When a child is born parents feel on top of the world, but stress and exhaustion can soon take over, leaving nerves frayed. In this concise, practical book Christiane Kutik highlights twelve simple steps for bringing some peace, composure and enjoyment back into everyday family life. She bases her approach on providing a solid underlying structure to family life, with clear roles, rules, routine and respect. She goes on to show how your family can grow together through incorporating enjoyable rituals, being responsive to your children, giving them the support they need and the space to develop their own abilities. She discusses ways to introduce moments of calm and spiritual connection into everyday life. She also stresses the importance of parents trying to make a little time for themselves to reflect on life and relax. This is a book written specifically for parents with no time and little energy -- short, easy-to-absorb and easy-to-implement steps to quickly improve family life.
It was a really good book to read. Do not expect magical solutions, though! It does require work and effort from the parent's side and some inner exploration as to why we do the things we do as parents.
If you really want the change - as I say it is not magic! - the books does give you tips to do so but you do need patience and consistency. Despite busy lifestyles, it is doable, and I think that is the beauty of it.
Ik kon me vinden in de rust en regelmaat die ze belangrijk vindt maar verder stoorde ik me nogal aan de rigiditeit in haar visie, aan de toon ("wanneer gaan ouders nu eens eindelijk ...") en aan de naamkeuze van de kinderen uit haar voorbeelden (wessel?!).
Good book. I don't have kids, but can see how this information would be helpful to someone who did. I also liked that all the steps start with R which makes them easier to remember.