Parenting Pump Up

Being a parent is hard. 🥺 This is fairly common knowledge but sometimes it helps to say it out loud (then again and again!)

It's one thing to just deal with the physical needs that kids bring to our lives but to also care for their emotional and mental needs can really be overwhelming and every season of parenting is different.

Now, don't hear me wrong. I love my kids and I adore being their Mom (or Mommy 🥰). I can't believe that they are already teenagers and that they don't need me in the same way they used to. But I believe it's important to have a Tribe of women you can be honest with about your mom struggles too.

When it comes to raising our kids, there are so many parts of life where we need to parent them well: Why they need to work hard. The meaning of kindness and friendship. How to succeed and fail.

Another key area is how to take care of your physical body. Some of you have heard me share before about my childhood home and how it was overwhelmingly focused on physical health. It was worshipped and it was crushing. I had an eating disorder in high school because of it. So, I've struggled as a mom to raise my kids with the proper balance and emphasis on taking care of our bodies, but so far (I think) I'm on the right track.

Here is what I have learned

1. Having a healthy home starts with your attitude! Kids naturally pick up on what you care about. The words you use about food and exercise matter. No one would rather eat vegetables instead of ice cream (I mean no one!) but your attitude spills over into your kids.
2. Be honest with them about your own health. Kids need real not fake parents. Transparency with our kids leads to intimacy with them later. If you love running or hate lifting weights, share it with them. They will ask "why" (because that's what kids do) and then you can talk openly with them.
3. Find ways to make fitness fun. Ride bikes as a family. Coach their team sports. Get in the pool and swim together. Play in the yard or take them to the gym. In the world of screens, it takes intentionality to be an active family. Yes, it's more physically demanding, but it's also more rewarding.
4. Love them for who they are, not how they look. We are all living filtered lives now. Your children will grow up with an abnormal awareness of how they look because they will see pictures of themselves their whole lives. You can't ignore their physical makeup, but coaching their character matters. And when you mess up, admit it and apologize.
5. Make healthy bodies a family value. We only get one body, so take care of yours. No two bodies are the same, but eating healthy, regular exercise, good sleep (which is near impossible with tiny kids!) will be a good model for them. So prioritize healthy meals and snacks. Encourage them to run and play. Help them understand why you need to workout.

I asked my daughter to film a new workout video for all the B•TRIBAL•FIT kids this summer. I've uploaded it to YouTube and if you want to share it with any of your other mom friends out there I'd love it. Also, would you mind subscribing to my channel while you are at it?