Gwyneth Paltrow, 44, learned a great parenting lesson while raising her children, Apple, 12 and Moses, 10. She admitted putting them first exhausted her and she realized how moms need self-care more than anything.
Paltrow said she was a short-tempered mom when her children were little. Focusing on Apple and Moses meant she gave a little time for herself. Over the years, however, she learned she needed to take breaks from mothering, too.
"What if I gave myself permission to take a 20-minute nap?" Paltrow told People. "I let them be on their iPads and not beat myself up," she said.
The celebrity mom called this obsession with kids as "post-natal depletion," and those with children under seven suffer more. She learned many moms felt the same exhaustion after a doctor discussed post-natal depletion on her lifestyle site Goop.
Dr. Oscar Serrallach told her readers moms should make it a point to see a physician regularly for a health assessment. He also advised switching to a healthy diet and getting support from a counselor or psychologist for any health issues.
Meanwhile, in addition to giving herself some time to rest and recoup from her duties as a mom, Paltrow also suggested moms to take vitamin supplements. In fact, the actress developed her own line of supplements after going through physical exhaustion. She realized her body needed more self-care.
"I sleep, I eat well, I exercise, like, what is my problem?" Paltrow said, as per WWD. "We work too hard, we drink too much, we have too many things going on and our adrenals are on burn out," she said.
Paltrow, a working mom and co-parent with ex-husband Chris Martin, is a firm believer that health is wealth. At the end of the day, however, she draws much strength from her kids' hugs and kisses.
"What I do for my health is make sure that I really connect and hug my children," the actress revealed. "I lie with them at night," she added.
