Why You Should Start a Journal

How many times have you noticed your child doing something a little … off? It may happen once in a while over months or often over a few hours.

You think to yourself, “It’s not important enough to take them to the hospital.” But you want to be sure to bring it up at their next doctor’s appointment. Weeks go by, you get busy, and you totally forget to bring it up with the doctor.

The very next day, without fail, your child is doing it again—or worse.

We all get busy. We all have a long list of things we want to bring up. And we all forget half the things we want to discuss. It’s OK. We all do it. It does not make you a bad parent or forgetful. It simply means you’re human. And a busy one, at that!

Grab a notebook. It can be a $1 deal at the grocery store or you can order a fancy leather-bound one from Amazon. Try to make a habit of writing things down: a new symptom, a new medication, or a new treatment you heard about. Write down anything that you want to bring up.

If you are really good at writing things down, try keeping a daily journal. Write down the pros and cons of each day, any concerns, goals, etc. Carry this notebook with you to appointments and you can always flip back to see what you wanted to cover.

There is an extra benefit to this practice, too. A lot of us are super focused on our kids, house, job, etc. But we don’t take much time to focus on ourselves. Taking 5 minutes before you go to bed to jot down your thoughts can be very therapeutic.

I started journaling when Casey was in the NICU. It was so helpful as a way to keep track of things. But it was also a great outlet for me to let all the fears and emotions out of my head. I never showed anyone the journal. It was just for me. But putting pen to paper really helped me.

Self-care is one of the most important things you can do. Here are more ideas to help.