Family Health & Wellness During COVID-19: Series Intro

Health and wellness are key components to building healthy families! When we make positive choices that promote the physical, emotional, mental, and relational health of our families, we can live happier, more well-balanced lives. This is especially true during the current challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Health and wellness may look a bit different with safety measures, such as social distancing in place. We may not be able to engage in the same activities as before, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to prioritize our health and wellness.

Stay tuned as we share tips to help you and your family promote health and wellness during COVID-19!

Mother’s Day for Single Moms

Mother’s day as a single parent can be challenging, so we’ve developed a series of tips to help single moms feel celebrated and make the best of this holiday! Whether you are a single mom yourself or know someone who is a single mom, we encourage you to use these tips to celebrate and support all of the single moms out there!

Remind yourself that you deserve to be celebrated this Mother’s Day.

To all of the single moms who are reading this, know that you deserve to be honored and celebrated! This may look different for you than for other moms, but it doesn’t make it any less important or special. Give yourself permission to celebrate yourself and ask others for what you need this Mother’s Day! 

Set realistic expectations.

Take some time to reflect on your expectations for Mother’s Day and try your best to make them as realistic as possible. Know that things probably won’t go exactly as planned, and there will likely still be fighting, yelling, or other misbehavior just like any other day. But, there will also be many beautiful moments that build connection and create meaningful memories for you and your children. When you set realistic expectations and take in both the good and the bad, you can set yourself up for success and avoid the disappointment of unmet expectations. 

Be mindful of your social media usage on Mother’s Day.

Social media often promotes unrealistic expectations, generally showing only the very best moments and images in someone’s life. While, you don’t have to avoid social media, it may be a good idea to check in with yourself and potentially limit your exposure to social media if you notice yourself experiencing feelings of sadness, insecurity and jealousy while scrolling through others’ posts. It may also be beneficial to remind yourself that what you see on social media may not actually be reality, and though it often portrays images of perfection, everyone experiences challenges and hardships of some kind. No one is perfect, and that’s okay. 

Help your kids learn how to celebrate you! 

We encourage you to teach your kids how to celebrate you this Mother’s Day! Not only will this promote connection and gratitude, but it will also teach your kids the importance of celebrating their loved ones, which will help them build healthy relationships in the future. Take some time to talk to your children about the meaning of Mother’s Day and brainstorm ideas to help them celebrate you on this special day. Some examples include helping with chores, making home-made cards, creating a Mother’s Day craft, or helping to cook a special meal. 

Plan something that you would like to do on Mother’s Day!

Moms often put their needs to the side, so this Mother’s Day, we encourage you to choose something that you would like to do for the day. Because of COVID-19, this may look a little different this year, so try and get creative as you think of things to do while maintaining social distancing. Some ideas include going for a walk with your kids, gardening, cooking your favorite meal for dinner, doing a family movie night and getting to pick the movie, or baking a sweet treat with your kids. 

Today’s blog was adapted from our Mother’s Day Survival Guide blog post, written by HRI Director, Dr. Christine Murray. Click on the link above for more information!