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.

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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.

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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.

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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:



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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

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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