How Self-Care Helps Your Child Learn the Violin

I get it. Life is tough. You’re busy, your children are busy, and it seems like there’s barely enough time to sleep, let alone focus on self-care. Can you even remember the last time you had some time to yourself? 

You’re not alone. Life just keeps getting busier and busier, with more stress and more expectations for us as parents. I hear you! I have seven children that are all musicians and active in our community. Our family is on the go almost all the time! I know that you’re busy, too, which is why today I want to talk about something that’s a bit surprising but will actually help your child learn the violin, and that is prioritizing your self-care.

Now, you may be asking, “What does my massage have to do with my child learning violin?” I get it, it doesn’t seem very related. But think about it. You know that on the days you feel recharged and well-rested, you’re more excited to spend time together, and it’s easier to motivate your children to do something like practice the violin, right? 

As we’ve talked about before in previous Facebook Lives, your attitude towards your child’s violin practice sessions is one of the most important factors in their success, so if you’re coming from a place of exhaustion, it’s going to be harder to motivate both yourself and your child. 

But if you’re coming from a place of strength, physically, emotionally and mentally, it’s a completely different story. You’ll be able to approach their practice session with an attitude of joy, curiosity, and excitement! Your child will absolutely notice and pick up on this. But in order to feel this way, you have to prioritize your self-care a bit more. That being said, there is one really important thing I want you to remember:

It’s not all or nothing.

There is no specific “benchmark” that lets you know whether or not you’re getting enough self-care. The closest we get to a rule of thumb is this arbitrary 30 minutes of self-care a day, which is next to impossible for most busy parents. But it doesn’t have to be 30 minutes at a time. It doesn’t even have to be 30 minutes a day! 

Even if you’re only minimally able to implement this, remember, one minute is better than no minutes when it comes to preparing yourself to be as present as possible for your family and friends.

In case you aren’t sure where to start, I’ve come up with 3 simple ideas to boost your self-care. 

1. Red lights: Every time you stop, use it as a cue to pause and take four deep breaths. It’s okay if your car isn’t quiet when you do this practice. Even a few mindful seconds can ease you down from a place of hurry and stress to a powerful, contemplative, intentional mind space.

2. Chores: You might be thinking, “What? How does that work?” Yes, chores can be immensely stressful. But let’s use the dishes as an example. Instead of hurrying and getting frustrated, and being consumed by your stressful thoughts, tune in and take a minute to practice mindfulness. 

Feel the water running on your hands, pop some soap bubbles. Be very much in the present. Even something like this can bring a quick moment of joy into your hectic day. Even if you only have a few seconds to pause, create self-care in what you are already doing, and infuse it to make even the most menial of tasks a gain instead of a pain. 

3. Waking Up: Every morning, when you open your eyes, this is your moment to set the tone of the day. Take a few deep breaths. Be calm. Getting into a calmed state right at the beginning will affect the rest of the morning. Make a decision to infuse your morning with a little gratitude. Think about things that bring you joy.

Still curious or unsure where to start? I have a free self-care guide with over 100 free or low-cost self-care ideas that you can get by going to violinpracticepartner.com/selfcare.

But remember: Start small. Don’t try to start an entire new lifestyle that will ultimately be unsustainable. Start with consistently doing one thing a day for yourself, and when you’ve got that down, you can build up from there. If you decide to try it, I’d love to hear from you on how it goes!