Simple, Right?

Last night, I went crunchy. 

I think you could classify me as somewhere between granola and cheerios. 

With milk. Ahem. Almond milk.

The "Tell-All" feature on Facebook announced that the author of Simplicity Parenting was coming to our area.  Took exactly one millisecond to know that I had to be there because I like the ideals represented in being a simple parent. No, that's not right. Parenting simplistically. There, that's better.

You probably couldn't call me a groupie, but Simplicity Parenting is one of those books that is good to revisit on a regular basis to be reminded of the four tenants to keeping life on the level: Space, Rhythm, Schedule, Filter.

Kim John Payne, originally from Australia, is a soft spoken typical therapist type. Not one to pigeon hole people into stereotypes, I have no other description. Thanks Hollywood. That's what he was. And I hung on every word. 

His introductory remarks were fascinating because the premise for his life's work stemmed from early observations of kids and people around the world suffering from PTSD, Post traumatic Stress Disorder, before it was the buzzword that it is today.  He transferred these findings to the typical population when he noticed the crossover of symptoms related to stress.

Maybe that is why the book initially appealed to me. I have PTSD kids. Lots of them and the ideas in the book are strategies that have helped us move forward with our "kids in hard places."

Here are some nuggets I took away from the lecture:

1. Average kid has 150 toys (Needs 10)
2. The GIFT of boredom (The precursor to learning is frustration.)
3. "Neurological toxicity of the screen"
4. "Whatever is rare is precious."
5. We want to raise kids with a spirit of gratitude versus a sense of entitlement.
6. Is it KIND? Is it NECESSARY? Is it TRUE?
7. The power of less = power of discernment. (Favorite quote of the night. I will be thinking about this one all day.)
8. "There is an undeclared war childhood. Let us declare peace in our homes."

 As you can tell, Simplicity Parenting will most likely be a permanent fixture in my toolbox. Counter cultural at times, yes, but powerful when you bring your end goal into focus: Raising secure, independent, adaptable, joy-filled, Christ-centered adults.