Stress-less Reminders 

            I once heard the definition of stress as: anything we perceive to be out of our control. Parents today feel out of control; of their child’s schedule and grades, family finances, work demands or lay-offs, and household needs. Parenting is a stressful task, not for the weak-hearted. Comedian Martin Mull quipped, “Parenting is like having a bowling alley in your head.”

           You can be an anchor of calm and hope in the home. Relate these words of Albert Einstein to parenting; “Not everything that counts can be counted. And not everything that can be counted – counts.” Perhaps the reminder can prompt you to relax and stop fretting about every issue in your kids' lives or over responding to a problem.

            Here are some of my stress-less reminders:

· All kids can and do misbehave.  

· There are no perfect kids. 

· Only God is the perfect parent. Whew, we're off the hook.

· Physical affection is therapeutic; give and receive cuddles and hugs. 

· See humor (somewhere) in the situation. Parenting is too serious of a job to be taken seriously all the time.

· Take a break; exercise, listen to soothing music, read a chapter in a fave book, enjoy a cuppa joe and listen to an encouraging podcast on The Parent's Plate radio show.

· Good parents practice self-care; eat right and sleep when the kids do - or when they're outta the house.