Do you feel guilty about carving out time for self-care? Know this, Great British Mama: Taking care of yourself isn’t indulgence—it’s a crucial part of being a good mother. Nurturing a child may be fulfilling and joyful, but it can also be all-consuming, and one of the first things to go is that all important “me time” date in the diary. Modern society leaves women feeling, overstretched, overworked and ultimately, overwhelmed. Add a child or two into the equation and it’s easy to see how mothers can quickly feel close to running on empty. Societal conditioning has many mothers thinking “What kind of mum puts her own needs ahead of her children’s?”.  The truth of the matter is, a very good one as practicing regular self-care actually makes you a better parent.  This conclusion is summarised by the famous saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”, so Great British Mama’s its time to top up yours! Below are some nurturing suggestions for your self-care date in the diary and how to make it happen.

What makes you feel nurtured and replenished? Perhaps it’s been so long since you thought about this so be patient with yourself as you reconnect with what lights you up. Perhaps you love to dance, bake, paint or practice yoga and can’t remember the last time you did this activity just for you. It can be really helpful to take pen to paper and jot down a list of things that make you happy. Perhaps your inner well is replenished through simply sitting quietly with a cup of tea watching the leaves fall from the trees. Perhaps you’ve been longing for a fun girls night out where you can let your hair down! If a “self-care date” doesn’t feel do-able create micro moments of you time to disconnect and restore your inner peace.

An unfortunate aspect of modern societal living is the erosion of strong community support. The tribes and cultures around the world who have maintained this solid support system experience significantly lower levels of stress and greater levels of happiness, fulfilment and joy. So how can modern mothers in the western world foster some of this balance? This is where we can help lighten the load, with the placement of a kind hearted and caring Great British Nanny to your family unit. A nanny can assist you in lightening the load through doing light domestic tasks as well as caring for children. It’s time to release the stigma of receiving help as being a sign of weakness or indulgence. Throughout the course of history women have received help raising children so why should the era in which we now live be any different?

Samantha Ettus, best-selling author of The Pie Life: A Guilt-Free Recipe For Success and Satisfaction highlights the notion that “we’re confusing the amount of time we spend with our kids with the quality of our parenting. The quality of your relationship with your child isn’t directly correlated to the time you spend with them.” Living in an age of over parenting this statement comes as welcome evidence to affirm the importance of self-care and its camouflaged selflessness. As always we would love to hear from you! Great British Mama’s please tag us in your self-care date pictures on Instagram