Customer Reviews

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This book is a godsend! My copy is already all marked up. It talks about all the
stuff that surrounds kids--endless toys, choices, things to do--and what happens
when you simplify. Basically, kids slow down. Their attention improves.
I've seen this ALREADY! It gives support to those of us who question the idea
of always running out and getting the newest thing--but meanwhile
it has a lot of practical ideas about things you can do to make daily life less
crazy. Honestly, I have told SO many people about this book already. The writing is beautiful.
As a mother of a four year old boy, and a girl who's a preteen, I've gotten insight
on both fronts! I highly recommend it....wish I had read SIMPLICITY PARENTING
years ago!!!

This is a terrific, thoughtful book that all parents should read. It is so easy to fall into the trap of "more stuff" when you are a parent. There are just so many toys, books, gears and gadgets that before you know it, your house is overflowing with stuff. This book is a wonderful response to that problem. It's a great blend of theory and practicality as they combine discussions of "soul fever" with clear strategies for decluttering your home and your life.

I thought that the section on "environment," which deals with the overabundance of toys, was a useful refresher. It motivated me to take a good hard look at my daughter's mounds of stuffed animals and start paring it down.

The sections on "rhythm" and "schedule" were also great. I was particularly struck by her examples of the noticeable impact it made on kids' behavior when more routine and predictability was introduced into their lives.

And finally, the section on shielding your kids from some of the realities of the "adults world" absolutely blew me away. I grew up very much in the thick of parental discussions and it never occured to me that this might not be the environment I should aspire to create for my child.

All in all a great read. Highly recommended.

If you consider yourself a thoughtful parent, pick up this book and see if you measure up to your own standards. You might be surprised to find that you still have a lot to learn--and un-learn. This is a book about de-toxifying your child's emotional atmosphere; about letting childhood unfold as it's supposed to. The case studies alone are some of the most eloquent distillations of childhood I've encountered in any twenty-first-century parenting book, the writing is precise and deft; the ideas, profound and revolutionary. The images--for example, of using giant trash bags to clear noisy "interactive" toys out of your child's bedroom posthaste--are practical and yet have a meaning that extends far beyond the literal. The message is simple--slow down, give yourself and your child time to think, get rid of meaningless static in the home--and the execution of the ideas is as pitch-perfect as the solutions are practical.

In the last two decades, we've "enriched" our kids at every turn. We may now have a generation that's robotically up to speed on important issues like global warming, but what is the price kids pay for this onslaught of information? Is there a connection between information overload and the dramatic increase of 3- and 4-letter disorders and syndromes plaguing our kids? This is just one of the questions that Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross address in Simplicity Parenting. The answers they offer are as straightforward and user-friendly as any thinking parent could wish for.

This book is so valuable. I wish I had had it when I first became a parent. I savored each chapter slowly, like a delicious chocolate. Every paragraph was so true, and made me think deeply. How great is that? I mean, honestly, you moms out there, when was the last time a book allowed you to slow down and stop multitasking? Sometimes my life has seemed so scattered, running after the kids all the time, but when I read this I felt like here was some wisdom I could calm down with.

When I started to declutter I actually included the kids in the process, counter to the author's advice. But they loved it! "Can we throw out this, too, Mom?" "This is broken, let's get rid of it, Mom." They were nearly as ruthless as I was. And after we had finished my 5yr old said, "Ooo, I like this room now!" I like it, too. I no longer step on tiny plastic stamps all the time (ouch! ...all thrown out now!), and my daughter can find her favorite hair accessories without a frantic and ultimately fruitless search each morning.

The only thing I even slightly disagreed with was the author's disapproval of parents talking constantly to their children, like newscasters narrating events. I agree that it is easy to overdo this. I also agree that silent pauses are needed frequently, and that kids need a chance to get a word in edgewise. But I disagree when he implies that it is *always* bad. Actually, narrating the actions you and your child are engaging in can be a powerful tool to teach language skills to children whose communication skills are delayed or disordered. It's important to talk about events that the child is actively attending to, and to model vocabulary that the child can then use later. Staying silent is not always the best parental course of action, especially if the child is not communicating typically.

My favorite parts were:
--keep food simple. That's such a nice way to summarize traditional, healthy diets. No neon colors, no flashy characters on the labels, just simple real food.
--don't let after school activities take over your life. They shouldn't!
--intersperse exciting times with down time, so rest can occur and the special times seem more special. It's so obvious, but it's nice to be reminded.
--it's okay to throw out/recycle junk, and to give away that which others might want. We do not have to keep everything, forever.

Buy this book. You won't regret it. I usually just get books from the library but this was one I had to keep for future reference and I don't begrudge the cost at all. It's so worth the money.
It would make an especially good baby present, also. Parenting can be so much easier if we keep it simple from the beginning.

So much of parenting is by the seat of your pants, its good to have some affirmation from writers who share your values and concerns. The book is well written and organized in a manner that allows you to hone in on specific areas of concern. I didn't have any great epiphanies and suspect that most readers will already be the kind who believe less is more. However, I did find some ways to tweak what I do and some very clear explanations of why simplicity works. The discussion on parenting balance is an example of this. While my approach seems to be working at home, their description of what balance means for both father and mother was excellent. I used it to start a discussion with my spouse. It was much more clear and cogent than anything I could have articulated. There could have been more summary points to make the lessons a bit more memorable (a la Things I learned in Kindergaren)- Don't mire kids in adult concerns, Leave time for play every day, clutter is bad, eg. They did this approach for filtering our own speech (true.kind.necessary) and I have already started to use it. If you have an inkling that your family may have too hectic an existence and want to explore how to take it all down a notch, this book is a good way to explore the thought. I would get if from the library however because once you understand the concepts, there is probably not much need to keep it around for reference.

This is my new favorite book! Rarely do I read a parenting book (or any book) that is so enjoyable to read yet gives me such great advice. I've already started implementing changes in my household and I've found that my kids, and I, are much calmer and happier. Any parent should definitely read this book, it's the best one I've come across in a long time.

Always in the pursuit of a simpler life, I thought I would give this book a read even though my children are in their early teens. Lots of great info in an easy to follow and read format. Good information for creating a more peaceful home and life. Even though I have read other books about simplicity, and am familiar with a lot of the ideas in this book, it has inspired me to get back on track in areas that have slipped, it is amazing how the clutter sneaks up on a home. I would highly recommend this book to new parents, the ideas in this book work, and I would suggest this book even for parents of older kids- it is a great refresher course!

If it were appropriate and I had the funds to do so, I would hand this book out at daycares, preschools, schools, maternity wards, on airplanes!

I've been lucky enough to hear Kim John Payne speak a number of times in person, and we've long carried his CD's in our Family Store in Ann Arbor. I'm naturally suspicious of parenting 'experts' and advice! KJP makes sense - to the science minds in our community, to the Waldorf & home-schooling minds, to the mainstream - we love him. His info and perspectives are useful, practical, respectful (to both parent & child, what a concept), well-researched, experienced-based and generally effective! He's an outstanding speaker, should you ever get the chance to hear him, and he is not sitting on an over-educated pedestal - he is a parent himself who has had an extensive private practice. Getting anything he writes and sharing with everyone you love will only improve your daily life. We've used KJP's info to effectively manage bullying (bully & the bullied), school clicks, and our kids ignoring us when we tell them what to do. Can't wait til the book is also a PB.

Easy ideas that make sense. The best parenting book I have ever come across. Kim John Payne's simple, compassionate, easy to understand (and implement) ideas will change your life. Learn how to slow down, Take back some dearly needed adult time, and truly connect with your child. I can't recommend this book and its ideas enough. I have a lot of parenting books, a lot of very good ones. This book distills all the good ideas I have liked in other similar books and presents them in one easy to read package. Thank you Kim John Payne for helping us simplify our lives so we could get past the clutter, the tantrums, the breakdowns, and the noise; and really take joy in each other.