The following is a guest post by my 8-year old son, Salem Becker.

Due to a winter storm, yesterday was a snow day in Vermont. As a result, I found myself challenging my 8-year old boy to write his first blog post. This is what he wrote. And while it was written by a second-grader, I was proud to see some pretty mature minimalist principles emerge. I do hope you enjoy it…

Buying an 8-year old a toy can be tough. It can be a difficult choice for them because there is a lot of new stuff in the toy stores everyday. A kid’s mind changes a lot. We like something one month but something different another month. If you don’t give away toys you don’t need or want, you’ll end up with too many toys.

And having too many toys can be a little bit of a problem. Because…

• It takes too long to pick them up.
• You forget where some of them are.
• You might not have enough room to keep them all.
• If you have too many toys, you might not have space to play with them.

If you need help finding good toys, here are some things you might like…

1. Don’t buy really cheap toys. Because they just might break right away like the things that I get with tickets at Pizza Putt. Those toys usually break right away.
2. Don’t always buy small toys. Because it’s really easy to lose some.
3. Only buy things you really want. Just because your friends have it doesn’t mean you really want it.
4. Only buy things you are interested in. For example, if you are going to get a couple of cars, you should get the cars that interest you. If you don’t like tractors, then you shouldn’t get a tractor-car.
5. Buy toys that you can play with other people. If you don’t like playing by yourself, get toys that you can play with other people. If you are an only child, you can always play with your parents.
6. You should probably buy some video game that you would like. Because if you are by yourself, you can play it by yourself. And if you are having a play date with other people at your house, you can play it with them. But only play it for a certain time – not too much.

Having too many toys is a problem, isn’t it? I hope you find this helpful.

I hope as well that you found his view of the world to be both enjoyable and helpful. And I’m sure he would warmly welcome any comments you might have…

***

If you were really hoping to read something written by his dad, you can check out “What I Learned From 33 Articles of Clothing” posted last week on Organizing Your Way.

Toys. Sometimes, they feel like they are everywhere… like a never-ending army in a never-ending war.

Personally, over the past two years, we have taken intentional steps to minimize the number of toys in our home. Sometimes we feel like we are winning the battle, other days we feel like we are losing. But I did want to begin a conversation by offering some of the practical tips we have used to help minimize the number of toys in our home. Hopefully, you’ll have some helpful tips to add as well. And perhaps, we can encourage one another in the seemingly, never-ending battle against toy clutter.

To be fair, the exact “ideal number” of toys will vary from family to family (if there even is one). But hopefully, each of these tips will be helpful to those of you who know the ideal number is certainly less than you have today.

1. Be convinced that less is better. As with any minimalist (or simplifying) project, it always begins with a heartfelt belief that less is better and desirable. I’m assuming if you have read past the title of this post, you already believe this to be true when it comes to toys. But if not, take a moment to read, Why Fewer Toys Will Benefit Your Kids.
2. Fewer toys is different than no toys. Toys can be educational and play an important role in a child’s development. Just to be clear, I’m not advocating no toys, I’m arguing for less.
3. Analyze your own motivation for purchasing toys. Most children don’t buy toys for themselves – somebody else does. If there are too many toys in your home, start with yourself. Why are there so many toys in your home? A healthy look at your own motivations may go a long-way in solving this problem.
4. Choose quality over quantity. You and your children will benefit more from toys that are chosen for their quality (in workmanship) and purpose (playability) than for their sheer quantity. And just like everything else in life, too many toys will always distract from the truly important ones.
5. Purge often. Most likely, you need to make a clean-sweep of your childrens’ toys right now. Removing the “low-hanging fruit” (toys that are no longer used) is a great place to start and shouldn’t take too long. Put the clean, unused toys in boxes and donate them to a medical center, nonprofit organization, local church, homeless shelter, orphanage, school, or Goodwill. Simply discard the dirty or broken ones. Then, stay on top of the clutter by purging on a regular basis and going beyond the low-hanging fruit.
6. Set a confined, physical space for toys. Whether it is a container, a shelving unit, or a closet, set a confined physical space for your children’s toys. Once the space is full, there is no room to add more toys. Help your children understand that principle by clearly marking the boundaries. If they want to add (think holidays and birthdays), they’ll need to remove first.
7. Limit your purchasing with a budget. If you budget for other categories in your life (groceries, clothing, entertainment), you already understand how this principle helps keep your spending and consumption in check. If you don’t, start today by setting a monthly/yearly budget for toys. Enforcing a predetermined budget amount will help in limiting your toy purchases.
8. Don’t give into fads. Just like clock-work, toy companies will generate a new “toy-fad” every few months by artificially generating a cultural buzz. If done well, this artificial buzz will become mainstream in the culture and no longer feel artificial. But it is. And it will always pass. You don’t need to give in just because every other parent is.
9. Keep a healthy, realistic attitude toward toy companies and toy stores. They may tell you that their main goal is to help or educate your child, but often times they are driven most by their bottom line.
10. Avoid duplicate toys. Instead, require your children to learn the invaluable life lessons of sharing, generosity, cooperation, and compromise.
11. Find a local toy library. Consider borrowing toys rather than purchasing them.   
12. Watch less television. Consider the fact that marketers are brilliant at shaping the desires of men and women, young and old. Now, imagine giving them hours each day to shape your children’s minds too… and you’ll quickly realize that you don’t stand a chance.
13. Don’t give in to temper-tantrums at the store. Every time you give in to a temper-tantrum at the store just to avoid a scene, you embolden your child to do it again. They quickly learn how to manipulate you. Don’t worry about the scene that is taking place in public. Wise parents in the store will respect you for not giving in – and the foolish ones will learn a valuable lesson.
14. Equip your children to make wise choices. Involve your kids in the purging process. Help them make decisions about which toys should stay and which should go. This will serve them well into adulthood. After all, don’t you wish your parents had forced you to learn that skill?
15. Teach them to value other activities. Although all kids have natural tendencies towards certain endeavors, expand their mind by regularly introducing them to new activities that don’t revolve around toys.
16. Limit your toys too. Kids will always learn more from example than words. If your life is caught up in always needing to own the latest fashion, technology, or product on the market, theirs will be too. And it would be unreasonable to expect anything less.

Keeping fewer toys will never be easy. It will always require thought and intentionality. But it will always result in your children learning to value who they are more than what they have. And that always make it worth the effort.

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” - Angela Schwindt

Children add joy, purpose, and fulfillment to our lives. They bring us smiles, optimism, and cheerful attitudes. And given the chance, they will teach us valuable lessons about life.

Certainly, growing children (physically, socially, intellectually, and emotionally) have added a new dimension to our minimalist journey, but I would’t want it any other way. In fact, some of the most important lessons about life and minimalism have been learned by watching my children. Consider these…

1. One neighborhood friend is worth more than a basement full of toys. My two kids can spend countless hours with their neighborhood friends running from yard to yard, playing tag, catching bugs, or swinging on swings. They can spend every afternoon and evening together without being bored. But take them away from their friends for one Saturday at home with their toys… and boredom almost immediately sets in. The joy of playing alone in a roomful of toys quickly fades. LIFE LESSON: Relationships with others are always more exciting and fulfilling than possessions.

2. Clothes are not worn to impress others. My First Grade son has two requirements for his clothing: 1) that he can get them dirty and 2) that he won’t get too hot. He has never worn a shirt to impress a girl or a pair of slacks to impress his teacher. (He has worn a shirt and slacks because his parents asked him to, but that’s a different subject). I don’t think the idea of trying to impress others by wearing the latest fashions has ever crossed his mind. He feels no pressure to conform or impress. And thus, he’s simply content with a clean tanktop and shorts. LIFE LESSON: Wear clothing for its usefulness rather than as an attempt to impress others.

3. Life’s pains are healed best by a hug and a kiss… not new toys. My daughter falls down often (as most four year olds do). And when she skins her knee, she only wants one thing – her mommy to pick her up, give her a kiss, and tell her that everything is going to be okay. She doesn’t ask for a new toy… she only desires love and security. She has found the antidote to pain and wouldn’t trade it for anything else. LIFE LESSON: Don’t look towards ”things” to soothe the pain we encounter in life. Instead, seek love, acceptance, and security.

4. Fancy possessions and character are completely unrelated. I love helping in my son’s First Grade classroom because Kindergarten and First Grade may be the only places left on earth where labels don’t exist. At age 7, everyone is accepted and everyone plays with everyone else. Each person starts the day on equal footing. Nobody is pre-judged by the house that they live in or the clothes that they wear. Oh, that our world would begin to resemble a first-grade classroom. LIFE LESSON: Judge people by their hearts and character, not by the meaningless externals of life.

5. Too many toys in a box only get in the way of the good ones. A funny thing happens after holidays. A mountain of new toys enter my childrens’ lives. The toys are initially meant with incredible excitement. However, after two or three days, they are pushed to the side as my kids return to the tried-and-true toys they had been playing with long before the holiday ever occurred. The new toys we thought would make them happier, don’t. Instead, they just start to get in the way. LIFE LESSON: We often think that material possessions will bring lasting excitement into our life, but most of the time they just end up getting in the way.

6. The more toys you play with, the more time you spend cleaning them up. Because we clean up every night before bed (well, almost every night), our kids understand this pretty simple equation. The more toys we pull out of the closet, the more time we spend cleaning them up. And conversely, the less time we spend actually enjoying them. LIFE LESSON: The more possessions we own, the more of our time is required to care for them, clean them, organize and sort them.

7. A hike in the woods beats a new video game anyday. Video games simply can not compete with the graphics, the full-sensory experience, or the relationship of a family walk through the woods. Never have, never will. And for that matter, nothing else produced on televsion can compete either. LIFE LESSON: Turn off the television. Go outside. Live life, don’t just watch it.

Perhaps children are in this world because we as grown-ups have so much left to relearn…

“Simplicity, clarity, singleness: these are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy.” – Richard Halloway

The minimalist life holds benefits for all.

Unfortunately, many people view minimalism as only for the young single living in the city. Numbers of parents living in the suburbs think a minimalist lifestyle is simply out of reach because they have children – as if the two are somehow incompatible. But that is not the case. As I explain in Simplify, the principles of minimalism are completely within reach no matter how many children you have or where you live.

And not only is minimalism completely possible with children, it is a lifestyle filled with benefits for them! Since becoming minimalist two years, I am continually amazed at some of the lessons my children (7 years old and 4 years old) have learned. Over the past two years, they have learned…

• That we don’t need to buy things to be happy. We own far fewer things than we did two years ago. We purchase far fewer things than we did two years ago. Yet, we are far happier than we were two years ago. Go figure.
• That we don’t need to live life like everyone else. Even though they are not quite old enough to understand all of the intricacies of our minimlist life, they completely understand that we have made a decision to live different than most people in our neighborhood. Our lifestyle has given them permission to live a counter-cultural life.
• That we live within our means. Although our children are not balancing our checkbook, they do hear us speak often about debt, the joy of not being in it, and our desire to stay out of it.
• That we think carefully about our purchases. Because we believe in giving them ample opportunity to find/grow in their interests, we still need to buy things like toys, school supplies, art supplies, and sporting goods. We just think through our buying decisions more carefully. This is an invaluable lesson for children to learn as they get older. We no longer buy something just because we have the money, we buy things because we truly need them.
• That we gladly share with others. Since we became minimalist when they were young, they have grown up watching us donate many of our belongings to others. They have seen generosity in action.
• That clutter is a drag. They have seen how minimalism creates a home where clutter is scarce. And when it does show up, it can be quickly remedied… and usually is.
• That we love spending time with them. Our minimalist home has allowed us the opportunity to spend less time purchasing, cleaning, organizing, and sorting things. We have gladly replaced that time managing stuff with spending time with them.
• That we are in control of our stuff… not the other way around.

Minimalism with children is entirely possible. However, it does require a little more effort, a little more thoughtfulness, and a lot more patience. As you embark (or continue) on the journey, here are some practical steps to consider:

1. Explain your decision. Your children are thinking human beings. Therefore, no matter their age (our son and daughter were only 5 and 2 at the time), sit down and explain your decision to them – include the reasons why you are choosing to become minimalist and the benefits you are hoping to receive from it. And because teenagers typically jump to far-reaching conclusions, assure them that your decision does not mean you are no longer going to buy anything… it just means you are going to intentionally think through your purchases in the future.
2. Begin minimalizing your possessions first. Minimalize your personal belongings first and your shared family belongings second. It would be unfair to ask your child/teenager to thoroughly adopt the lifestyle until you have done it personally. Also remember, you will learn valuable lessons when you remove your personal clutter – valuable lessons that will put you in a better place to help your son or daughter navigate their journey.
3. Remove the items they do not use first. Minimalism is about paring down to only the essentials. It is about removing the things in our life we don’t need so we can focus on the things that we do. And while most homes are filled with things that are not needed… they are also filled with things that are not even used. Start there. You can begin by removing the clothes they no longer wear, the toys they no longer they play with, and the other things they no longer use. That’s an easy first step. As you begin there and talk them through the process, they may begin to naturally start asking themselves the question, “How much of this other stuff do I really need anyway?”
4. Focus on the positives. As you begin to see the benefits of minimalism in the life of your children/teenagers, point them out and focus on them. Just because you are observant enough to notice them, doesn’t mean they see it quite as readily as you. Does their room appear tidier? Do they spend less time cleaning? Is it easier to find things? Can you notice less stress or less distraction? Are you more relaxed as a parent? Encourage each other with the positive benefits that you notice.
5. Treat them to fun experiences. One benefit of minimalism is that you spend less and have more time on your hands – so you should have some extra disposable income and the time to do something with it. Use it to create fun, family experiences. Do something new that everyone will enjoy. Take a trip to the beach, the amusement park, or a weekend in the city. You don’t need to spend all of your new found savings on one trip (especially if you are trying to get out of debt in the process), but a practical experience that highlights the benefits of your decision can go a long way in helping your children understand your minimalist decision.
6. Choose your purchases carefully going forward. You will still need to buy things going forward. Children will outgrow their clothes, their toys, their school supplies, and their sporting goods. They are not going to stop growing and developing. You are absolutely still going to buy things going forward… you are just going to put more thought into your purchases than you did in the past. Replace “Do I want this?” with “Do I need this?” And help your son or daughter ask the same question. It’s one of the most important lessons they will ever learn.
7. (A word about gifts). We have taken the approach of still allowing our relatives the opportunity to buy gifts for our children. It is an expression of their love. They desire to show their love by giving gifts and our children feel loved when they receive them. We did not want to take that away from our family. However, we have tried to communicate with our family ahead of time and offer them a suggested gift list of things they need prior to birthdays and holidays.
8. Be patient. Be patient with your family. Offer them plenty of time to adjust to minimalism rather than being pushed into it. Minimalism is a lifestyle that needs to be believed in and adopted. Show them plenty of patience. And after all, if it took you 30 years to adopt the lifestyle, it would be foolish to assume they will fully adopt it in 30 minutes… or even 30 days.

Let me assure you. Minimalism is completely achievable and beneficial for you and your family.

Related posts:

• When You’re a Minimalist But Your Partner Isn’t.
• Why Fewer Toys will Benefit Your Kids.

“Your values are your current estimations of truth. They represent your answer to the question of how to live.” -Steve Pavlina

Whether we are paying attention or not, our child’s value system is being shaped every day from a variety of sources: parents, friends, teachers, celebrities, advertisers, and experiences… (just to name a few).

The importance of this truth cannot be overstated because the values that our children learn today will, in many ways, determine the type of life they live as adults. Values will help shape their sense of right from wrong, their behaviors, their motivations, and how they choose to spend their money and time. Our child’s tomorrow will be heavily influenced by the values they learn today.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to intentionally instill into our children values that will help bend their lives toward a positive future. With that thought in mind, whether you are a parent or not, here is a list of 15 things that children can (and should) value more than material possessions.

1. Honesty -Children who learn the value and importance of honesty at a young age have a far greater opportunity to become honest adults. And honest adults who deal truthfully with others tend to feel better about themselves, enjoy their lives more, and sleep better at night.
2. Family members – We work hard to teach our children about the importance of family. We look out for one another, care for one another, and cheer for one another. Home is a safe place – a stable environment that provides the foundation for our child to succeed in life. A child who is proud of his family can always come home… no matter where life has taken him.
3. Learning – Children need to value education. But more than that, they need to value the process of learning so that they can become lifelong learners well beyond their years in formal education. Teach them to love reading, exploring, curiosity and how to ask good questions.
4. Their Soul – We have tried to instill into our kids that they are more than just flesh and blood taking up space. They are also made of mind, heart, soul, and will. And decisions in their life should be based on more than just what everyone else with flesh and blood is doing… their decisions should be based on the internal compass inside their heart and soul.
5. The Opposite Sex – Boys need to learn to value and respects girls. Girls need to learn to value and respect boys. Each offers unique insight and brings beauty into our world. Viewing the opposite sex in any other light leads to unhealthy relationships and ultimately, disaster.
6. Nature - Children who learn to appreciate the world around them learn to take care of the world around them. As a parent, I am frequently asking my kids to keep their rooms inside the house neat, clean, and orderly. Shouldn’t we also be teaching them to keep their world outside neat, clean, and orderly?
7. Friendship – Good friends can be tough to come by, yet they can make all the difference in the kind of life that we live. And seeing as how honest, dependable, and generous people attract honest, dependable, and generous friends, kids should learn to honor their friends at an early age and care for their friendships with the utmost respect.
8. Determination - Life is full of challenges. Helping children learn that not all problems will be solved quickly and easily is important. It will set them up to accomplish great things and keep dreaming and striving when others around them have already given up.
9. Quietness - In a world full of noise, enjoying and valuing quietness is rare. But solitude and meditation provides us the opportunity to self-evaluate our life, our decisions, and our direction. Intentional people intentionally find room for quietness.
10. Hard Work – Most people see hard work as just a means to an end. They work hard so they can earn a nice paycheck and a nice living. But hard work should be a reward in itself because not all hard work of lasting value is compensated handsomely.
11. Justice - Life isn’t fair. It never will be – there are just too many variables. But when a wrong has been committed or a playing field can be leveled, I want my child to be active in helping to level it… not hoarding power over another just to stay on top.
12. Art – Art represents the ability to create, communicate, and compel – three important actions for the rest of life. The importance of art in a society, culture, or individual can never be overstated and should always be valued and appreciated.
13. Animals – Recognizing the intrinsic value of animals helps children treat them with care and respect. And while this is an end in itself, treating animals with care and respect is an important step to treating other people with care and respect as well.
14. Affection – Love should not just be felt, it also needs to be expressed to be fully enjoyed and realized.
15. Themselves - People who learn to value themselves are more likely to have self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth. As a result, they are more likely to become adults who respect their values and stick to them… even when no one else is.

Values are best caught not taught. Children will learn far more by observing the lifestyle of those they admire than by listening to empty words. So explain healthy values. Reward healthy values. But more importantly, model healthy values.

After all, if these 15 things are important enough for children to value… then they are 15 things we should value more than material possessions too.

“The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation.” – Ray L. Wilbur

Toys are not merely playthings. Toys form the building blocks for our child’s future. They teach our children about the world and about themselves. They send messages and communicate values. And thus, wise parents think about what foundation is being laid by the toys that are given to their kids.

Wise parents also think about the number of toys that children are given. While most toy rooms and bedrooms today are filled to the ceiling with toys, intentional parents learn to limit the number of toys that kids have to play with.

They understand that fewer toys will actually benefit their children in the long-term:

1. Kids learn to be more creative. Too many toys prevent kids from fully developing their gift of imagination. Two German public health workers (Strick and Schuster) conducted an experiment in which they convinced a kindergarten classroom to remove all of their toys for three months. Although boredom set in during the initial stages of the experiment, the children soon began to use their basic surroundings to invent games and use imagination in their playing.
2. Kids develop longer attention spans. When too many toys are introduced into a child’s life, their attention span will begin to suffer. A child will rarely learn to fully appreciate the toy in front of them when there are countless options still remaining on the shelf behind them.
3. Kids establish better social skills. Children with fewer toys learn how to develop interpersonal relationships with other kids and adults. They learn the give and take of a good conversation. And studies have attributed childhood friendships to a greater chance of success academically and in social situations during adulthood.
4. Kids learn to take greater care of things. When kids have too many toys, they will naturally take less care of them. They will not learn to value them if there is always a replacement ready at hand. If you have a child who is constantly damaging their toys, just take a bunch away. He will quickly learn.
5. Kids develop a greater love for reading, writing, and art. Fewer toys allows your children to love books, music, coloring, and painting. And a love for art will help them better appreciate beauty, emotion, and communication in their world.
6. Kids become more resourceful. In education, students aren’t just given the answer to a problem; they are given the tools to find the answer. In entertainment and play, the same principle can be applied. Fewer toys causes children to become resourceful by solving problems with only the materials at hand. And resourcefulness is a gift with unlimited potential.
7. Kids argue with each other less. This may seem counter-intuitive. Many parents believe that more toys will result in less fighting because there are more options available. However, the opposite is true far too often. Siblings argue about toys. And every time we introduce a new toy into the relationship, we give them another reason to establish their “territory” among the others. On the other hand, siblings with fewer toys are forced to share, collaborate, and work together.
8. Kids learn perseverance. Children who have too many toys give up too quickly. If they have a toy that they can’t figure out, it will quickly be discarded for the sake of a different, easier one. Kids with fewer toys learn perseverance, patience, and determination.
9. Kids become less selfish. Kids who get everything they want believe they can have everything they want. This attitude will quickly lead to an unhealthy (and unbecoming) lifestyle.
10. Kids experience more of nature. Children who do not have a basement full of toys are more apt to play outside and develop a deep appreciation for nature. They are also more likely to be involved in physical exercise which results in healthier and happier bodies.
11. Kids learn to find satisfaction outside of the toy store. True joy and contentment will never be found in the aisles of a toy store. Kids who have been raised to think the answer to their desires can be bought with money have believed the same lie as their parents. Instead, children need encouragement to live counter-cultural lives finding joy in things that truly last.
12. Kids live in a cleaner, tidier home. If you have children, you know that toy clutter can quickly take over an entire home. Fewer toys results in a less-cluttered, cleaner, healthier home.

I’m not anti-toy. I’m just pro-child. So do your child a favor today and limit their number of toys. (Just don’t tell them you got the idea from me.)

“If you haven’t time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded.” – Robert Brault

Whether you are a parent or not, there is a child in your life. And whether you have money in your bank account or not, you have something they need:

1. Love. More important than anything else, children need your love. When children are loved, they develop self-worth, self-esteem, self-confidence, and a capacity to love others.
2. Time/Attention. Children need your interest and attention. They need quality time with you and they need quantity time with you. The most valuable resource you have is your time, give some to a child everyday.
3. Encouragement/Affirmation. Sometimes one simple word of appreciation can change an entire life. Make sure children know that you are proud of them often. Every chance you get, never withhold an encouraging word.
4. Stability. A stable home becomes the foundation on which children build the rest of their lives. They need to know their place in the family, who they can trust, and who is going to be there for them. Don’t keep changing those things.
5. Opportunity. Kids need opportunities to experience new things so they can find out what they enjoy and what they are good at. They also need opportunities to grow in their interests. This relates to education, activity, food, and friends. And contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t have to require much money.
6. Discipline. Children need to learn everything from the ground-up including appropriate behaviors, how to get along with others, how to get results, and how to achieve their dreams. Discipline should not be avoided or withheld. Instead, it should be consistent and positive.
7. A good laugh. On average, children laugh 200 times per day while adults laugh only 15 to 18. Laughter is good for a child’s mental and physical health. Encourage joy and laughter. Tell jokes and silly stories. Laugh at their crazy escapades and yourself.
8. Your lap. It’s the best place in the entire world for a book, a story, or a good conversation. And it’s been right in front of you this whole time.
9. Room to make mistakes. Kids are kids. That’s what makes them so much fun… and so desperately in need of your patience. Give them room to experiment, explore, and make mistakes.
10. Hugs and kisses. As many as possible and as often as possible!

Improve a child’s life today and the life you change just might be your own.

i recently heard this story of two powerful men:

in 1972, george mcgovern ran against richard nixon for president of the united states. mcgovern and charles colson (nixon’s advisor) started on opposite sides of the political spectrum… but they both ended up with the same regrets.  chuck colson wrote this, “as i think back on my life my biggest regret is not spending more time with my kids.  making family your top priority means going against a culture where materialism and workaholism are rampant.  it means realizing that you may not advance as fast in your career as others do.  it means being willing to accept a lower standard of living knowing that you’re doing it for your kids.  it means giving them the emotional security that they’ll draw on for the rest of their lives.”

later, george mcgovern wrote a book about his daughter terry. she was an alcoholic and in 1994, she was found frozen to death in a snowdrift after a night of drinking.  after his daughter died, george mcgovern poured over her diaries and contacted many of her friends and discovered that he hadn’t been the parent that he thought he was.  while reading her diaries he discovered that while he was spending eighteen hours a day working for political causes terry was writing in her diary how much she missed her daddy.  and that he probably didn’t care about her anyway.”  mcgovern left this message to parents: “show more love to your kids by spending more time with them.  especially as teenagers.  no matter what it costs your career.  that way,” he said “neither of you will have regrets.”  he went on to say “i’d give everything i have – and i mean everything – for one more afternoon with terry.  just to let her know how much i loved her.”

remember to give your loved ones something that is far more valuable than anything you can buy at a store… give them more of your time.

this past weekend, my son (7) and daughter (3) decided to play “garage sale.”   i love when they go all out with their ideas.

first, they pulled many of their toys out of the downstairs play room and brought them into the living room.  second, they arranged them all by type in various sections of the living room.  third, they put price tags on the toys.  fourth, they handed monopoly money to us, the parents, and asked us to buy some things at their garage sale.  the store was complete with a cash register at the end to collect money and distribute change.   (the cash register was the only thing not for sale… even though i offered them most of my money for it).

since that enjoyable saturday afternoon, i’ve been trying to wrap my head around what it all means.  maybe you can help me out:

[polldaddy poll="2234862"]

other poll questions:

• professional organizers
• minimalism and happy meal toys

other posts related to children and minimalism:

• minimalism and children
• keeping a simple home with kids

just in case you were  looking for something to do with your old baby einstein dvds, you can now turn them into cash: Disney Offers Refund for Baby Einstein DVDs.

turns out your television wasn’t all that helpful for educating your children after all… go figure:  Baby Einstein Refund and the Allure of the Digital Babysitter.