As a single parent, free time is very hard to come by, your hours spent in a selfless blur of work and childcare. It’s so hectic you can sometimes lose track of your own needs and concerns. But with the end of the summer holidays finally here, you’ll be able to devote much more time to yourself. The hours the kids are at school, the evenings when their minds are on homework rather than badgering you for entertainment – just think how much ‘you’ time that makes up.
Why not take the opportunity to be selfish and use the new term to create a new you? This could mean starting a new hobby or kick-starting your love life with some internet dating. Follow these steps and you’ll soon find your identity again – an identity outside the realm of parenthood.
Time for fitness
Looking after children can sometimes mean you stop looking after yourself. Take a look at your diet and day-to-day regime: are you as healthy as your kids? Try to start putting some time aside for a bit of fitness. This could be a 30-minute jog every morning once you’ve dropped the kids at school or an exercise class every Thursday when they’re at an afterschool club. The fitter you are, the better you’ll feel and the more energy you’ll have to deal with the hectic lifestyle of a single parent.
Time for relaxation
It’s also important to find some time to relax. Stress is a major cause of a lot of health problems and can have some very damaging side-effects. Try finding a hobby or a place that relaxes you, whether that’s a yoga class, a trip to the cinema or a certain room in the house. Then, when you feel the pressure building, you will have this comfort to retreat to.
Time for preening
Start to feel good about yourself again with a bit of preening and pampering. It’s amazing what a new suit, haircut or beauty treatment can do. Your confidence will be boosted and you’ll walk out with an extra spring in your step.
Time for socialising
Use the time to reconnect with your social circle. Take advantage of your lunch breaks for catch-ups with friends you may have neglected during the bustle of the summer holidays. Your friends will have you laughing again and re-acquainting yourself with the old you, who may be feeling a bit neglected after the last few months.
Time for dating
It’s easy to lose sight of the whole concept of a love life when you’re a single parent. But you could use your new free time to remedy this: go for a day out in London dating or hire a babysitter and go for dinner while the kids do their homework. This could be the perfect time to introduce a special new someone into your life.
Use the new term and the free time it affords to create a new you – a healthy, relaxed, gorgeous social butterfly whose life isn’t entirely dictated by children!
