Minimalist Parenting
Book

Minimalist Parenting

Enjoy Modern Family Life More by Doing Less

Christine Koh and Asha Dornfest
Bibliomotion, 2013
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Editorial Rating

7

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  • Engaging
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Families face a bewildering array of choices in all things: entertainment, technology, education and even child-rearing philosophies. Parenting experts Christine Koh and Asha Dornfest present a “minimalist” approach to family life to help you pare away the extraneous and leave room for the “remarkable.” They advise putting yourself firmly in charge of making it up as you go along and having as much fun as you can along the way. Their tips and insights, while mostly just common sense, cut through the noise to give you more of what you actually want: quality time with your family. Though the authors teach that you can’t do everything, the book touches on a whole lot of concerns that need simultaneous attention; Koh and Dornfest suggest slow but steady progress. getAbstract recommends their advice to help you achieve a family life with enough time for work and play, with more joy and less struggle. Who doesn’t want that?

Summary

Six “Compass Points” in the Right Direction

Contemporary parents are “wrestling with abundance.” Given too many options, they must become highly selective. Many could find some peace in “minimalist parenting,” which calls for becoming deliberate “curators” of their family’s schedules, belongings and special events. Minimalist parenting is a mind-set that includes six precepts:

  1. “Make room for remarkable” – Keep what you love; drop the rest. Sort out your priorities and values.
  2. “Know yourself” – Understand the origin of your values. Consider what you absorbed while growing up and whether you want to keep the values you learned.
  3. “Know your family” – Recognize how you and the others in your household are alike or different. Remember that people (including you) constantly change.
  4. “Trust your decisions” – Hearing your “inner bus driver,” that internal voice of wisdom that knows what’s right for you and your family, sometimes means quieting the daily distractions and slowing down.
  5. “Course correction beats perfection” – Be prepared to make occasional...

About the Authors

Christine Koh is a designer, writer and founder of Boston Mamas. Asha Dornfest founded the blog, ParentHacks.

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