Simple Families Podcast: Parenting | Simple Living | Minimalism | Purposeful Life With Kids + Family

I find it confusing when we are told that as parents we need to set boundaries. We need to hold our ground. But so often when we do that, we end up in power struggles.  Power struggles can happen in any relationship. They are especially common in the parent-child relationship. It happens anytime the parent and child both want their way…and they refuse to back down. As a parent, I don’t want you to back down. But I want you to practice meeting your child in the middle. I would ask if power struggles are a thing in your house, but I already know they are. Because essentially, raising children is one gigantic 20+ year power struggle as we are launching kids off to be independent humans. We are slowly letting go of control little by little by little and handing over the power every day. Some days it’s a smoother transfer of power than others.  Even though power struggles are present constantly in the parent-child relationship, don’t always have to be messy and complicated. Especially if we can catch t

Today, we are discussing interoception. If you don’t know what that means, you aren’t alone. You might be surprised to learn you know more about it than you realize. Interoception is sometimes called the “Eighth Sense”, it’s the sense of the entire condition of the inner body, including hunger, temperature, pain, and the need for the bathroom. I’m joined in conversation with Occupational Therapist and Interoception Expert, Kelly Mahler. Today’s Sponsor: Recess, use coupon code SIMPLE20 for 20% off your first purchase. Get in Touch with Kelly Kelly-Mahler.com Kelly on Instagram Kelly’s Facebook Group The post Interoception appeared first on Simple Families.

The COVID vaccine is going to be available for younger children in the coming weeks here in the U.S.. I don’t know about you, but this has been on my mind for some time. Today, I’m sharing my decision-making process. This episode may or may not resonate with you–and that’s okay. In this chat, I’m joined by NYC pediatrician Dr. Kelly Fradin. I walk through my own decision with her and she answers questions that listeners submitted to me. Links to Get in Touch with Dr. Fradin: Instagram Facebook Newsletter Website Book The post COVID Vaccines for Kids appeared first on Simple Families.

Parenting is one of our most important jobs in life. But we also don’t get formal performance reviews like we do in the working world. Sometimes that can leave us guessing.  How am I doing? You want to know, right? Since there isn’t a formal review process, we tend to look to the world around us to evaluate ourselves. One common way that we decide whether or not we are doing a good job is by looking at our kids happiness. If the kids are happy, we must be doing okay. Right? If they are unhappy, we must really be botching things up, right? Or sometimes we look at the outcomes of parent-teacher conference, the kid’s grades, or grandparent commentary Often, these things can result in a lot of self-doubt for us as parents.  The post Performance Reviews appeared first on Simple Families.

Today I’m bringing you a live recording — Your simplicity questions answered!

We just moved into a new house. We’ve been renting for almost a year and found a permanent spot right down the road. Even though it’s not a far move, it’s been a big move. Big life transitions like this can feel really out of control. There’s always unexpected stress. Unexpected tasks. Unexpected emotions.  If it feels like you are constantly “Putting out fires”. Jumping from one crisis to the next. Like parenting is one big uphill climb—you can never find that easy, flat road. You don’t feel like you have a baseline to return to in times of struggle. Then this episode is for you.  The post Back to Baseline appeared first on Simple Families.

Back-to-school season can feel busy and stressful–especially this year. In today’s episode I’m answering some of your back-to-school questions. Heads up, next week I’ll be starting a one-week special offer on Simple Families Foundations. The post Back-to-School Q&A appeared first on Simple Families.

As adults we are accustomed to a certain type of communication. Usually, it involves spoken word and it’s fairly civilized. That’s not always the case when it comes to communicating with our kids.  Our children are still developing the ability to regulate their emotions and tolerate frustrating circumstances. The result is that often they communicate with more emotion than we are used to as adults. Kids get louder and more excited. Kids often get angrier and yell more. They get sad and cry more.  These big emotions can be very triggering for us as parents. And what happens is that we get upset about the way our child is communicating and we completely lose sight of the message they are trying to get across. And when we miss the message, things tend to escalate. Things tend to spiral.  The post Hear the Message appeared first on Simple 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 h

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 a

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.