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

A revised and updated edition of the classic, inspiring guide to raising calm and secure kids in a frenetic world, featuring a new chapter to address the modern parent’s concerns over setting limits and coping with social media

“Brilliant, wise, informative, innovative, entertaining, and urgently needed . . . a godsend for all who love children, and for children themselves.”—Edward Hallowell, M.D., author of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness

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. 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. Accessible and thoughtful, 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.
• Cultivate a values-centric family culture instead of a child-centric culture. Model your authority, not your authoritarianism.

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.