As a mom, chances are you feel plenty of guilt. We feel guilty if we go back to work and leave our kids in childcare. If we don’t go out to work, we feel guilty for not providing financially or not being a working role model. If you work from home, you’ll feel terribly guilty about neglecting your kids and letting them watch too much TV when you have deadlines to meet. We feel guilty about staying at home, but then we feel guilty about tiring them out with outings. We feel bad if we have an off day and let them have lots of screen time to help us out, and we feel bad if we restrict screen time. We feel guilty when we steal their chocolate and guilty if they eat it, as we encourage unhealthy habits. As a mom, guilt is a constant companion.
A big surge of guilt might hit you at the very idea of going away without your kids. The idea of leaving them at home while you head off on a city break to NYC with your girlfriends or on a romantic trip with your partner. But, a trip without the kids is a fantastic idea, here are some of the reasons that you should go for it, and not feel guilty about it.
To Get Some Sleep
If you ask most parents what they’d do on a night without their children, they’d say catch up on some sleep. This is even truer for parents with very young children. Take your kids away, and you’ll get even less sleep than usual as you battle their excitement. Go away on your own, and you’ll get some uninterrupted sleep and a few lie-ins.
To Do Grown Up Things
Going away with your friends or partner is a chance to see things that you want to see and enjoy last minute broadway tickets instead of having to stick to child-friendly attractions.
It’s a Chance to Stop Being Mom
Do you remember who you were before you became a mom? Do you ever get just to be you again? Go away without the kids, and you’ll get to stop being a mom and get back in touch with the real you.
To Actually Take a Break
Vacations with kids are fantastic. It’s a great chance to see the world in a new light, to share in their childhood excitement and youthful joy. It gives you time to bond without the distractions of day to day life.
But, they aren’t really vacations. It’s just parenting in another place. You never get any proper time off for yourself. Heading away without the kids gives you a chance to have a rest, to let your hair down without worrying about them and to get some time on your own.
They’ll Love it
Your kids won’t be upset that you’ve left them behind for too long. They need time without you, as much as you need time without them. They’ll enjoy time with relatives or friends, and they’ll get a chance to break some rules and be spoiled without you.
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