The Mom Project: 21 Days to a More Connected Family

by Kathi Lipp

You've Invested a Lot in Being a Good Mom... Your kids are in school, doing their chores, and cleaning just enough to keep their rooms from being condemned by the Board of Health. But do you want to connect with your children outside your regular routine and find ways to understand, enjoy, and learn more about them? This handy guide offers a straightforward, workable plan to do just that! Including special tips for single moms, blended families, and moms of teens, you will find inspiration to try simple ideas such as Kathi's warm, funny, and thought-provoking expertise will give you the tools and confidence you need to connect with your kids. Small efforts can make a big difference in the life of a child...and in the life of a mom!

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2018

About the author

Kathi loves giving real help and how-tos to move people forward in every area of their lives. With humor and wisdom, Kathi offers hope paired with practical steps to live with meaning.

Kathi Lipp is the Publisher Weekly bestselling author of 17 books including Clutter Free, The Get Yourself Organized Project, The Husband Project, and Overwhelmed.

She is the host of Clutter Free Academy the Podcast, runs the Facebook group Clutter Free Academy where 8000 women (and a few brave men) learn to live free from clutter. Kathi speaks at conferences across the US.

She is featured on Focus on the Family, MOPS International, Crosswalk.com, Girlfriends in God and Proverbs 31 Ministries as well as a number of other media outlets around the country. And she’s a featured expert on clutter for Women’s World Magazine and has been named “Best of Broadcast” on Focus on the Family twice.

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mom Project: 21 Days to a More Connected Family by Kathi Lipp ⭐️⭐️

Total waste of time. This could have just been a blog - a pointless one at that. I gave 2 stars only because of the quiz given to better understand your kids. Other than that, nothing exceptional or innovative.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book I’ve ever read by Kathi Lipp doesn’t disappoint, and this one is par for the course. This book is cram-packed with excellent, practical ideas for connecting with your kids at all ages and stages.

I enjoy all the angles presented in this book. She gives advice to single parents, stepparents, and parents of young children, elementary school aged children, and teens. I also like that my friend Cheri Gregory helped Kathi write each chapter from the four basic child temperaments. So incredibly thorough and helpful!

Idea after idea tumbles out of each chapter. I feel inspired and encouraged by this book. Even though I think I’m a pretty good mom, I can always improve. Now I have a bevy of solid ideas for connecting with my children, just in time for summer break.

Kathi includes her signature humor in this book. I had several belly laughs as I read through her mishaps, especially the one on camping (I hate camping too!).

Here is a tiny sample of the many ideas in this wonderful book:

Family Fun Night variations by age
Build Your Own Meal nights
Six Ways to Shower Your Child With Encouragement
After-School Coffee Breaks
10 Ways to Make Your Home a Haven
Family Service Ideas
Investing in Your Kid’s Passions
A Treat Just for Each One of Your Children
Family Book Discussions

I love these ideas! One I’m applying today is having a tea party with my 9-year-old. She loves to bake, and we both like girly things. I wouldn’t have had this connection idea without the book. Thank you, Kathi!

Netgalley provided me a free review copy of this book.

[Carmen Ledford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interested in reading The Mom Project because I have come to love the author’s tips and tricks from her podcast that I’ve listened to for quite a while. Also, the premise of the book caught my attention because even (or especially) as my kids grow older, I’m acutely aware of their need and cravings for my attention. This book details twenty-one connections between a mom and her child. I love that the the author took the time to emphasize the importance of tailoring experiences to each child’s personality. As a busy mom, I also appreciated that the ideas are detailed, but not expensive or hard to plan. Each connection also includes a section to extend the learning for teens, blended families, and single parent families. The book also contains bonus material that lists fifty ways to connect with your kids and a related FAQ section. I found the projects to be interesting and think kids will love the hands on aspects. I also liked that the projects were Christian based. I can’t wait to finish this project with my kids. Sometimes in the busyness of life, individualized attention to my kids doesn’t always happen as much as I’d like. This book is an excellent tool to be intentional about connecting with my kids.

I received an advance reading copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

[Aminata Coote · Rating 4 out of 5]

You’re a better parent than the world makes you believe. This assurance was made by Kathi Lipp in the introductory pages and is highlighted as you read through the book. There are many ways to connect with your child or children and Kathi encourages you to work at it for 21 days. Now, I know what you may be thinking:
“How on earth am I going to find time to connect with my child every day for 21 days in a row?”
Well, it’s actually a lot easier than you think and you may be already be doing some of the things mentioned in The Mom Project already. What may be missing is intentionality. Kathi teaches us how to be intentional in how we approach our children. At the end of this project, not only will you have spent three weeks working on your relationship, you will also have learnt the skills to continue it for the indefinite future. Especially since there are a lot of variations in the book to give you loads of ideas for years to come.

I received a free copy of the book from Net Gally in exchange for my honest review.

[Megan Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers twenty-one ideas for connecting with your kids ranging from family game night to serving together to having one-on-one date nights with kids. It is practical suggestions including ways to open up dialogue with kids ranging from toddlers to teens. It offers specific advice for single parents, divorced parents, blended families, and parents of teens including ways to connect with specific personality types (quiz included).

I appreciated the encouragement to not always have a one-size-fits-all approach to connecting and consider my children's unique personalities and interests. None of the suggestions were mind blowing, but it did give me new things to try. It also helped me to feel like I am already doing a great job of connecting with my kids.

[Rhiannon Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, Practical ways to make connections with every child in your family!

The Mom Project was a wonderful read. I was happy to see some of the things I already do, but I also found some things that I can do with my family. I love the easy to follow prompts and the fact that she acknowledges that not every child responds the same way in every circumstance. Personality has a lot to do with how connections are made and Kathi has taken this into consideration.

This book will be on the top of my list of books I recommend to other mothers when we get into one of those "I just do know what to do with my child...." conversations.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

How refreshing to finally read a Christian viewpoint of parenting that tells it like it really is rather than offering idealistic goals that are impossible to reach. This author has experienced everything from normal family life to single parenting to a blended family. She offers a ton of practical and doable suggestions for connecting with your kids. Since this is an updated version of her book, the author now takes into account the challenges presented by modern technology. We need to disconnect on a regular basis in order to make meaningful connections with our family members.

[Michelle Castaneda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mom Project by Kathi Lipp is a wonderful book for moms and dads that want to connect deeply with their children. Kathi speaks to parents that may feel overwhelmed and discouraged that they do not do enough to connect with their children in meaningful ways. She provides many great ideas for fun family activities, so many in fact that there should be something that appeals to any family. This is a great book to read and keep handy whenever time appears to spend family time together. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wonderful, honest book that I will dip in and out of for years to come. As a mum of an 8 and 6 year old I feel torn that we spend to much time running around and not enough time just enjoying each others company and connecting.

The book contains wonderful ideas that can be tailored to suit your own needs. Brilliant resource and will be recommending to all my mum friends (and dads !!) I can't wait for the kids to budget and plan a day out and family night.

[Lori Gibbany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts very slow. Thought I wouldn't be able to finish this book. So glad I stuck with it. I love how the personality type of the children are separated and a suggestion is given for each type. And advice is give. For single moms too. Knowing it's a different struggle helps and some of the single mom advice would work well in a two parent home.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, uplifting book full of suggestions and good ideas for family bonding. Well-written and nicely done.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel more empowered and inspired to make meaningful connections with my teenage stepson after reading this book. I especially liked the bonus tips at the end of the chapters for connecting with kids of different personalities, tips for blended families and single parents.

[Jenn. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started reading as audio from Hoopla. Abandoned.

Just not what I was wanting to listen to right now. Seems like it would be better read in print.

[Samantha Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh I should have known better than to think this book would appeal to me. If you are a parent looking for a challenge of the monthly this isn't really it. Would likely be perfect for someone with older kids who is highly Religious. So I skimmed through to the end and took what was useful to me and the other 2/3 of the book are irrelevant to me. 3 stars cause it is not useful for me, but not useless for all.