Balancing the Pressures of Life as an Adult College Student and Parent

College is a lot of work. With classes to attend, papers to write, homework to complete, and notes to write, it can be more stressful than a full time job. Being a parent is also a full time job. You must feed your children, keep them clean, teach them about the world around them, and pay attention to them. When you combine the pressures of college with the stresses of parenting, you end up with what sometimes seems like an unbearable amount of stress.

Maintaining our mental and physical health is so important, but this can be difficult to accomplish when you are so busy. If you make healthy lifestyle choices you will have an easier time focusing and putting quality work into the activities in which you partake (as a parent, and a student). One of the most important things you can do for yourself is to find ways to de-stress. In order to give both your studies and your children the quality care and attention they deserve, this article shares some tips on how you can optimize your time and reduce your stress! Your physical, mental, and emotional health must be optimal to ensure that you provide quality care to your child and are still able to fully dedicate yourself to school. Here are some specific ways in which you can ensure that you’re in peak physical and mental condition.

Get Enough Sleep

You can’t mix work and sleep. Don’t do homework or classwork in your bedroom, in other words, you should dedicate that room to rest and relaxation. You should also avoid doing work within an hour before bed. This will help get your mind in a relaxed place ready to “turn off” for the night. Getting a proper amount of sleep is extremely important to ensure that you are healthy and well-rested, if you are exhausted, you won’t be able to focus on your studies.

Establishing a bedtime routine, keeping your sleeping space cleaned, taking cbd oils, or meditating can be a great way to ease yourself to sleep. As a parent, it may be very hard to get enough sleep, as children tend to keep parents up all night. Taking some of these steps to ensure that you get some solid sleep will make a world of difference in how you can perform when you are awake.

Take Time For Yourself

Along with getting a good night’s sleep, it also helps to take time for yourself each day while you are awake. Having a skincare routine, taking baths, and reading are great ways to have time to yourself while also taking a break from the day and being productive at the same time. We all need time without our children that are not spent in the classroom sometimes. Make sure you still carve out time to spend time with friends and family to give you a social outlet too. Having someone else watch your children is good for you, and actually really good for them as it allows them to become familiar and comfortable with other people.

Watch Your Health

On a busy day when you have been in class, driven all over the town and picked up all the kids, it is so easy to grab fast food and forget about exercising. In reality, you so badly need the proper energy to keep up with everything going on in your life. Nutritious foods will keep you full and keep your body working well. Lots of fast foods can weaken your immune system, and you will be more likely to fall ill and miss work, school, and quality time with your children.

On the same hand, you should strive to stay in good shape! There are many online workout routines that you can do right from home, but going to the gym may be a good way to have some alone time. Watching your health will set a good example for your children, and you will teach them from a young age that eating well and exercising properly is important.

Keep Your Children Busy

While you are at school, your children could take part in a sport, music class, or other hobby. It can be really beneficial for them to learn a skill now – one that they may take with them throughout life. Many colleges also offer childcare services, so contact your college to see if they have any such programs. Keeping children busy can help to educate them while you are receiving an education yourself. It’s a win-win situation!

Spend Time with Them

Taking time for yourself should never make you feel guilty, because a g and have enough time to focus on your studies, you can’t miss too much quality time with your children. The relationship that a child has with its parent carries throughout all of their life, and how you and your child interact now can set them up for success in the future. Go to the zoo, take them to the park, and play games with them. Explore new places with them. This will really help your children to get the most out of their childhood, and they will be incredibly grateful for that in the future.

This guest post is contributed by Piper McIntosh. You can reach her at piperlmcintosh@gmail.com.