With more and more people now choosing to have children later in life, it’s no surprise that many mothers aren’t hitting the menopause when their kids are college age anymore, it’s coming around when the kids are at the teenage or even pre-teen stage. As if dealing with a teenager with enough hormonal issues of their own wasn’t bad enough, you now have your own set of problems to contend with which include hot flashes, mood swings, irritability, appetite issues, and more which can only add to the stresses of day to day life if you’re not sure how to manage the whole thing. If you’re a mom of teenage kids or younger and you’re going through the menopause, here are some tips to help you all cope.

Look After Yourself

For moms, self-neglect can become second nature. Moms spend so much time making sure that everyone else is OK and that everyone is catered to, that they often forget that they need a bit of time themselves to make sure that they, too, are coping well. This is especially essential if you are menopausal and have younger kids to deal with, as you’ll probably feel like your patience is running thin and will need a bit more time to yourself every now and then. Even if you simply take the time to run a hot bubble bath and relax every few days when the kids have gone to bed, making sure that you switch off, forget about chores and other worries for once, and chill out is even more important when you are going through menopause.

There’s a Light at the End!

When going through menopause, it’s understandable why some women feel like it’s a never ending, horrible situation. This can be especially true if your menopause symptoms are quite severe and are affecting both yours and your families lives. But, when you’re flying off the handle or bursting into tears at nothing, you should take a moment to remind yourself that it’s just hormones, and one day it’ll all be over. If your symptoms are particularly getting you down, you should seek help from women’s health services such as the Rosewellness Clinic.

It’s Good to Talk

Talking about your issues to your kids can help, especially if you’re the parent of a pre-teen or teenage girl. Many people think that a menopausal mother and a hormonal teenage daughter is the worst combination ever, and it does have the potential to be if you don’t approach the relationship in the right way. However, menopausal women and teenage girls have a lot more in common than you might think, including the fact that their bodies are currently undergoing some hormonal changes which neither might understand very well. Being able to talk openly about this could help to strengthen your bond with your daughter and help you both to get through these periods in your life with each other’s support.

Have you been through, or are you going through the menopause whilst raising young kids? Tell us your story in the comments.