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:

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. 

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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