Simplicity Parenting Published by Ballantine Books on August 2010
Genres: Non-Fiction
Pages: 235
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
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Today’s busier, faster society is waging an undeclared war on childhood. With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioral problems. Now internationally renowned family consultant Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish. Simplicity Parenting offers inspiration, ideas, and a blueprint for change:
• Streamline your home environment. Reduce the amount of toys, books, and clutter—as well as the lights, sounds, and general sensory overload.
• Establish rhythms and rituals. Discover ways to ease daily tensions, create battle-free mealtimes and bedtimes, and tell if your child is overwhelmed.
• Schedule a break in the schedule. Establish intervals of calm and connection in your child’s daily torrent of constant doing.
• Scale back on media and parental involvement. Manage your children’s “screen time” to limit the endless deluge of information and stimulation.
A manifesto for protecting the grace of childhood, Simplicity Parenting is an eloquent guide to bringing new rhythms to bear on the lifelong art of raising children
Today’s busier, faster society is waging an undeclared war on childhood. With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioral problems. Now internationally renowned family consultant Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish. Simplicity Parenting offers inspiration, ideas, and a blueprint for change:
• Streamline your home environment. Reduce the amount of toys, books, and clutter—as well as the lights, sounds, and general sensory overload.
• Establish rhythms and rituals. Discover ways to ease daily tensions, create battle-free mealtimes and bedtimes, and tell if your child is overwhelmed.
• Schedule a break in the schedule. Establish intervals of calm and connection in your child’s daily torrent of constant doing.
• Scale back on media and parental involvement. Manage your children’s “screen time” to limit the endless deluge of information and stimulation.
A manifesto for protecting the grace of childhood, Simplicity Parenting is an eloquent guide to bringing new rhythms to bear on the lifelong art of raising children
Of course I’m reading parenting books! I feel like most days I’m just throwing money at amazon saying “Take my money!”
I really liked this book’s message. It’s about simple living and giving our kids the strength and resources to communicate with us. Between toys and television and play dates and day care, something gets lost and I really liked reading this book bringing my attention back to what matter’s most – my relationship with my child.
A few ideas stuck with us even after the book was over. We make it a point to go through my daughter’s clothes often, taking out things that no longer fit or are too stained to wear. I go through her books regularly, making sure we only keep her favorite ones (I don’t have room for the rest.) And I go through her toys a lot too, to make sure she doesn’t suffer from decision melt down. (She has before and it was not pretty.)
Most of all, I like how the overall message of the book is to spend time with our kids. Play with them more. Talk to them more. Listen carefully. Be in the present with them. Keep a schedule so they can depend on things like food, playtime, outside play. I strive for my daughter to grow up in a safe and loving environment where she can clearly express herself and feel confident that she is being understood. I like the sound advice this book brings, circling us all back to what’s most important and how to keep calm in a very hectic life.
There’s a lot more in this book too but I can’t go into every topic. And while it’s only a little over 200 pages, the book did seem longer because there were a lot of examples. That’s not bad, but I didn’t need to read them all when I fully understood the point at the beginning.
Both of us work and it’s hard to balance work/family life time. I think about the lessons in the book a lot, every day, reminding me to put the phone down, the emails away, and go back to my toddler.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
