Self Care Resources

Family smiling with child

Caring for yourself while also caring for a sick child can be a stressful and overwhelming experience. Taking time to support your own needs is essential for maintaining your mental health and wellbeing. Here you’ll find resources about why making your own self-care a priority is beneficial to you and your family. Pick and choose the resources that resonate with you, and don’t feel pressured to try to fit it all in. Our goal is to support the whole family while you are caring for your children.

Recommended resources

Self-care action plan

Self-care is an important tool to help manage stress and burnout. Use this to help you set a plan to achieve your self-care goals.

Self-care challenge

Self-care is an important part of supporting and maintaining your mental health. Print out this challenge to jump start your path to positive mental health.

Reto de autocuidado

El concepto de autocuidado se ha convertido en la última palabra de moda, pero ¿qué significa realmente?

Parents as Partners

Our Parents as Partners program is a family-centered care initiative, designed to work with families who are being cared for at Cook Children's. This program provides support to patients and families and strives to improve the safety and quality of the care provided. When it comes to the family experience, our parent advisors are the experts on the health care experience.

Connect with other parents

Additional resources

10 ways to self-care during your time at Cook Children's | Cook Children's
Step out and see the sin, set boundaries, read books and make a point to treat yourself every now and then.
10 maneras de cuidarse a sí mismo durante su estadía en Cook Children's | Cook Children's
El personal del Mostrador de Información puede darle indicaciones para llegar a cualquiera
de los lugares mencionados a continuación.
The Animal-Human Connection: How Pets Improve Our Mental Health | Cook Children's
Whether it’s highly trained therapy dogs, laid-back emotional support cats or pet pot-bellied pigs, animals appear to shoulder some of the emotional load as they interact with humans—and may even promote healthier mental health for their people, some researchers and animal handlers say.
Child Therapists Share Six Ways to Cope with Difficult Emotions | Cook Children's
A tool to use during difficult times. Six of our therapists and psychologists created the coping skills videos below. They show different techniques kids and teens can use when they feel stress, anxiety and depression. These are the same coping skills our experts teach their patients. We hope these videos give young people a way to express themselves and foster hope for better days ahead.
Self Care for Parents with Melarie Odelusi | Cook Children's
Melarie teaches us all she has learned on her journey of self-care, from meditation to breathing techniques, the importance of sunlight – and even some surprising things you may have not heard of.
Learn stress first aid basics and how they can boost healing | American Medical Association
Meeting these five essential needs will help increase resilience and recovery during a variety of adverse circumstances.
Care for Yourself | CDC
Fear and anxiety can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions. It’s important to take care of your family and friends, but it should be balanced with care for yourself.
- Printable poster: For yourself
- Printable poster: For family caregivers
Coping with Stress | CDC
Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will help you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient.
How Right Now - Finding What Helps | CDC
Remind yourself that tomorrow is a new day that could bring new celebrations and challenges
What doctors wish patients knew about getting a good night’s sleep | American Medical Association

From family responsibilities and work stress to illnesses, there are many factors that can interfere with a good night’s sleep.
What doctors wish patients knew about increasing physical activity | American Medical Association
Staying active is one of the best ways to keep your body healthy. It can also improve your overall well-being and quality of life by relieving stress, anxiety, depression, and anger.
What doctors wish patients knew about social media’s toxic impact | American Medical Association

Many people enjoy staying connected on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Yet a growing body of research is finding that excessive use—more than three hours a day—can exacerbate mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, in teens and young adults.
4 physician-recommended steps to work- and home-life balance | American Medical Association
Physicians often strive for “work-life balance,” but how do you define it? Getting the time you need may require a different approach. One physician and wellness expert recommends these four self-driven solutions to help you redefine balance and maintain a successful home and work life.
What doctors wish patients knew about healthy eating | American Medical Association
What you eat plays a leading role in your health and well-being. When someone eats healthy, it helps to protect against many chronic diseases such as heart disease, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and obesity. But with so many fad diets and food recommendations out there, it can be hard for patients to navigate what to eat and what not to eat.
Caring for Yourself When Caring for Another | CDC
You are a caregiver if you care for someone who needs help. Caregiving can be hard on you despite the great sense of reward you may feel. To continue being a good caregiver, you need to take care of yourself.
5 ways to protect mental health now and during a future crisis | American Medical Association
5 ways to protect mental health. Here are some ways to foster psychological or stress first aid personally, in the workplace and community.
Healing From Trauma With Ashley | Raising Joy
Ashley Igo was just 8 years old when her world changed forever. She was riding in an Amtrak train car when a semi-truck tried to speed through the crossing. She lost her mother, two friends, a niece and her right foot in the traumatic accident. For years, Ashley suffered from severe anxiety later diagnosed with PTSD. Today, she is a licensed psychologist and registered play therapist, and is passionate about early intervention after trauma.
Prioritizing Self Care, Developing Routines To Improve Quality Of Life | CBS
Psychologist Dr. Matthew Sacco says ignoring self care can make one "absolutely more vulnerable to poor health, physical health, and psychological health."
You Should Take 1 Mental Health Day Per Month, Psychologist Says—Here Are 4 Great Ways to Use Them | NBC
When you're under pressure and feeling stressed, you might feel irresponsible taking time off from work. Yet experts say that's exactly when it's most important for you to take a mental health day.
The pandemic has taken a big toll on the mental health of children | KERA
Everyone in a child and young person's environment needs to be aware and understand how adverse childhood experiences may be impacting kids. And that goes from educators to law enforcement officers and the person doing the checkout at the grocery store.
You're Never too Old to Play | Chasing Life
It’s easy to forget that we are part of nature. But, we are living, breathing organisms. Discover why we feel refreshed after visiting the ocean, how our gut helps us maintain homeostasis, and the evolutionary root of bad dreams.