Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids
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Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids
What happens then, as we continue to deliver “everything their hearts desire”? For one thing, like well-exercised muscles, their little hearts keep desiring. But also, as all of this largesse pours in the front door, anticipation quietly slips out the back.
These sorts of “advance notices” can help increase security and ease.
As choices are reduced, pressure is lifted. A child has the time and freedom to have their own thoughts. They can find the ease to slowly forge an identity, an identity that is more than the sum of their choices, preferences, or purchases.
We can provide the kind of stability and security that they will internalize, a base camp that doesn’t move.
The “clown parent” feels the need to be “larger than life,” an entertainer.
Emotional intelligence includes a self-awareness that allows one to recognize and manage one’s moods, and to motivate oneself toward a goal. It involves feeling empathy toward others, being aware of their feelings, and being able to relate to others through interaction, conflict resolution, and negotiations.
There should always be a place in a simplified children’s room for a big pad or roll of paper; sturdy crayons (thick for toddlers) and pencils; paints; some kind of modeling medium, such as beeswax, clay, or Play-Doh; fabric; scissors; glue; and some dedicated space for art.
parent with a sense of strength and openness, and perhaps most of all, a sense of humor.
Children love to be busy, and useful. They delight in seeing that there is a place for them in the hum of doing, making, and fixing that surrounds them.