Center Yourself To Center Your Children
Caring for Your Children
Taking care of yourself is key to taking care of your children. We are being so bombarded by situations and information we don’t typically deal with. Most of us are making significant changes in our lifestyle accordingly. Our routines with the external world have been seriously disrupted. This includes children’s school, our work, and seeing our friends and family to name a few.
Many of us are finding this trying and disheartening. We have to continue to find ways to reinvent our normal and pass through this time.
One of your highest priorities should be taking care of yourself; not just acting “ok” but being “ok”. Our children are so connected to us that they sense any shift in our emotional state.
So how do we meet this challenge?
Consider:
- carving out time for yourself
- indulging in self care
- exercising
- getting outdoors
- breathing
- communicating with family and friends
On a more practical level,
- create new routines
- plan things in advance
- have fun, be silly
- take control of your life where you can
It’s easy to feel oppressed by all the changes we’re enduring, especially when there’s no end in sight. Throwing up your hands and leaving your fate to the wind is possibly the worst thing you can do. Work on yourself and your children in trying to seize this new and novel opportunity, and turn it into a positive experience and memories.
As a Tomatis practitioner, it resonates with me that Dr. Tomatis closely linked the mother’s voice to the wellbeing of the child. The ear is the first organ to develop in utero, and continues to be a source of comfort throughout the life cycle. I encourage mothers to do Tomatis training together with their child. It is both organizing and affirming of your relationship, and will give your child a stronger foundation from which he can change and grow.