"Resilience is being able to handle the bad stuff over time and to know you are not doing it alone." - Tovah Klein Ph.D., author of Raising Resilience In today's world of uncertainty, resilience is an indispensable trait that our children will need as they grow. In this episode, I'm chatting with Dr. Tovah Klein, the bestselling author of the brand new book Raising Resilience. Tovah talks me through my own recent resilience-building experiences and together we reflect on what it looks like to help our children thrive. Get in touch with Tovah: Book: Raising Resilience: How to Help Our Children Thrive in Times of Uncertainty Website: https://howtoddlersthrive.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/howtoddlersthrive SPONSORS: Prep Dish: Get two weeks free prepdish.com/families Jenni Kayne Get 15% off with code FAMILIES15 at jennykayne.com Airdoctor: Save up to $300 on air purifiers at airdoctorpro.com with promo code FAMILIES

In this episode, I'm discussing two valuable principles in parenting: co-regulation and declarative language. I recently read two short books by the same author (Linda K. Murphy) with tools that have proven useful in both my own parenting and in my therapy practice. I'm giving you a quick overview of these tools and tips for integrating them into your own life (with both kids and adults!). Links Linda K. Murphy's Website + Books SPONSOR: Airdoctor - Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code FAMILIES and you’ll receive UP TO $300 off airpurifiers. You will also receive a free 3 year warranty on any unit, which is an additional $84 value.

In today's episode, author Michael Easter, shares his work and theories on the topic of comfort. He posits that the growing rates of mental and physical health challenges may be rooted in the fact that we are living more comfortable lives than ever before. As parents, we strive to keep our kids as comfortable as possible when they are infants. But, perhaps we should ask ourselves if continuing on that path will negatively impact their future resilience. Connect with Michael + his books: The Comfort Crisis The Scarcity Brain Website Instagram Sponsors Kiwico: Visit kiwico.com and use the promo code SIMPLE to receive 50% off your first box of fun! Masterclass: Get 15% off an annual membership at masterclass.com/families Prep Dish: Get 2 weeks of meal planning for free when you visit prepdish.com/families.

We all need to move. But in this busy world, it doesn’t seem easy to make time and space for movement. As our culture has become more sedentary, this topic is increasingly important for all humans–but especially for parents. Our children’s brains develop through movement. My guest today is Katy Bowman of Nutritious Movement. Katy is sharing a bit about the history of movement and how changes in our society has shifted our natural tendencies. We are talking about her new book Grow Wild and how to get kids moving outside–even when there is a lot of whining! Links to Katy Bowman Katy’s Website Katy on Instagram Grow Wild (new book) Katy’s previous books The post Movement appeared first on Simple Families.

Starting the day…it can feel like a lot. It can be busy and overwhelming. There are so many things that need to get done and so little time to do them all. I know in many parts of the world people are preparing to go back into the world and back to school. Maybe you’ve had a break from the morning hustle and you are about to get back into the swing of things. Or maybe the morning hustle has been just that–a hustle–for too long and you are looking for some harmony. That’s what we are talking about today. Download the Free Printables Start the Day Bullet Journal The post Start The Day appeared first on Simple Families.

Many of us have been decluttering our homes for some time. But what about our brains? Mental clutter is real. Parenthood can feel heavy. We are tackling the 10 reasons that parenthood feels cluttered and overwhelming. If you are committed to self-care but aren’t sure where to start, I want to invite you to join us in The Mental Unload. Visit Simplefamilies.com for more info. The post Mental Clutter in Parenthood appeared first on Simple Families.

One of the most common concerns I hear from parents is this: “My kids don’t listen to me!” Generally, what this means is that you ask your kids to do something and they don’t do it. Maybe you ask them several times. Perhaps you ask them several times with an increasing sense of urgency until you are finally screaming. Today, we are going to break down what it really means to “listen” and a two-step strategy to move forward. The post Listening appeared first on Simple Families.

Minimalism looks different for everyone. When Christine Platt found minimalism she expected it would involve moving towards an all-white, barren aesthetic. But in search of an intentional life, she has built a home and lifestyle that is unique to her individual needs and culture. Christine, also known as the Afrominimalist, encourages us to search for our “why” and create a home and life that is true to us. Find Christine Platt online: Website Instagram Books New book: The Afrominimalists Guide to Living with Less  The post Minimalism Your Way appeared first on Simple Families.

Get dressed. Brush your teeth. Say thank you. Eat your breakfast. Sometimes we sound like a broken record. We feel like we are prompting and reminding our kids to do things all day long…and sometimes we are. It’s exhausting! That’s what we are talking about today. I’ll share my tips and tools for success. For my 7-year-old boy For my 5-year-old girl The post Reminders appeared first on Simple Families.

What if I get rid of something that I might need someday? How will my kids react? Making a big lifestyle change can feel scary. Moving towards simplicity is no exception to this. In today’s episode, we are discussing common fears around living a simpler life. The post Fears of Simplicity appeared first on Simple Families.

You should know this by now. I’ve asked you a hundred times. How could you forget?  Today we are going to talk about consequences, punishment, and discipline. How do we raise kids to take ownership and care for themselves and their belongings? Today I’m going to give you some things to think about and some things to do.  The post Consequences appeared first on Simple Families.

I’m going to start today off with a quote:  “We’re often afraid that if we give our kids an inch, they will take a mile. Every single grain of rice in their bowl must be eaten up, every toy in its proper place, every “I” dotted and “t” crossed. We believe this is comforting to our kids, knowing that their parent will always be steady and unchanging. We mean what we say and say what we mean. Rarely will we make an exception or change direction mid-course. We are solid and dependable: like steel.  Unfortunately the Titanic was also made from steel and we all know what happened there.  We are so strict with our rules that our consistency becomes rigidity. But what happens to something hard and rigid when it meets with a blow?  It breaks easily.  The very strictness that we think makes us strong actually makes us brittle. Instead of steel, we can strive to be more like bamboo, firm yet flexible.” Iris Chen, UntigeringThis quote comes from Untigering, a book by today’s guest Iris Chen. In Untigering, she shares her journey of leaving behind authoritarian tiger parenting to embrace a respectful, relational way of raising children. As a Chinese American mom, she draws from her experiences of living in both North America and Asia and offers insights and practices. [Book excerpt] You can find Iris on Instagram, and website, and her book Untigering: Peaceful Parenting for the Deconstructing Tiger Parent is available wherever books are sold. The post Be Like Bamboo appeared first on Simple Families.

If you’ve tuned into the news at all in the past year, you’ll know that there’s a heck of a lot of controversy around science. Whether we are talking about climate change, masks, or vaccines you’ve probably come across disputes and wars of words on scientific topics. I think back to a generation ago, where we had to break open an encyclopedia or visit a library to look deeper into a scientific topic of interest. With the ever-growing amount of knowledge that we have available at our fingertips, there is a growing interest and awareness around scientific topics of all types. Science is no longer limited to science class at school, the broader knowledge base is impacting our children from the very beginning of their lives more than ever before. And overall, I think that’s pretty great. Today I’m chatting with Emily Calandrelli, better known in our house as Emily from the Netflix series Emily’s Wonder Lab. Emily is a science communicator, and she playing a part in making science approachable for both kids and adults alike.  Emily in Instagram Emily on Twitter Emily on Tik Tok Emily’s website The post Science appeared first on Simple Families.

As adults, we often avoid uncomfortable situations and even frequently rescue our children from uncomfortable experiences. We know, however, that experiencing discomfort can result in growth and resilience. Have you gotten uncomfortable recently? Maybe you should. Links from the episode Simple Families Podcast Episode 298: Accommodating your kid's anxiety Simple Families Podcast Episode 318: Child Anxiety Simple Families Podcast Episode 302 & 303: Analog Curious I & II Sponsors Kiwico: Visit kiwico.com and use the promo code SIMPLE to receive 50% off your first box of fun! Prep Dish: Get 2 weeks of meal planning for free when you visit prepdish.com/families.

There are many ways in which society has constructed parenting to be far more complicated than necessary. The result is parental overwhelm. As parents, we all have the same goals. Raising happy, healthy, successful kids. In order to reach those goals, we commit ourselves to doing anything and everything possible. We want to give our children the world—even if we compromise our own well being in the process. Today, we are going to talk about the simplicity connection. In parenting, we have the best of intentions. But sometimes wanting the best outcomes for our children translates into overbuying, overprotecting, and generally just overdoing it. Which doesn’t actually get us closer to our goals of raising happy, healthy successful kids. Instead, it leads our families to stress and overwhelm.  Learn more about Simple Families Foundations The post The Simplicity Connection appeared first on Simple Families.

Summer used to be synonymous with time-off and relaxation. But times have changed and many parents now feel a sense of dread and overwhelm around the unstructured time that comes during the summer—especially after spending over a year at home. Today, we are talking about finding balance this summer.  Summertime. It used to be synonymous with relaxation and time off, but the past generation has seen a shift. There are many parents who dread summer because it feels like a lot of open unstructured time. That can feel scary, especially after spending over a year, mostly at home. So you may be overwhelmed thinking ahead to summer, to the abundance of options for camps, vacations, the desire to want to do all the things, The post Summer Plans appeared first on Simple Families.

I’ve seen numbers that say over 90% of women are unhappy with their bodies. Our body image, or the way we perceive our own bodies, is impacted by family, friends, social media, the news, and more. Many of us entered motherhood with pre-existing body image challenges, and pregnancy and motherhood can exacerbate that. Today I’m joined by Dr. Lexie Kite from Beauty Redefined, and we are chatting about changing the way women view their bodies.  Links to Connect with Lexie + Lindsay More than a Body Beauty Redefined on Instagram The post Body Image appeared first on Simple Families.

In this episode, I’m doing a quick-fire Q&A. I have a long list of questions from you all and I’ll be moving through, answering a variety of questions. We will be covering whether or not I have a junk drawer, parenting kids with bad attitudes, capsule wardrobes, defiance, video games, camping, lots of questions about partnership, and much more. Simple Families Foundations NY Times Hormone Surge of Middle Childhood Article SEN Superpower Books Expansion & Contraction Episode Messiness Episode Bedwetting episode The post Quick-Fire Q&A appeared first on Simple Families.

For the longest time, I was a budget-resister. As a minimalist, I don’t buy a lot of stuff so I didn’t think I needed a budget. But I was wrong–moving towards a consistent, air-tight budget has been one of the most intentional changes that we have made in our family. Today I’m chatting with author and financial educator Tiffany Aliche, also known as The Budgetnista. She’s sharing her tips and resources to ‘Get Good with Money’. Tiffany’s Resources New Book (for Grown Ups): Get Good with Money Kid’s Book: Happy Birthday Mali Moore More Resources: GetGoodwithMoney.com The post Get Good with Money appeared first on Simple Families.

“It’s just too much.” My daughter, who is newly 5, said this to me for the first time this week. She asked me to come clean up her room with her and when I walked in she sighed and said, “it’s just too much”. We don’t have a lot of toys, but she manages to accumulate stuff. Although this was the first time she has put this into words, her behavior has been telling me this her entire life.  Rarely will our kids be able to verbalize their overwhelm with stuff. More often, they will speak with their behavior. They will be able to feel the overwhelm, but they won’t be able to articulate or comprehend the solution. Which means we have to steer the ship. Episodes Mentioned: My Messiness Too Many Toys How to Use a Reward Chart The post Clean Up appeared first on Simple Families.

If you’ve been around the podcast for sometime, you will be happy to hear I’m bringing back the “Journey to Simplicity” series. In this series I chat with both friends and members of the Simple Families Community. We talk about what a simpler, lighter life looks like–and spoiler alert! It’s always imperfect and a work-in-progress. Find Jillian on Instagram // Link from Jillian to learn more about TM Simple Families episodes on alcohol: Episode 128 (Thinking about giving it up) Episode 141 (New Year’s Resolution to give it up) Episode 184 (Reflections a year later) The post Jillian appeared first on Simple Families.

Sometimes the road to self-improvement can also lead us toward self-doubt. Things that we previously thought we were doing okay on, we suddenly start to think we aren’t doing well enough. This especially happens in parenting. I hear from parents all the time that they want to “say the right thing”–but there is no clear wrong and right when it comes to parenting. You are doing better than you know.  Sometimes the road to self-improvement can also lead us towards self-doubt, things that we felt like we were doing okay on, now suddenly we feel like we're not doing well enough. This especially holds true in parenting. I get questions and emails all the time with people wondering how they should talk to their kids specifically what they should say to their kids. Now, if you're approaching unchartered territory, like the death of an animal, introducing the birds and the bees, or some other topic that you just have no idea where to start or no idea how to cover it. Then I think it's wise to seek out information and resources and friends who might have experience with these things. But what I'm seeing is this increasing trend towards getting it right and saying the right things in small, everyday interactions with our kids. What do I say? When my kid gets upset with me? What do I say? When my kid gets left by a friend? What do I say? When my kid shows me a picture that he's really proud of? What do I say? When my kid hurts my feelings? When it comes to the social and emotional development of our kids, we so desperately want to get it right. We so want to say the right things for them to grow and thrive and be happy. We start on a path towards self-improvement, but the truth is most of these questions weren't answers that come from the heart that come from your authentic reaction. As a human, as a parent, there is no right and wrong. If your kid asks you a tough question or you come into a difficult situation and you flub it up, it'll be okay. So that's what we're talking about today. Letting go of that self-doubt and the desire to say all the right things, to get it right every time and lean in just being ourselves and being human and being authentic with our kids. Even if that looks imperfect. The post Self-Doubt appeared first on Simple Families.

Saying ‘no’ can feel hard—especially to people we love. But if you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, you might benefit from saying no more often. We have to take ownership over how we spend our time, money, and energy. If we don’t, we will end up burned out, exhausted, and broke. It can be hard to say no, whether it's saying no to our kids, to obligations, to other adults, it's challenging because saying no often means setting a boundary. And when we set boundaries, sometimes other people get upset. If you're relatively new to saying no and setting boundaries, it can feel scary because you can worry about other people getting angry. But I will warn you if you don't say no and you don't set boundaries, you are going to end up angry and upset. We have to take ownership over how we spend our time, our money and our energy. And if we don't, we're likely to end up burnout exhausted and broke financially. If you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, you might benefit from it. Practicing saying no more often, even to the people that you love. That's what we're talking more about today. The post Saying No appeared first on Simple Families.

We are nearly one-year into a global pandemic, therefore I’d say we are far overdue in talking about therapy. Therapy: Who needs it? How do you get started? Maybe you are interested in exploring therapy but you have decision fatigue—there are far too many options and you don’t even know where to begin. Today I’m going to try to simplify some of that for you.  Resource for finding mental health support ASAP. The post Therapy appeared first on Simple Families.

It's Back-to-School season and today we are talking about about contentment--as it relates to our children's educational experience. I'm joined by Niro Feliciano (Author, Psychotherapist, National Media Commentator and Mom of 4). In this episode Niro and I discuss monitoring our own expectations and reactivity, in addition to that of our children. Links from this Episode Niro’s Website This Book Won’t Make You Happy: Eight Keys to Finding True Contentment All Things Life with Niro Podcast SPONSORS KiwiCo: To build curiosity and fun, go to kiwico.com/simple to get 50% off your first month, plus free shipping. PrepDish: Meal planning made easy, go to prepdish.com/families for your first two weeks free.

Bedwetting and accidents can be taboo to speak about as our kids get older. However, we’ve been challenged by these things in our home so I understand the importance of this topic first hand. I’ll warn you, my guest Dr. Steve Hodges and I are going to talk about poop and pee a lot in this episode, but I think you will enjoy hearing a new perspective.  Dr. Hodges Books: Bedwetting and Accidents Aren’t Your Fault: Why Potty Accidents Happen and How to Make Them Stop (Kid’s Book) It’s No Accident: Breakthrough Solutions to Your Child’s Wetting, Constipation, UTIs, and Other Potty Problems (Older book, the “Why”) The M.O.P. Book: Anthology Edition: A Guide to the Only Proven Way to STOP Bedwetting and Accidents (Newer book, the “How”) The post Bedwetting + Accidents appeared first on Simple Families.

Maybe you don’t consider yourself an outdoorsy person. Maybe you have a kid who isn’t into nature. I totally get that. The truth is that nature can be uncomfortable. It’s often: Too bright.  Too hot. Too cold.  Too windy.  Too loud. But we are all nature people, in fact—we need to spend time outdoors for our health and wellbeing. If you don’t think you are an outdoors person, let’s talk about why. And how we can start to shift that perspective and get outside of our comfort zones. For our own good and the good of our families.  The post Outdoorsy appeared first on Simple Families.

Our family recently downsized in a big way. I’ve had many people ask why we sold our lovely home and the short answer is: It’s complicated. My husband, David, is joining me in today’s episode for a candid conversation about the perils of homeownership and moving towards simplicity. The post Downsizing appeared first on Simple Families.

Let’s talk about kids who hit. Let’s also talk about adults who hit. This kind of behavior is taboo, especially as kids get older. We aren’t as open to talking with friends about it, and sometimes we feel like we’re the only parent facing this problem. There’s a lot of self-blame that goes into this as well. I know this because I have a kid who hit and occasionally still does hit. Hitting can trigger many emotions in us as parents. The post Hitting appeared first on Simple Families.

In today’s world, we are inundated with information. Whether it be about parenting, cooking, art projects, gardening…the world is quite literally at our fingertips thanks to Google.  The result is that we often feel like, if the information is available to us, we should consume it. And we should be able to put it into action. If you saw a meme online with 10 things you should say to your kids (I use this example because I have this list). Well, you read it, and it makes sense that you should go put it into practice.  Right? The truth is, that’s not always the case. When we learn new things and fail to put those new things into action, we can feel a lot of guilt. I call this “Know Better, Do Better guilt” The post Know Better, Do Better Guilt appeared first on Simple Families.

We are knee-deep in the holiday season, so let’s take a moment to talk about over-gifters—these are people in your life, or especially your kid’s life, that give more gifts than you’d like. Generally speaking, these are good, well-intentioned, loving people. The last thing you want is for them to walk away, feeling hurt, alienated, or confused.  Yet, you may also wish to see change, especially if you are moving towards a simpler life with less stuff. Particularly if you are raising your children with simplicity as a core family value.  The post Over-gifters appeared first on Simple Families.

We have different expectations for our kids’ behavior based on the type of environment that we take them into. Perhaps you feel at ease when you pull into a playground, and your kids can jump out to just run, yell, and play. But what if you have to take them to a department store to make some returns? Or to an upscale restaurant for Grandma’s 90th Birthday dinner? Sometimes we have to take kids into environments that challenge both them and us. In these situations, I find it helpful to use what I call ‘Prep Talks’. Prep Talks are when you simply lay out your expectations for behavior before entering into a potentially challenging environment. The post Prep Talks appeared first on Simple Families.

There’s so much empty space left to fill during the holiday season. That emptiness often leads to discomfort. But, as humans, we have a way of filling those voids without pause. It’s true; there’s so much missing this holiday season. It might feel slower and more open than you intended or hoped. The post What’s missing this holiday season? appeared first on Simple Families.

Let’s talk about Santa. I’ll start by saying this is not a kid-friendly episode, because we will be discussing Santa from the perspective of a parent. If you know what I mean. If you have a child present with you—press pause and come back to this. With the Holiday Season upon us, I know many parents have mixed feelings about how to integrate Santa Claus into their celebration in a way that feels authentic and approachable to your family.  In this episode, we are going to start off by letting go of all your core beliefs about Santa and starting fresh. There are probably aspects of your childhood that you want to keep, and others you want to let go of. As the parent, you are steering the ship. You get to define the role of Santa and gift-giving in your home. If you are trying to focus on non-tangible gifts this holiday season—like relationships, religion, and family connection…then you might find it necessary to strike a new balance in your approach to Santa Claus.  The post Santa appeared first on Simple Families.

This gift guide isn’t meant to literally click and buy (although I’ve included links for ideas). Instead, it is intended to make you think differently about gifting. Our kids may grow out of their toys, but they won’t grow out of spending quality time together as a family.  If we want to stay focused on what matters most around the holidays, then we need to consider the way we are gifting. Our kids can easily be distracted by the piles of wrapped gifts. There’s a whole lot of dopamine and anticipation build up to those gifts. And that can be distracting if we are trying to focus on the real gifts of the season–family, community, and religion. Find links to products/services mentioned on simplefamilies.com. The post 2020 Holiday Gift Guide appeared first on Simple Families.

Let go of the pressure to be the perfect parent and start to embrace the teachable moments that you are (accidentally) creating. In this episode we are flipping around some common summer #momfails. As parents, we are far from perfect. On the bright side, our mistakes often create opportunities for our kids to grow.

Organization can feel like a false promise of more. If only you could be more organized, you could manage MORE stuff. You could handle MORE on your calendar. But the truth is, the sheer quantity of…everything…is inundating us.  My efforts at organization mostly lead me to feel like a total failure. I can’t organize my dresser drawers, they end up a heap of mess. I can’t organize my purse, it ends up all thrown in the middle. I can’t organize multiple playdates and activities for my kids on a weekend, because I forget things. You don’t need more bins. More planners. You don’t need ombre’d markers. And you certainly don’t need more self-loathing about being unable to maintain complex systems. What you need is more practice saying no.  Organization isn’t the answer. Minimalism or better yet, essentialism is the answer.  The post Organize vs. Minimize appeared first on Simple Families.

We all want our kids to eat well. We will try anything and everything to make it happen. But what if sometimes we try too hard and end up mucking it up in the process? There is plenty to be said about simplicity and feeding children–today we are exploring this topic more. Feeding a family can feel anything but simple. When you try to juggle health and nutrition with preferences and moods, not to mention cost and time feeding a family can quickly feel overwhelming. This is a topic that I've long been interested in and not because I'm any kind of connoisseur in the kitchen, but because I'm a recovering picky eater, I don't think I ate a single vegetable until I was about 19. That coupled with my interest in child behavior and parenting. This is where I chose to focus my doctoral research. In particular, my dissertation looked at the parents' approach to feeding in the early years and the impact it had later in life. So, today I'm going to be sharing a combination of research and my personal experience. And the good news is there is a lot that we can do as parents to get our kids to eat well. And no surprise simplicity plays a huge role, and I'll be sharing more about that today. The post Simplify Feeding appeared first on Simple Families.

Today we are talking about upsetting our kids. Sometimes as parents, we have to make hard decisions for our kids. Decisions they don’t like. Decisions that upset them. We are talking about feeling that tension between what your child wants you to do versus what you actually need to do.  This tension can quickly turn into fear. Fear that they will whine. Fear they will be disappointed. Fear that they will cry. Maybe even fear that they will be traumatized (I hear this one a lot from you all!).  Here’s where I feel like it gets confusing. We are all striving to be responsive, respectful parents. We want to honor our children’s individuality. We want to honor their choices. We want to empower them to make important decisions in their own lives.  BUT…our kids don’t have fully developed reasoning skills. They can’t fully see through the implications of their decisions. They can’t always understand our rationale. They often live in the moment.  The post Hard Decisions appeared first on Simple Families.

In today’s episode, Part III, we’re going to talk about how we can work to improve and better understand the challenging relationships that we have in our lives. We will cover setting boundaries, empathic listening, building connection, and communication patterns. Listen to: Part I Part II The post Challenging Relationships (Part III) appeared first on Simple Families.

In last week’s episode, we started talking about challenging adult relationships. I asked you to think about who that person(s) is for you. Now, this week we will talk about setting goals for those relationships and the impact of idealizing these relationships. In the previous episode, we discussed that some of the people who challenge us the most are those who have different beliefs, world views, and levels of emotional intelligence than we do.  Having a world full of people who are a carbon copy of ourselves and our beliefs just isn’t realistic. And frankly, may even be a little boring. But just because we are different, doesn’t mean we can’t have a positive relationship.  The post Challenging Relationships (Part II) appeared first on Simple Families.

We all have challenging people in our lives. Maybe it’s your brother or your mother or a best friend from childhood. Our goal is to try to start viewing this person through a new lens—so you can reframe your mindset and your attitude. This topic of relationships is incredibly broad and I want to narrow it down to focus better. So we’re talking, specifically, about finding peace in challenging adult relationships. TUNE INTO PART II. The post Challenging Relationships (Part I) appeared first on Simple Families.

Stress can lead to anger and irritability. In today’s episode, we are talking about how anger can spill over onto the people we love the most, including our partners and children. I’m sharing how we talk about this concept with our kids. In this wild and crazy year of 2020, there's no denying that every family across the world is facing stress and overwhelm. And this stress and overwhelm is going to invariably impact our mood. When we're feeling pushed to our limits, we're going to get angry, we're going to get irritable, and it's going to spill out onto the people that we love, including our kids, including our partners. One question that I get a lot, especially from women from mothers is how do I stop yelling? Now I don't think there's any easy answer to this. So today I'm going to share just one thing. One thing that's working in our house. When we talk about anger and frustration and irritability, as with most things, I don't think we should strive for perfection. I don't think we should strive to have a happy, bubbly mood all the time. Our kids need to know that we're real humans and they need to know that it's okay to experience all these emotions. And despite your best efforts, you will absolutely experience all the emotions with your kids at different points in time. So in this episode, we'll talk about processing those feelings and talking with kids about how we manage them ourselves. The post Spilling Anger appeared first on Simple Families.

For the first 30 years of my life, I struggled with messiness. No organizational system worked for me. In this episode, I’m sharing about my natural tendency towards mess and chaos along with how simple living has changed that for me. Let's talk about messiness. I am a messy person by nature, and I do think that's a thing. I think there are many of us who are prone towards messiness based on the way that our brains function. And I'm going to talk more about that in this episode today, but I know pre simplicity life felt even more than messy. It felt chaotic. And that chaos and messiness very much felt like a character flaw for me, no matter how hard I tried the physical stuff, the mental stuff, the parenting stuff, it all felt overwhelming. It felt like too much. So today I'm sharing a little bit about my story of my messiness. And if you're feeling hopeless, I want to reassure you that you aren't, or if you feel like your kids or your partner Hopeless, they aren't. If I can find my way on this path toward simplicity, I promise you can too. The post Messiness appeared first on Simple Families.

One of the greatest, if not THE greatest, obstacle to simplicity with kids is FOMO. The fear of missing out. We worry about our children missing out on toys, experiences, and opportunities that they desire. We worry our children will be negatively impacted as a result. We fear they are going to miss opportunities. We also worry they are going to be mad at us. Or that they won’t fit in if they don’t have the same things as their friends. As the adults, we have to serve as the brain managers for our children until their brains are fully developed (so…like 25-years-old? Kidding, not kidding.) That means we have to make hard decisions based on reason, logic, and family values. Often these are decisions that our children just aren’t equipped to make. The post Comparison, Envy, and FOMO appeared first on Simple Families.

Today I’m sharing my best relationship tool. It’s called expansion and contraction. Expansion and contraction is a simple way to find the rhythm in your family. In fact, it’s probably something you do all the time without even noticing. However, once you bring it to your awareness you will be able to use it with more intention. You’ll find your days flow more smoothly and you view your relationships more positively. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to use it as a mindset switch and as a tool to manage behavior.  As many of our kids head back into the school year in some way, shape or form, there's a lot of discussion around finding a rhythm for your family. Personally, I think that this idea of finding a rhythm in your home sounds kind of abstract. What does it even mean? So today I'm going to be sharing my favorite tool that does actually help you find a rhythm. It helps you manage the energy and the behavior of your children, but it's also a general tool that I find helps me in relationships across the board, with my partner, with myself, with extended family, it's called expansion and contraction. And I've talked about this in previous episodes have kind of touched on it lightly, but I've had so many requests to go deeper on this topic. So that's what I'm going to do today. I'll be sharing more about this mindset switch that so many people have told me has transformed their parenting and relationships. And the best part is it's easy. You're probably already doing it, but once it's brought to your awareness you're going to do it with even more intention, and you're going to see even more success. I hope you enjoyed this episode. The post Expansion & Contraction appeared first on Simple Families.

At the heart of being an intentional parent is striving to calm our own reactivity. Reactivity...we all experience it. Hunter Clarke-Fields, author and podcaster, joins me today to discuss this topic. Links from this Episode: Hunter's Podcast - Mindful Mama Mentor Hunter's Books - Raising Good Humans // Raising Good Humans Everyday First episode with Hunter on Simple Families Podcast SPONSOR: Go to EARTHBREEZE.com/simple to get started with 40% off

Our family was on vacation recently–and my husband and I wanted to explore some new sights. We love to wander around and breathe it all in. My kids don’t always share this joy. In fact, on this particular trip, their legs seem to quit functioning altogether. They “couldn’t walk” another step but could miraculously ride a bike and swim with ease. Whining is very much a part of childhood. In fact, it’s also very much a part of adulthood. But by the time we are grown, we have learned the difference between public and private speech, and we understand the need to separate the two in different contexts. The post Why Do Kids Whine? appeared first on Simple Families.

Do you feel like you need some new screen time rules for your kids? There’s a good chance that your kids have consumed an increased amount of screen time during the pandemic. Whether it’s for work, school, or pleasure—we’ve all been home more and utilizing new devices in new ways. But what hasn’t changed is the self-blame and criticism we place on ourselves as parents for giving our children “too much” screen time. Because “good parents don’t let their kids have too much screen time.”  Right? Have you have internalized the message that the quantity of screen time your child consumes correlates with the quality of your parenting? I know that I have. From the earliest days of pregnancy, I indulged in books on brain development that touted the benefits of going screen-free in the early years. Therefore, in the first years of my parenthood journey, my son was screen-free. The post Screen Time Rules for Kids appeared first on Simple Families.

After our last episode, Educating Your Child in a Pandemic, I got a lot of questions. Today I’ll be answering your questions about returning back to school this year. Show Notes/Links: Link to First Name Basis episode on privilege White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo Hi there and welcome to episode 230. Today, I am doing a back to school question and answer session. After the last episode, educating your child in a pandemic. I got a lot of questions. Today is just going to be a real straight talk, giving you my thoughts and opinions in this hard, tricky season of life. And I want to tell you first and foremost, that what's right for me and my family is right for me and my family. It's going to look very different than you and yours. You are the expert on your family. Trust her gut. You have all of the answers inside of you. The post Back to School Q&A appeared first on Simple Families.