“Being a parent is…knowing that nurturing your child’s mental health starts with your own”
Parenting Limerick’s second phase of our Positive Parenting campaign hits the streets of Limerick on Monday, July 13th. For the next two months, we will be promoting the importance of parents finding time to nurture their own mental health and well-being. Parents who take the time to look after themselves and take time out for themselves are often in a better position to care for their children. Parents who are relaxed and less stressed can respond more appropriately to their children’s needs.
But what does looking after you mean? It means that as a parent you care for yourself to the same extent that you care for the rest of your family. It could be taking a walk, meeting a friend, reading a book—whatever it is that lets you be you.
This does not mean that you are being selfish! If you have ever been on a plane and listened to the safety announcement, you will have heard the advice to attend to your own oxygen mask first before assisting a child or other passenger. This advice is also true when parenting children. You need to look after yourself so you have the physical and mental strength to look after your children.
As part of promoting positive parental mental health, Parenting Limerick will be hosting a series of workshops to encourage parents to take some time to look after themselves. The first workshop “Knit & Crochet” will be held on Wednesday 15th July 11-12.30pm in Limerick Social Service Centre, Henry Street, Limerick (For more information click here).
Workshops will run throughout the 8 week campaign concluding with a workshop on Promoting Parental Mental Health on Tuesday 1st September 10 am in the Granary Library.
To find out about other workshops visit our Event page or our Facebook Page. We will be adding events over the course of the two year campaign.
If you would like to find out about the range of parenting and family supports available in Limerick, please click here.
Read more of Love Parenting’s Mental Health Articles
- Minding your Mental Health so you can mind your Child’s
- Self Care For Heroes
- Self- Care for Heroes: Meeting our own needs
- Baby Blues: Understanding Postnatal Depression
- Parents: Take time to look after yourselves!
The Positive Parenting campaign features images of local parents doing things to help their mental health. With this campaign we hope to emphasise the importance of parental mental health for nurturing your child’s. Look for us on buses, on posters in your local area, in the local media, on social media and here on www.loveparenting.ie. This is part of a population approach to promoting and supporting Positive Parenting in Limerick and is supported by Parenting Limerick and ABC Start Right Limerick. For more information on this campaign, please click here.
