Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms

by Kristine Carlson

In the first new Don't Sweat the Small Stuff book in nine years, Kristine Carlson shows how moms can live with less stress and more happiness. Carlson gives mothers tried-and-true advice that will empower them to find greater peace, joy, and harmony within themselves and their homes. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms reveals how

* Be a Mom, Not a Friend
* Balance Being a Woman and a Mom
* Pursue Your Passion, But Not at the Expense of Your Children
* Reclaim Your Family Time

"Kris Carlson extends the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" series with much-needed advice for mothers, writing with an understanding heart and penetrating wisdom born of her own experience. Like her late husband Richard, hers is a gentle soul backed by a powerful and transcendent fire."
--Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Parenting

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[April Bradford]

Dear friends,
I am not pregnant.
I am simply a very extra dog mum.
Sincerely,
April

[Safa Safwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a mom of three and as a co-founder of a reading community, i would highly recommend you to read this book. Here’s the reasons:

1) This book empower moms to live with purpose. Know why you doing this and that despite of just doing it because it is mandatory ‘mom’s thingy’. Nope, let’s change that.

2) Being a mom shouldn’t stop you from doing what you love; the author provides numerous examples about how to find balance and pursue your passion with your own timeline.

3) Reading this book allow me to differenciates between which things first, which one to eliminate, which condition is acceptable, which one is needed and make myself always presents in both motherhood and ‘humanhood’ .

4) If you want to find out how a community of moms that are coming together; stress less and empower each other regardless of the differences (housewife/ professionals/ work from home/ single mom etc); you’ll find those encouragement through this book.

This book is categorized with 100 chapters (stories), all pertaining to different aspects of #motherhood. Perfect as a gift for newly brides, mother-to-be, moms who seems unmotivated or to stay at home dad 😁

I am still savoring this book; it give me an instant boost whenever i felt like too many things, so much thoughts to face. Love it to the moon and back!

––Resiliency is the most important quality in living a truly joy-filled life. It is by allowing yourself to experience the emotional responses you have in the moment, to a situation or to an ongoing problem, without repression, and allowing yourself the liberty to express whatever you feel inside.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I love that this title is basically a compilation of short writings on different themes.  For me, that makes for a very user friendly title for quick bouts of reading that can provide encouragement or inspiration.  And, the book’s ‘footprint’ is small enough to fit inside a purse or bag for when you are on the go.  (Or, there’s the option for it to be in your bathroom reading collection.)

The very first writing is very apropos for this compilation, There’s No Such Thing as the “Perfect” Mom.  Sadly, the images we get from the media can have us painting a picture of perfection that one can never attain.  Reading that section had me thinking back to a conference I attended where the speaker hit on that very topic, only for homeschool moms.  The bottomline was that we could have a phenomenal homeschool day, have a clean house, and have a healthy dinner on the table for the family ~ just not all on the same day!

For the most part, I found myself inspired and agreeing with Mrs. Carlson’s writings.  The one that I did not completely agree with was Talking to Your Kids About Sex.  I agree that we need to talk to them about it.  However, our family’s Catholic beliefs teach far different from society’s.  Rather than tell the boys that they should choose a partner for love and tell them that they’ll always remember their first, I want them to understand sex is meant for procreation in a loving marriage.

Otherwise, it’s a great little book that has already helped to lift my spirits a bit and put a few things into better perspective.

[Ruth Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in this series. In fact, I had no idea there was such a series prior to reading this book. I found this to be a book full of helpful information for moms, and I mostly agreed with and enjoyed what the author had to say.

My favorite part of the book was the brevity of the chapters. It seems like a massive book as you begin it, and you might have concerns that you might not be able to finish it. The good news is that each chapter is approximately 2-4 pages long, and I found that when I broke it down chapter by chapter. In this fashion, I did not feel overwhelmed, and I was able to complete the book ina relatively short time.

I felt that the author was comprehensive inher approach and compassionate in her delivery. I sometimes felt that she did not take her own advice. Some of the chapters could easily put a mom on a guilt trip if they were to put into practice some of her strategies. Some of the things she emphasized I felt were overemphasized and too rigid such as healthy eating, green living, etc. But thankfully most of the book sought to take pressure off of moms for things that are not as important--super mom complex, body image, personal time and space, etc.

I found this book to be a quick, easy read, and chapters where personal stories were shared truly made the message come alive. I would recommend this book to moms of any age.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

[Asha Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anyone out there who is stressed and in need of a good book to unwind. Written in the most simple language, the author Carlson shares she experience and wisdom as a mother of three kids about how moms out there can live a less stressed and more happy life in 100 short, bite-sized chapters which are anywhere between 2-4 pages long. She aims to empower readers by teaching them some of the basics such as ‘be a mum, not a friend’, ‘balance being a woman and a mum’, ‘pursue your passion, but not at the expense of your children’ and ‘reclaim your family’.

[Carolyne Gathuru · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Must- Read for All Mums. A practical guide to exhaling, stepping back, allowing life to happen, enjoying the journey and embracing life's lessons. Short, practical chapters with a focus on one learning point keeps engagement high. Although the pieces are applicable right through, it is a little skewed towards Mums living in America ( the examples etc)
Placing this one in the library to re-read and will buy it as a gift for other Mums who'll love it.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The passages/chapters were just a bit longer than I had hoped. There was also a lot of redundancy. What was there was inspirational, but would have been better if a little shorter.

[Rebecca Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some good advice. I found it a little hard to get through though because it was a little dry. Most of the advice I already knew. Still a decent book.

[Cynthia Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter gave this to me for Mother's Day last year and I really enjoyed reading it!

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gave some interesting ideas to try!

[Rosmary]

More about parenting advice and how to raise your children than how to be stress free or calm or relax like title insinuates.