Parenting with a chronic illness can be difficult, especially if your children have to care for you at times or if you are unable to give them the level of hands-on parenting that you want to. However, there are many steps that you can take to make parenting with a chronic illness easier, and here is just a few of them.
Can You Get Help With Childcare?
Some days, looking after your kids may be harder than others. Then, you should not be afraid of getting help with childcare when you are struggling with your chronic illness, as this can allow you to have a break while ensuring that your kids are well looked after. You should then consider speaking to your family and friends about the possibility of them taking on your kids’ care for an evening or two, or consider sending them to a babysitter, as they will be able to use their experience to make sure that your children are unaffected by your flare-up. You might even consider a good daycare center or even splitting care, as well as parts of your daily routine like taking your kids to school, with other moms who are willing to help out.
Can You Get the Right Products?
The first step that you should take is to look around for products that can help you to better manage the effects of your chronic illness. For instance, if mouth cancer or a brain injury has left you struggling to swallow or eat, you should consider looking at investing in food thickeners, which have been developed for people with dysphagia. These food thickeners can then allow you to eat all of the foods that you need to stay healthy and to care for your children, and you can find out more about them on the SimplyThick LLC Facebook.
Have You Explained Your Condition?
Your kids may find it difficult to understand your illness and why it makes you unable to do certain activities. However, they will find it even more difficult to understand if you avoid explaining your condition to them and what this means for them. Then, rather than trying to protect your kids from it, you should be as open as possible with them and give them a detailed, though not scary, explanation of your illness and its effects on you. This will then help them to be more understanding when you have a flare-up and will ensure that they do not take it personally when you are unable to care for them.
Do You Take Time to Focus on Yourself?
To give your kids the best care possible, though, it is vital that you can stay healthy and that you focus on yourself when you have a flare-up. This will then help you to better manage your own stress and emotions and can prevent you from lashing out emotionally at your children. Then, you should try to take some time off and create a relaxing environment where you can recover away from the chaos of the rest of your household, while still letting your children know that you are there for them if they need you.