Okay mums, is it time we all slow down a little?

Research suggests women are doing more household and caring chores along with more hours working outside of the home than ever before. We’re forever trying to get through our “To Do” lists and between the childcare run, children’s activities, work commitments, grocery shopping, the dentist, family visits, decluttering the house, helping at the school and taking the dog to the vet, we’re all trying to do much more with less time.

Dr Libby Weaver coined the term “Rushing Woman’s Syndrome” relating to Sympathetic Nervous System Dominance and women being in a constant state of “flight or fight”. This state has a negative affect on our health and on that, there’s been a real shift in women’s physical and mental health as identified in the Women’s Health Survey carried out by Jean Hailes in recent times. In this survey “half of the women (46.1%) had been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, two-thirds of women (66.9%) reported feeling nervous, anxious or on edge in the last four weeks and more than a third of women (34.3%) reported not getting time to themselves on a weekly basis”.

It is time we ease the pressure we put on ourselves as mums. We need to lighten our load and our expectations to be everything to everyone. We need to banish poor self-judgement and tell ourselves it is okay to let some things go. We need to better prioritise the things that are most important and commit to treating ourselves better. It is time we stop racing through life and it is time to slow things down.

Slow down mummy, there is no need to rush,
slow down mummy, what is all the fuss?
Slow down mummy, make yourself a cup tea.
Slow down mummy, come and spend some time with me.

Slow down mummy, let’s put our boots on and go out for a walk,
let’s kick at piles of leaves, and smile and laugh and talk.
Slow down mummy, you look ever so tired,
come sit and snuggle under the duvet and rest with me a while.

Slow down mummy, those dirty dishes can wait,
slow down mummy, let’s have some fun, let’s bake a cake!
Slow down mummy I know you work a lot,
but sometimes mummy, it’s nice when you just stop.

Sit with us a minute,
& listen to our day,
spend a cherished moment,
because our childhood is not here to stay!

Poem written by Rebekah Knight (2011 – sourced online)