The baby was up three times last night, the kids are loud and bouncing off the walls, you haven’t eaten anything all day, and you are just trying to finish up this one last thing. Then it happens. You’ve reached your limit – everything comes crashing down and you lose all control. “AHHHHHH” – you yell. The kids are startled and you feel awful for letting your emotions get the best of you.
The truth is, we all do it. Even the seemingly perfect mothers have their bad days. But when we take a closer look, it is very likely that many of those situations can be avoided with a little bit of planning. For myself, there are definite triggers for my Mom meltdowns and I’m sure you have yours too.
4 Reasons for Mom Meltdowns and How to Avoid them
Reason #1 – Not Enough Sleep
No we cannot change our baby’s sleeping habits and force them to sleep all night long but we can change our own. I don’t know about you but if I haven’t had enough sleep at night I am extremely moody the next day. My tolerance level for excessive noise is drastically reduced. How do we fix this problem? Get enough sleep! As tempting as it may be to stay up late sometimes you just got to give in and go to bed early – especially if you have little ones that will wake with the roosters.
Reason #2 – Over Stimulation
We see this happen to our children all the time – the lights, the noise, too many people – it’s all too much and they have a complete meltdown on aisle 5 of the grocery store. Well guess what? It can happen to us too! Sometimes we just need to step away and take a break, alone, away from it all. Take five minutes for some ME time to recharge.
Reason #3 – Too Much Stress
The house needs to be cleaned, you have work to get done and you signed up to coach another season of soccer. At the very moment that you are getting ready send emails to your co-workers your ten year old reminds you that she has a project for school due next week. You are over-committed and over-stressed. The only way to fix this is to let some of it go. Find your priorities and get rid of the rest. De-stress your home environment by learning to say no unless it’s an absolute must.
Reason #4 – Hunger
Don’t be a Hangry Mama! This is by far my biggest trigger. You forgot to eat breakfast in the morning because you were too busy getting the kids ready for school. You rush out of the door at the last minute, coffee in hand, without taking a single bite of breakfast. After dropping the kids off you have to hurry into a meeting followed by errands and before you know it the clock says 2pm and it’s time to pick up the kids. You still haven’t eaten anything and it’s taking it’s toll. You lose all patience for you son who likes to dawdle after class. This could have all been completely avoided by keeping a quick snack in your purse while you’re on the go.
I toss a few Fiber One Protein Bars in my bag to avoid becoming the beast that is the Hangry Mom!
Anytime I’m shopping at Walmart I make sure to grab a few boxes of FiberOne bars to keep on hand in case of a snack emergency. They’re delicious and satisfying – definitely keep my Hanger at bay.
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