Mental and Physical Health

Good Medicine

Let’s be honest, being a parent isn’t all cuddles and giggles. A times, parenting is just plain frustrating. When you’re trying to get to work on time but there are breakfasts to be made, shoes to be tied, diapers to be changed, and car keys to be found, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Even for parents of teenagers, coordinating schedules, assisting with school papers and projects, and walking them through adolescence’s many changes is a lot to juggle. But through the milk spills, broken dishes, and lost homework assignments, sometimes we just need to laugh.

Proverbs 17:22 says that “laughter is good medicine,” and good medicine is something of which parents could use a dose. This is especially true according to a 2023 report from the Surgeon General’s office (https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/parents/index.html#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways%20from%20the%20Advisory&text=According%20to%202023%20data:,to%2026%25%20among%20other%20adults.) which stated that nearly half of all parents say their day is “completely overwhelming.”

This verse isn’t just a feel-good proverbial phrase, it’s a fact that is backed up by science. According to the Mayo Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456), laughter benefits mental and physical health in both short and long term ways.

Short term benefits of laughter include decreasing bodily responses to stress such as heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increasing oxygen flow to vital organs such as the heart and lungs.

In the long term, creating a routine of laughter can have positive effects on your immunity, allow your body to fight off serious illnesses, and even relieve pain through its own “natural pain killers” that are produced when the body laughs.

One way to keep things in a light-hearted perspective amidst the crazy and the chaos is to make a “You Know You’re a Parent When…” list. On this list, record every bizarre and unbelievable thing that happens. Then every few months, pull out your list and have a good laugh at all of the “real-life parenting moments” you’ve recorded.

Here are a few of our Ignite Parenting team’s favorite “You Know You’re a Parent When…” moments:

You Know You’re a Parent When…

• You’d rather have a brain-freeze that lasts 15 minutes from drinking an extra-large slushy than share it with your toddlers.

   

• Waking up with a foot in your mouth isn’t anything you think twice about anymore.

   

• You take an extra-long bathroom break at church before picking up your kids from the nursery just to have some “you time”.

   

• You can pick up any object off the floor with your foot.

   

• You know the dire consequences of not checking for Legos on the floor before walking into your child’s room.

   

• The only thing worse than the sound of screaming children is the sound of prolonged silence.

   

• You immediately search for your cell phone and the T.V. remote when you hear the sound of a toilet flushing.

   

• The closest thing you’ve had to a massage lately is letting your son drive his monster trucks up your arm and down your back.

There are many challenges that come with being a parent but there are also twice as many blessings. In fact, purposefully focusing on those blessings and practicing intentional gratitude can have the same benefits on mental and physical health as laughter.

Even if you aren’t able to find moments of laughter, consider instead making a list of things for which you are thankful and saying a quick prayer of thanks to God for all that He has given you and done for you, including sending His one and only Son as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

If you feel frustrated and overwhelmed at life’s current circumstances, find little ways to laugh or reflect on the goodness of God in your life and watch as that “good medicine” starts to revive your weary spirit.