We’ve all been there: that morning blur of getting everyone ready, packing lunchboxes, filling up water bottles, socks… WHERE ARE THOSE SHOES? Then somehow, you’ve made it in the car and are on your way on time - the kids’ bags are packed, lunchboxes and water bottles are prepped and ready for the day ahead.
But where is yours?
We often put so much care into the planning and thoughts around our children’s food, but when it comes to feeding ourselves as parents, we fall short. Sound familiar?
Recently, the Mealtimes team were chatting about this all‑too‑relatable topic.
Between us, we had packed nine lunchboxes that morning, and not one of them was for ourselves. But whyyyyy? It seems that somewhere along the way, our own hunger and needs had become an afterthought. We know we can’t pour from an empty cup, but it seems much harder to look after ourselves than others. Too often, we’ve brought inadequate food to work and then been hanging out for the end of the day so we could go home to eat, or our hunger turns to ‘hanger’, and everything feels so much more difficult.
Now picture this:
You’re flat out at work, your lunch break rolls around, and you’ve got last night’s leftovers in the staff room fridge. You don’t need to make any decisions about what’s for lunch, and no extra money is spent (who wants to pay $15 for a chicken and salad roll these days anyway?!). Maybe you’ve made an extra ham and cheese sandwich for yourself while you were making your kid’s lunchboxes that morning, or grabbed a few fritters from the freezer stash.
It doesn’t need to be fancy or time-consuming, but small actions, like including yourself when planning meals for your kids, can make a big difference.
I wonder what this could look like for you?
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Listen to Mealtimes with Dr Kyla for so much more
In episode 28 I talk about how this happens in my life, and what you can do for yourself. I'm exploring all the ways we show up so thoughtfully for our kids around food, and how we can do the same for ourselves.
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