With many women leaving motherhood until later in life, the struggles of being a parent to young children and teenagers at the same time as juggling peri-menopause or menopause symptoms is now a reality for many.
Statistics show that women are now getting older before having children. This could be due to the fact that they’re enjoying their careers or even just living life to the full before settling down and becoming parents. But, according to a recent study, the mean age of women at childbirth was 34 years old. More than 55% were over 30.
The Challenges of Raising a Child During Menopause
A lot of women are either starting the menopause while raising young children, or they’re starting the menopause alongside their teenagers who are just going through puberty.
As you can imagine, this is creating a lot of challenges that, many years ago, the majority of women didn’t have to face. So, how are you going to cope with this?
Taking Care of a Toddler During Menopause
If you have young children, especially little toddlers, you’ve got them running around, they’re full of energy, they’re probably not sleeping a lot. And, here you are, you’re probably very tired, maybe you’re not sleeping well if you’re getting hot flushes and sweats. And, how can you keep up with them if you’re getting joint aches and pains?
There can also be loads of stress involved, so you’ve got not only the stress of the menopause, but also the stress of looking after young children.
Puberty and Menopause in the Same House
For those of you who have teenagers going through puberty, this can be a difficult relationship.
You’ve got moms going through menopause with all the emotional angst that’s going on – the mood swings, the low mood, the anxiety, the tearfulness. And, this can be made even more difficult, especially if you’ve got a teenage girl who is going through exactly the same thing.
How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Children During Menopause
This situation can create a lot of unplanned symptoms. So, how are you going to cope with all this?
First and Foremost, Take Care of Yourself
It’s really important to take care of yourself, and please don’t neglect your own mood. You know, if you’re on an airplane, you’re told: “When oxygen masks come down, you must put your own on first before helping other people”. And it’s the same here.
The menopause causes fatigue amongst all sorts of different symptoms. And, if you are really tired, if you are totally run down, if you have nothing left, then it’s going to be very difficult for you to care for the family and to look after both young children and teenagers. So, looking after yourself is not being selfish. It is a really, really important priority here.
Talk About It
Don’t forget to talk about it. Again, as women, we tend to keep multi-tasking and pretending that we can cope. And, you know, the last thing we’re going to do is ask for help because it will look like we’re weak, and we can’t cope. But it’s really important to ask for help in this situation if you’re really struggling.
Talking doesn’t make you week, rather it’s a sign of being strong if you’re willing to just say to people, “Look, I need a little bit of a hand here.” Remember to communicate with your family.
Make Time for Yourself
“Me” time is so important. And I know you’ll all be sitting there going, “Where am I going to fit that in?” But this is something that needs to be included in your self-care routine. It’s just having a little bit of “me” time to allow your body to cope, to reenergize, and recuperate, too.
Balance Your Hormones
You should check your hormone levels and take a look at balancing your hormones if it’s appropriate. ReVital is offering a FREE Age Management and Hormone Optimization consultation.
Support Your Nervous System
Again, this is going to help, especially for the teenage angst that’s going on beside you.
Look at things like magnesium, your B vitamins as well. These are all going to help you just to cope that little bit better.
Eat Well
And the other really important thing here is to eat well. Make sure that you’re getting a good, nutritious diet to help support your body generally. And don’t forget the water because that’s going to help with all your symptoms, too.