How to balance life as a stay-at-home mom

Stay-at-home moms (SAHM) should be happy too! And if the balance of SAHM life is off, we can quickly become overwhelmed, unhappy and angry. How to balance life as a stay-at-home mom is crucial to success and well being.

Being a stay-at-home mom can be challenging, redundant and even lonely.

“If you’re not busy 24-7 then you’re not doing enough”

“If you’re not playing with your kids, you feel guilty”

“How do I squeeze in time for myself”

Mama, if you find yourself relating to these often said phrases, then a little balance in your day is all you need and that’s why I intend on sharing with you today.

I’ve learned that the balance is the fine line between establishing a healthy routine and being present with your kids. In other words, setting your schedule up for success, while not neglecting the heart of being a SAHM. I know this first one can be hard for some.

Establishing a healthy routine

For some, having a schedule and sticking to it just feels like more pressure. I get it. Believe it or not, you already have a routine in place. You at least wake up have lunch and go to bed at night. Everything else in between may need some tweaking to ensure you and your family are living up to their potential.

Creating a schedule not only helps you get everything done that you need to but it also helps the kids to know what to expect. Children thrive on structure. Schedules do not have to be super rigid & learning how to bend and have some flexibility in our schedules is important because, well life happens. But most importantly, bending to the needs of ourselves and our families is also necessary.

When creating a schedule, remember that being a SAHM doesn’t mean just house + kids. Being a SAHM is truly a blessing and there is so much opportunity in the monotony of our days.

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We may not get dressed and head out the door in the morning, but we should start our day with the same intention as we would at a 9-5 job.

Don’t feel like you have enough time in the day? Get up early!

Be mindful and create time for chores, activities & play dates but also create time for things like exercise & coffee dates with friends. Remember, mom’s have hobbies too, it’s okay to continue living!

If your kids are no longer taking naps, scheduling “quiet time” is a must for you and for them. My 3 year old doesn’t nap everyday, but he still has to lay down in bed for 1 hour. I need that break probably more than he does.

Enlist your kids to do chores. There are plenty of age appropriate chores! Trust me, I know that control over having chores done properly can be a struggle for some women. This ends up being a lesson in patience for us and a lesson in responsibility for them.

Balance Work & Play

Being present with our kids should be a priority. The days, though they are long and slow, are actually passing before our eyes. Ask most moms of adults and they will tell you to cherish the time you have because time is our most precious commodity and it is fleeting.

Children need our undivided, uninterrupted attention. They need eye contact. How often are we looking at our phones while talking to them or doing a chore? We put them off by saying “I’ll be there when I’m done”. When we give our kids the attention they need, we won’t feel guilty when were working around the house.

Our kiddos crave our attention, affection and interaction. They want to learn from us. There will always be things to do, but finding a balance to work and play allows both mom and child to have their cups full. This balance truly allows for more successful productivity in our homes.

Manage Stress

Managing our own stress is just one more thing that we need to add to our to-do list. But it might just be one of the more important things we do for ourselves. You’ve heard it said that we can’t pour from an empty cup. And it’s so true! We can only hold it all in for so long before our stress is boiling over.

When we ignore or bottle up our stress, we smile less and snap more. Our energy levels decrease and we’re not the best versions of ourselves. Our families deserve our best self, would you agree?

Managing stress could look somewhat different for everyone. For you it might be running, for me it might be yoga. Whatever it is, do it! Don’t neglect yourself for the sake of trying to keep it all together for everyone else.

Creating time specifically for yourself to recharge will help your stress levels from rising to an unhealthy level. You can achieve this, as I mentioned above, through routine + balancing work/play & it’s not something you should feel guilty about.

I hope you feel inspired and encouraged by how to balance life as a stay-at home mom. Remember, raising our kids may be the most important job we have.

I know, easier said than done, but you got this mama! Get it! Rise UP! 🙂

Need more encouragement? You might like Motherhood is hard. Questions, comments, drop below, I love hearing from you! Also, share this with someone who needs it today!