Simplicity Parenting-Rhythm

I've been reading and writing about Simplicity Parenting and some of the interesting information I've found. Here are tidbits about chapter two: Rhythm. The author stresses that the busier we are, the more important predictability and rhythm is to our kids. It becomes the most powerful way to simplify their life. What does rhythm and predictability mean? It should feel like this: "This is what we do on a school day morning....", " Before we leave the house we...", "When I get home, I...", "When mom and dad start dinner, I...", "Before bed, we....", "The thing I love about Saturday mornings is..."," On Sundays we...", "When one of us is sick, we always...", "A special thing we do for someone's birthday is...."

Other suggestions for creating rhythm and predictability:

2. Previewing the next day with your child allows them to look for predictable markers in their day and to know what to expect. (Especially if the day is different than the usual routine.) I'm not sure I agree on this point; I recently made the mistake of telling my son at 8 in the morning, as we were heading out on a vacation, that we would be going on a boat. For the next 6 hours all we heard is the kid demanding from his seat in the car: " I wanna go on the boat!" over and over and over and over... Imagine if I had told him the day before....

3. One of the simplest form of predictability in daily life is politeness. This was surprising to me; that politeness can serve as mini-predictability posts throughout the day. Kids come to expect thank you's and you're welcomes and often point it out if you forget!  Oops!

4. Using simple songs with toddlers when doing daily activities such as teeth brushing or hand-washing help ritualize the activity, thus increasing predictability. "Cleam-up (sic) Cleam-up, it's time to Cleam-up," sings my kid happily likes it's just as much fun to cleam up that do mess up. There's a reminder mom, when you want to throw all the toys on the floor out the window!)

5. Food should be simplified just like toys and books; it is meant to nourish, not entertain or excite. (It's hard not to get excited about ice cream, though... )

6. Three or four quiet moments scheduled moments in your day allows kids to release stress and to sleep better at night. Naps, reading, a moment of silence at dinner,  deep play, lighting a candle, and cuddling are all good ways to chill-out and release pressure. (Boy, do I need to remind myself that this is vital to the parents too...I'm super guilty of using nap time to "catch up" on chores.

Once I heard this on a TED talk which I think illustrates this chapter really well.

Imagine you are exploring Paris for the first time. You're seeing a ton of new things, you're eating new foods, hearing new languages, walking a lot, getting lost and finding your way. Everything is exciting and you can't seem to soak it all in as much as you would like. As you arrive at your hotel room, you fall into bed in total exhaustion only to find that you can't fall asleep, re-living all the wonderful things you did that day. Now, do it again the next day, but first drink 3 cups of expresso. THAT's what toddlers live everyday.


Even when we travel, we create routines, some predictability and moments to be calm. We might make a point to always get back to the hotel for lunch, or carry a map, to bring snacks from home or have coffee at the same coffee shop every morning. So it only makes sense that we should create this rhythm for our kids too, so that they can enjoy all the excitement of the day, knowing some of the things that comes next and that there will be times to rest.

I think we've done well in establishing rhythm and predictability in our daily family life, especially when after dinner the kid says: "It's almost dodo (sleep) time, but first, a little bit play time! Ah, ah, ah!

mandatory goofy time