to breathe? Also, is it really that important to have that time all to yourself? I mean, what good is your time if it doesn’t feel productive? These are questions I ask myself every day. My answers are simple: find the time to breathe whenever possible and you are being productive because you are nurturing and caring for you.

Moms and dads are not simple machines that can run on a little bit of fuel and four hours of sleep per night. If you are anything like me, and I hope at least some of you are, you firmly and wrongly believe that those three cups of coffee in the morning will help you get through the day even though what you really want is just 30 minutes to yourself. Yes, I did say 30 minutes. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for 30 minutes to myself! OK, you can stop secretly calling me delusional. I can hear you.

Yes. We do need some down time. Down time is different for everyone, but the key is to make it as relaxing as possible. You need to relax. I think of it as healing my parental spirit. When you work out a target area of your body during exercise, you have to let those muscles heal before you work them again; otherwise they’ll just be sore. Your parental spirit doesn’t need an entire day to heal-- although I think that taking a kid-free vacation can definitely bring you some healing-- but pampering yourself or just giving yourself some down time will definitely condition you to be a better parent when you return to your duties.

My favorite “me time” is the time I spend at the salon having my hair done. Granted, this is a luxury and I only get to do it once every six weeks, but I always make a big deal about it even though my husband probably thinks I’m silly for doing so. If you are thinking that six weeks between “me sessions” is quite a long time, you are correct. I try to take a little time for myself on a daily basis and most of the time it happens, but sometimes it doesn’t. If you can allot yourself 5 to 10 minutes a day to simply tune out and turn off all the noises in your world, you’ll be doing yourself and your kids a great service.

You’ll need help and you’ll probably need to schedule your “me time” around your family’s schedule. Talk to your spouse about taking some time for yourself each day when he is available to help. Make sure he knows that he needs to keep the kids from bothering you and let him know how much time you’ll need. During this time you can take a short catnap, sit outside and daydream, go for a walk, or read something to take your mind off the world around you. The idea is to tune out as much as possible. Let those brain muscles heal and rest. I run around a lot during the day doing errands and talking with my kids and other parents so when I take my few minutes of down time, I just want to lie still and be quiet. It’s entirely up to you what you want to do with your time, but it’s important that you make the time for you.

If you don’t have someone around to help you with this, you may need to put your kids down for a nap or have a house-wide quiet time for everyone. It may not be as relaxing because you are still on alert, but if you make it a regular part of your routine, everyone will become accustomed to it. It’s something we all need. Even the kids can learn to appreciate some quality down time; especially when it means that Mommy is happier and healthier.

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This is your friend the Mighty Mommy wishing you happy and fun parenting!