calm down — the littlest

i read a book over the holidays that has helped me tremendously called 'simplicity parenting' by kim john payne.

the first time i read this book i cried. i cried out of guilt at all the things i felt i had already done wrong, i cried at what a sweet spirit i have been given to look out for and had been letting down, i cried because i have already taken her to disneyland and she's already watched yo gabba gabba which is SO out of line with the book. then i re-read, trying not to judge myself, to determine what i could implement into our daily lives.

the four basic premises of his book and workshops are:

environment - de-cluttering too much stuff at home.

rhythm - increasing predictabability by introducing rhythmic movements for connection and calm.

scheduling - soothing violent schedules brings moments for being into all the doing.

unplugging - reducing the influence of adult concerns, media and consumerism on children and families increases resilience, social and emotional intelligence.

i have noticed subtle shifts in elodie's behavior when we follow his advice. we put away a bunch of toys and books that really can wait until she is older. we passively listen to music in the morning and night (unless we are having a dance party of course) and just as the sun always rises, she knows what her morning and nights are going to look like. because the nature of the world is towards entropy, simplicity takes a lot of tending to but i'm convinced it's worth it!

oh and p.s...