Back to School: Taking Care of the One They Depend on Most—You

As the school year gets rolling, we are often hyper-focused on our children’s scholastic needs — the back to school shopping, figuring out transportation strategies and other routine shifts as we transition to the first day of school, kids homework, planning after school activities and play dates… making sure they have everything they need so they can be successful. In all this motion, it’s easy to forget that our well-being matters just as much as our child’s. 

Right!? What about you? Do you have everything you need?

Here’s the truth:

You are the emotional center of your home.

If something happens to you, … just think about that.

You don’t just need to be present—you need to be healthy.

This season, instead of focusing only on structure and success for our child, let’s take a moment to focus on balance and sustainability for ourselves.

Let’s explore four key areas we need to make sure we balance so we can maintain our health, strengthen the connection between us and our children, as we get back  into the back-to-school season:

Work. Play. Love. Pray.

WORK: Align with Purpose

Many parents are silently struggling under the weight of work because of the long hours or the never-ending to-do lists. There is a more important disconnect between what you are doing and our earthly purpose, which is the ultimate life fulfiller.

If you wake up dreading the day or come home feeling defeated, our child notices. They pick up on the tone in our voice, the look in our eyes, and the energy we carry.

When work becomes only survival, we subconsciously teach our kids that adulthood is something to endure, not something to enjoy.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You don’t need to make a dramatic career change tomorrow. But you can begin asking important questions:

• Does this work align with who I am?

• Am I honoring my talents and purpose?

• What small steps could move me closer to fulfillment?

Even micro-shifts—boundaries around after-hours emails, time blocked for creativity, or letting go of a side obligation—can start to create breathing room. We were not born to run on autopilot. We are gifts. We were born to bring something meaningful into the world. When you reconnect with that purpose, your child learns that work can be fulfilling, not just necessary.

🎈PLAY: Allow your children to show you the way. 

Play isn’t just for kids—Play is medicine for our souls. Play reconnects us to our inner child. 

As adults, we often forget the importance of play. We are so busy and tired at the end of the day, we view playing with our kids as an added chore instead of seeing ‘playing with our kids’ as an opportunity for ourselves to experience no bills and a fresh perspective. 

Our child doesn’t need elaborate vacations or fancy outings. What they need is US, fully present—even for just 10 minutes:

• Cloud-Gazing 

• Revisit a favorite park or arcade

• Say yes to a dance party in the living room, which I haven’t done in a while.

• Do a puzzle. 

• Paint the picture. 

• Build a Lego tower.

And most importantly—put the phone down. I know you were thinking it 😉. Let them feel our undivided attention on them, and allow these experiences to fill our hearts and minds. Don’t Facebook the moment… actually CREATE the moment, EXPERIENCE the moment. Let’s Go Ahead & fill our minds with these positive memories we’ve created,… so when we turn 70, we can close our eyes and reflect on them. You know… the classic scenario of our parents sharing these stories at the dinner table or at bedtime. That is TRUE joy. It’s not history, it’s Yerstory (“your story”). It’s how we learn, so we can heal and thrive generationally.  

❤️ LOVE: Self-Love is Paramount

We love our children deeply. That’s never in question.

But here’s a harder question: Do we love ourselves enough to take care of ourselves?

Many parents run on empty, believing that sacrificing their needs is part of the job. Do you, fellow parents, remember the book “The Giving Tree”? Back in the day… it was everyone’s favorite… 

Well, Parents, we can’t be the Giving Tree, we have to be “The Giving Tree that Keeps on Giving”, and to do that… we have to nourish ourselves – body, mind, and spirit. 

It means:

• Treat  yourself to a spa day…solo or with a pal or a gal

• Get your Hair & Nails done

• Go to the Chiropractor 

• Get that Massage

• Sure, Acupuncture

• Do mind health therapies – yoga, meditation, hypnotherapy 

• Do emotional health therapies –  in my professional opinion, Craniosacral is known for its Somatoemotional releases. 

Yes—it means taking care of our health. Because when that quiet voice whispers, “If something happens to me…”—you know it’s a rational fear.

We are their world….And our well-being is of utmost importance. Period!

🙏 PRAY: Create Space to Come Back to your spiritual self

I will tell you now. When I am working on patients in my clinic, FAITH (not science)  is the #1 Healer. I’m not saying “religion”, I’m saying “spiritual” – God, Hashem, Universe, Higher Self, Inner Wisdom, Universal Intelligence… spiritual. It’s not just the absence of external noise, but a conscious quieting of the mind and body to foster a sense of presence and awareness… Stillness when in prayer, meditation, journaling, or quiet reflection… is where healing happens. THIS connection to yourself. 

You don’t need an hour of solitude. You need a few consistent minutes:

• A deep breath before the day starts

• A quiet prayer in the car before pickup

• A gratitude list before bed

• A moment of stillness between transitions

When we create space to reconnect with our source—however you define it—we show up with more clarity, more anchoredness, more awareness, and more capabilities.

With Love & Light, 

Dr. Mary 

Helping parents raise emotionally strong, spiritually grounded, and healthy children—by giving them the tools they need to be successful.