Simplify Your Life With Kids : 100 Ways to make Family Life Easier and More Fun

by Elaine St. James

A practical manual for busy, working parents offers advice on simplifying fam life and negotiating time-consuming issues, covering such topics as establishing a bedtime routine, stopping tantrums, and when to say yes.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting 100 ways of simplifying life with kids...you know, mom hacks and such. Out of the whole book, I got 1 decent one...having my kids put their clothes directly into mesh bags so I'm not having to figure out whose socks belong to whom. Other than that one thing, the whole book was a very basic manual for how to raise kids...keeping them safe, having some mom time, when to call the doctor, being involved with their school etc. Pretty basic stuff...except for the mesh bag trick.

[Lyndsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book isn't very insightful. Perhaps I should take it as a compliment that we already do most of the suggestions she gives. I guess our lives are as simple, fun, and easy as we can get right now! :)

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found an old reading journal from 2001.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

100 ways to simplify your family's life.

I got this book off of Buy Nothing Burbank years ago. At the time I had younger children (maybe it was just one child; I don't exactly remember), but it sounded like it would be a helpful book. I promptly didn't read it until now, using it as a book that I would read little by little as I brush my teeth. The book itself feels dated, for sure. I would also say that either life has calmed down a bit (which, having slightly older kids now, it has) or that the advice given isn't quite that helpful. There is maybe a tidbit here or there but, by and large, I've already figured out a manageable flow to my life as a mother.

[Rachelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good tips for parenting and simplification. A few chapters related to technology felt a bit dated. Any updated edition would need to address social media and personal devices.

[Mandy Crumb · Rating 3 out of 5]

An outdated advice book that includes Walkman rules and landline phones. There are still some relevant ideas and suggestions for simplifying life included.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed her first book called Simplify Your Life. It tells you all the things you can do to make your life easier and more enjoyable. I am still trying to CLEAN OUT (an ongoing process).

This book includes kids and all the things that can make your life with them more simple. I liked it a lot - easy to read in small spurts (key for having kids) and has some great parenting advice too. I'm now in the process of getting Maria into the habit of cleaning up after herself. So helpful. Hard to get started, but helpful!

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written by someone without children this offered little practical advice and was generally quite annoying. I suspect the author really thinks you ought not to have kids in the first place if you truly want to simplify your life. This view has some validity but is not so helpful to those of us who,you know,already went and had kids and have grown quite fond of them ;)