Stay-at-home mum reveals exactly how she 'stays sane' parenting her two children

24 February 2020, 12:25

By Mared Parry

@maredparry

The mum has been praised by other parents for being so honest and sharing her tips.

A mum-of-two has been open about her methods of coping with staying at home all day with her children in a candid Facebook post.

The mother, called Anna, posted in a parenting Facebook group about how she used to seriously struggle when her kids were one and three years old.

READ MORE: Mum reveals unique hack to stop kids from spilling milk

Anna stated: "everyday used to feel SO hard", and revealed more about her struggles, and how she coped with them and managed living her life and raising two children while at home all day.

Titled 'A simple guide to keep the house in order AND get a break for yourself', she detailed how she used to manage things "Between trying to clean/organise the house and tend to the kids.

"All while I was physically, mentally and emotionally drained..."

Anna wrote: "If you picture yourself as a laptop, we all have a 'bandwidth limit.'

"And like a lot of us mums, it’s probably a very low limit lately, as we’re just running so many 'open tabs' and feeling so burnt out in the first place.

"This has a knock on effect to your kids, your physical and emotional health and the well-being of the whole household!

"THERE IS NO 'TIME OFF' as a Stay at Home Mum."

She then revealed her top tips for finding some kind of balance, which includes spending just a small amount of quality one on one time with your children, but doing it really well.

The mum explained: "Spend just 15 to 20 minutes a day of one-on-one time with each child.

"They say that by turning off all distractions (ie. your phone) and letting your LO's know that you would like to spend some special time with them, that they feel more connected with you and therefore better in themselves and they'll actually bug you less because they know you're actually 'present' or emotionally available!

"Announce 'special time' and simply hang out, distraction free, doing what they want to do! (Other days you can choose the activity.)"

Anna also recommended making your bed, putting a load of washing on in the morning, and getting out the house.

Her main point was stressing that mums need to take a break for themselves, writing: "You work 24/7. And just to confirm what that means...

"You work Mon-Fri AND weekends AND you're on call 24 HOURS A DAY. You are entitled to sit down!"

Other parents were really impressed with Anna's guide, which goes into a lot of detail and is a breath of fresh air for any stressed parents out there.

One named Georgia said: "I’m really enjoying your posts, they are so practical and useful! It never occurred to me that I can make lunch and snacks for my toddler and I first thing in the morning!

"This might be a game changer for me, I hate that the kitchen is ALWAYS a mess."

Another named Michelle added: "This is such a great idea", with Ros gushing "Love your posts".

The Facebook group the tips were posted in is called 'Mum's who organise, clean, cook and chat' [sic] and has over 13,000 members.

Their description states they are "For mums and women who want to talk and share their tips on organising their homes.

"Please share any idea's, suggestions, post photos of before and after."