5 ways to Love yourself from my kid...

As parents we often focus on how we are helping our little ones navigate this world with our love, wisdom, and care... but often they're the one's here to help us learn. So with this month's focus being self love I wanted to solicit a some wisdom from my little man to see what I might learn. So without further adieu, here are 5 ways to love yourself from my kid.
1.) Play Soccer
So yes, you guessed it little man is a soccer buff and loves playing as much as humanly possible. But in the context of his 11 year old mind what he is really saying is do something you love. Whether you love soccer, painting, dancing, hiking, reading, yoga, whatever it is, make time to do this weekly if not daily. We gennials (Gen X + Millenials) are so busy juggling work, kids, passions, gym, PTA, etc., that we often put what we love to do on the back burner. So do yourself a favor and love yourself enough to take something(s) off of your plate so you can "play a little more soccer," once a week minimum.
2.) Cuddle
Even my 11 year old realizes that in order to love ourselves we have to nourish our relationships and connections with others and ourselves. Physical contact, hugs in particular, can release the bonding hormone, oxytocin, into our bloodstream which can help reduce stress, anxiety, and keep depression at bay. So if you are looking for a quick way to give yourself a little love, give a loving cuddle to a friend, pet, or loved one everyday.
3.) Eat ice cream!
Now, a lot of us are trying to honor our bodies by eating clean and that is certainly a way to love and nourish yourself, but in moderation ice cream is a must! When we love ourselves we choose foods that nourish our minds, bodies, spirits, and heal us from the inside out, but don't forget that food should be pleasurable. Is forcing yourself to eat a kale smoothie actually loving yourself if you hate it? What about eating a small portion of ice cream once in a blue when your body is craving it? Love yourself enough to choose foods that are healthy and empowering, without depriving yourself because deprivation isn't love, but a little ice cream certainly can be;).
4.) Papi & Soup
Ok, so this one is going to require a little more explaining. As I was trying to get Junior to share ways we can all love ourselves more I asked him what makes him feel better when he is sad and his answers were his Papi and soup. So in order to love ourselves more we heed to do more of what gives us comfort. So maybe it's a nice hot bath, massage, pedicure, or even just a guiltless nap that gives us that bit of comfort that we may have been neglecting to give ourselves. Whatever it is for you do more of it! Twice a month minimum, ideally once a week.
5.) Sleep
So this one, although obvious, is one that a lot of us haven't quite figured out yet. Whether you get sucked into social media or your newest netfilx binge before bed, most of us are simply not getting enough sleep. So if you want to start loving yourself more this year, make sure that you get adequate rest and sleep. Why do we do we stay up later than we should to be dragging the entire following day? You wouldn't let your child stay up till 2am with 6am wake up time, so why do this to yourself? How much sleep do you require? If you don't know make it our mission to figure it out and start executing because that's what we do for those we love.
So if you want to make 2018 your year for self love it's time to sleep, eat, play, connect, and comfort ourselves like we love ourselves.
With love,
Cristina