Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

3.5 stars. In some ways I think this is the best parenting book I've read. I agreed with pretty much all of his ideas and I think a lot of people could really benefit from reading and implementing some of these strategies.
That being said, this book was really long winded! He spent the whole first chapter (35 pages) trying to sell you on the idea of simplifying. I was already sold on it before I picked up the book. However, there was some interesting research in that part that was worth reading, if only you didn't have to pick through all the boring stuff!
The second and third chapters were on de-cluttering your kids toys and basically their lives. The part that jumped out to me in that chapter was that I need to simplify our family meals. It's hard for kids to eat something when it's always a new surprise on their plates and they had no hand in making it or seeing what went into it. He suggested making a weekly rotation like Mon. pasta, Tue. rice, Wed. soup, etc. Other than that I didn't find anything new or interesting in those chapters.
Chapter's four and five I just skimmed over because they were basically about not over scheduling your kids lives with sports and constant entertainment. Also, establishing routines to make their lives more predictable. Trust me. My kids are not over scheduled. We also already have pretty predictable Rhythm's I think.
Chapter six is probably the most controversial chapter and it's called Filtering Out the Adult World. He suggests that you completely do away with your TV and not let kids use the computer until they are 7 or 8. The thing that I found fascinating about this chapter was that he also said you shouldn't talk too much to your kids, and then they will talk more to you. He suggested that before ever saying anything you should think to yourself, Is it honest? Is it kind? Is it necessary? And if it doesn't pass all three criteria, don't say it. I thought that was a nice rule of thumb.
The epilogue was basically about a family with two working parents, Mom is pregnant and they have a misbehaving daughter who is overwhelmed by all the stuff in her house and the lack of routine in her life. The parents are stumped as to what needs to be done to get this girl excited about her new baby sibling. Pretty much that's who this book was written for. People who have too much going on and for some dumb reason think that all this junk won't have any effect on their poor kids. Duh people! It would me much to controversial for the author to suggest that maybe it would be beneficial for kids to have a stay at home parent, at least when they are really young, so instead he has to invent all these ways to try to simplify peoples really complicated lives.
I am glad I read this book because I did get some fresh ideas to incorporate into my parenting. However, it was a bit overwhelming by the end because it felt like he was constantly saying: do this, but don't do that, but make sure you do this, but doing that will ruin your child, etc. That's why when reading these books you just take it with a grain of salt and do what you know is best.
I'll end with some of my favorite quotes from the book:
P. 68: "When we refute the notion that our child's development is a race we have to win, and that their imagination is for sale, we step off a consumer treadmill."
P. 151: definition of addiction by Felicitas Vogt: "an increasing and compulsive tendency to avoid pain or boredom and replace inner development with outer stimulation."