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

by Kim John Payne and Lisa M. Ross

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345507983
• ISBN13: 9780345507983
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A great low-pressure guide to increasing family's security

I read this book on a friend's recommendation because it's the book she's basing her parenting on. I loved it! I was a little leery at first but warmed up to the book very quickly. Putting some of the suggestions in practice has already made ME feel better and I'm confident they will help my family feel more secure as well.

Practical and Inspiring

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.

Best parenting book ever

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.

So many great ideas!

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!!!

Eloquent, Profound . . . and Practical

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.