How to get alone time as a mum

Last Updated on March 17, 2024

Getting alone time as a mum feels like something that’s too hard, or something that may happen at a later stage of motherhood.

However, making time for yourself as a mum is essential for your mental health and wellbeing, so it needs to be prioritised.

For many of us, going for too long without alone time can cause feelings of frustration, overwhelm, and resentment, which can impact not only how you feel, but also how your family interacts.

Here are some ways that you can make alone time part of your daily mum life.

What does alone time mean?

Alone time means taking time for yourself to do things that you enjoy, that recharge your batteries, and allow you to switch off from the demands of everyday life.

Why mums need alone time

Having alone time is not something to feel guilty about, it’s something all mums need to recharge, take a break, and reset.

For mums, alone time is especially important when you feel touched out, burnt out, want a life outside of motherhood, or are feeling emotionally drained.

It’s also important if you’re unable to use babysitters, have little to no family support, or like me, have family overseas, which makes taking a break hard.

Making time for yourself as a mum during these times, or any time when you feel you need it, isn’t a luxury, it’s essential, and needs to be a priority.

How to get alone time

Here are some ways you can make time for alone time, and some ideas of what to do when you have it.

Schedule it in

Scheduling alone time into your day is the best way to ensure it happens.

You don’t need to schedule a large chunk of time, even just 10 minutes at a time is beneficial.

Some times that can become alone time include:

• During your kids independent play time
• During nap time, or kids quiet time
• When your kids are eating dinner
• At the start of the day
• At the end of the day

Go for a walk

This is one of the ways I get alone time as a mum.

I go for a walk a few mornings a week after the school run, or I go for a walk whenever my husband’s at home and I’m having a particularly hard morning with my kids, and I know that I need to leave the house before I have an outburst.

You can listen to a motherhood podcast as you walk, an audio book, or walk in silence. Whatever you do during your walk, it’s a great way to gather your thoughts, process feelings, and take some much needed time out.

Get your partner to help

Getting your partner to help is another way of finding alone time as a mum, especially if they can help with something that takes a bit of time, like bath or bedtime.

This can be challenging if you’re the preferred parent, but getting your kids used to having both parents doing things for them will give you more time to yourself in the long run.

Nights away

This is my favourite way to get alone time as a mum, which is having a solo night away, which if you can do ensures you get a really good amount of time to yourself away from mum life and household chores.

Take turns sleeping in

Sleeping in is something that may not be possible during the week, but on weekends you may be able to take turns sleeping in by getting your partner to wake during Saturday nights if the kids need someone, and getting them to wake up and do breakfast so you can sleep in.

You can then return the favour on Sundays.

Have a shower

Showers are a great way to take time out as a mum by giving you some time to escape kid’s fights, loud noises, or gather any thoughts you need to gather.

Getting alone time as a mum is essential for your mental health, and helps with feelings of burn out, frustration, and resentment.

Scheduling alone time into your day ensures it happens, and using your alone time to exercise, get your kids used to their non preferred parent, having a solo night away, getting enough sleep, or stepping away from stressful situations, goes a long way towards making mum life more enjoyable.

Is finding alone time as a mum something you’d like to do more of?