Jumpin’ Jellybeans Celebrates Mental Health
It’s mental health awareness week, but we believe mental health should be a thing every day!
As a former marriage and family therapist, our founder ran a private practice where she saw children, families, and couples before opening the first Jumpin’ Jellybeans in TN. One of the common themes she saw amongst her adult clients and couples was the lack of time they reserved for themselves. Many of her parents felt this overwhelming feeling of guilt and shame when they tried to carve out time for themselves. Often parents knew they needed to provide themselves with self-care but struggled with finding the time or a way to do this.
She realized parents would feel depleted and crave just a little time for themselves. They would, out of despair, put their kids in front of a screen for hours so they could have just a few moments to collect themselves, only to then struggle with the feelings of guilt and shame for doing this. This constant cycle of depletion, attempt for self-care, guilt, and shame were more common than not. This unhealthy cycle would affect their physical, emotional, and mental health. It impacted their relationship with their kids and other important people in their lives.
Enters Jumpin’ Jellybeans.
At Jumpin’ Jellybeans, self-care, guilt, and shame-free were one of the things she was intentional about making sure Jumpin’ Jellybeans provided. She wanted Jumpin’ Jellybeans to be where parents could come and just be for a few moments. They could relax and replenish themselves without feeling guilty. If parents need to detach for a moment, they can. If they need to attach to their kids and play with them without worrying about a load of laundry or knowing they will have to clean up the mess after playing, they can. Jumpin’ Jellybeans would provide a place for parents to restore their mental health. It would be a safe haven for parents and children.
As a mom, she understands she is only at her best when she provides guilt, shame, and stress-free time for herself. Parents cannot parent holistically and healthily if they are depleted and under stress. They need to take moments for themselves.
Taking care of your mental health as a parent is the only way you can practice positive parenting. Asking parents to practice patience and understanding or be “the fun” parents when they are exhausted is like asking a car to drive without gas. No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves we can, the reality is we can’t.
Jumpin’ Jellybeans is more than just an indoor play space. It’s a place where couples can reconnect. It’s a place where friends can catch up and check in on each other. It’s a place where working parents can get work done or catch up on emails. It’s a place where homeschooling parents can do school and have PE all in one place. It’s a place where kids can laugh out loud, safely run around, and a make a mess. It’s a place where parents can play with their kids uninterrupted. It’s a place where parens can relax.
It’s a place for mental health.
