“Babies are always more trouble than you thought - and more wonderful.” - Charles Osgood
Anyone who has kids knows that any life with kids is going to be complicated, at least to some degree. From extra laundry to bathing and cooking and shopping and driving and school and chores and crises and sports and dance and toys and tantrums, there is no shortage of complications.
You won’t get to ultra-simple if your life includes children … but you can find ways to simplify, no matter how many kids you have.
Take my life, for example: I have a house full of kids, and yet I’ve found ways to streamline my life, to find peace and happiness among the chaos. How is this magic trick accomplished? Nothing magical, actually, but just little things that have simplified my life over the years.
The main magic trick, however: making my family my top priority, and choosing only a small number of priorities in my life. If you have too many things you want to do, or need to do, your life will become complicated. But if you choose just a few things that are important to you, you can eliminate the rest, and simplify your life greatly.
What follows is a list that might seem complicated to some — 25 items! Trust me, I could easily double this list, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. Instead of trying to tackle everything on this list at once, choose a few things that appeal to you, and give them a try. Bookmark this page and come back to it from time to time to try out other ideas. Best yet, they might inspire new ideas of your own!
- Self-sufficiency. This one tip could simplify your life greatly, over time. However, it will make things more complicated in the short term. The idea is to teach your kids to do things for themselves as they get older and more capable. Teaching them to do something themselves instead of just doing it yourself takes time and can be a little frustrating at first, but it will pay off for years to come. My kids, for example, can make themselves breakfast, shower and dress themselves, brush their teeth, and generally get themselves ready in the morning with only minimal prompting from us. They can clean their rooms, wash dishes, sweep, mop, dust, wash the car. The older ones can cook basic dishes and babysit the younger ones. This type of self-sufficiency has saved my wife and me tons of time and trouble over the years.
- One calendar. If you have more than one kid, you might have a lot of activities going on that you need to track, from school events such as Christmas performances and parent-teacher conferences to extracurricular activities such as soccer practice, dance classes, or Spring concerts. Organize your life with a simple calendar (I use Google Calendar) and enter all activities and appointments on this one calendar, from kids’ stuff to your own goings on. When they hand you papers from school, or soccer schedules, immediately enter everything onto the calendar. Then a quick glance at the calendar each day will help you plan your day.
- Toy bins. It’s an inevitable fact of life that kids have lots of toys, and that they will be everywhere. You will drive yourself crazy if you try to manage them with dictator-like ruthlessness. Instead, let kids play, but have lots of bins where they can toss the toys inside when they’re done. Then cleaning up is a cinch — they just toss everything on the floor into the bins, and move on to making their next mess. You can have designated bins for certain toys (this one’s for Legos, this one’s for stuffed animals, this one’s for cars), and also have some general-purpose bins for things that don’t fit anywhere else. Don’t be too strict about them — the whole purpose is to make things simpler.
- Regular cleanups. If you’re like me, you don’t like a huge mess. Teach your kids to clean up after themselves — let them make a mess, but every now and then, tell them it’s time to clean up. Be sure to tell them to clean up before moving on to something else, such as lunchtime or bedtime. It’s good to have regular times during the day when they do cleanups, such as before bed or before they leave for school, so that the house is always clean at night and during the day.
- Quiet bedtime routines. Kids thrive on routine, and no routine is better than the one before they go to sleep. Have a regular routine before bed — it might consist of cleaning up, showering, brushing their teeth, getting into their pajamas, and reading a book. Reading aloud to them just before bedtime is a great idea, because it quiets them down after a day of activity, it gives you quality bonding time together, and it gets them into the habit of reading. Plus, it’s just something that everyone can enjoy.
- Prep the night before. Mornings can be a hectic time for parents and kids alike, but they don’t have to be. Instead, prep as much as possible the night before, and have your mornings be a little more relaxed. I like to prep lunches, get their clothes ready (and mine as well), and have them shower, get their homework and school bags ready. Then the morning is simply eating breakfast, a little grooming, getting dressed, and gathering everything together before you head out the door. It’s a great way to start your day.
- Don’t schedule too much. Sometimes we schedule things back-to-back-to-back, so that every minute of every day is planned out. That leads to stress and problems. Instead, schedule as little as possible each day, and leave space between events, appointments or activities, so that your day moves along at a more leisurely pace. Start getting ready earlier than necessary, so there’s no rush, and leave yourself time to transition from one thing to another. A more spaced-out schedule is much more relaxing than a cramped one.
- Have dedicated family times. Try to find regular times in your schedule when you do nothing else but spend time together as a family. For some people, dinner time works well — everyone sits down to dinner together as a family, and no other activities are planned at that time. For others, weekends, or maybe just one day of the weekend, work better. We reserve Sundays as our Family Day, and try our best not to schedule anything else on that day. It’s something we look forward to. Weekends in general are for our family, as are evenings — all work gets done on weekdays, before 5 p.m.
- Simple clothing. It’s best to buy clothes for your kids that will match easily — choose a similar color scheme, so that you’re not always digging through their clothes to find stuff that matches. Go through their clothes every few months to get rid of stuff that doesn’t fit (kids grow so fast!) and donate the old clothes to relatives or charity (or pass them on to a younger sibling). Keep their wardrobe simple — if it doesn’t fit neatly in their drawers, you have to get rid of it or get rid of something else. Don’t stuff drawers, or you’ll make it hard to find stuff. Also, socks are usually a challenge — use mesh bags, one for clean socks and another for dirty ones. Then throw the dirty mesh bag in the laundry, and socks won’t get lost (or at least, not as often).
- Always prep early. I try to make it a point to look at the schedule in advance (usually the day before) to see what’s coming up. That allows me to prepare for those events or activities early, so that we aren’t in a rush when we’re getting ready. For example, on soccer days, we make sure that all the soccer gear, plus folding chairs and water bottles and snacks and whatnot, are all ready to go beforehand. Prepping early makes things a lot easier later on.
- Always bring snacks. Kids always get hungry. So be ready — if you’re going on the road, pack some snacks in baggies. Crackers, cheese, fruit, carrot sticks, PB&J sandwiches, graham crackers, peanuts, raisins all make good portable snacks. An insulated lunch container with re-usable ice packs help keep things fresh. Also always bring plenty of water, as kids are always thirsty. Can’t help you with the urgent bathroom breaks, though.
- Baby wipes and emergency kit. There will always be messes. Be ready. Baby wipes, even after they are past using diapers, are indispensable for all kinds of messes. Pack them in a little “emergency kit” that might include medical supplies, reading material, activities, a towel, and extra clothes — anything you can think of that might prepare you for anything that regularly arises.
- Pack spare clothes. We have a little carry-on luggage that’s always packed with a couple of changes of clothes for each kid — good clothes (for a party or something), regular clothes, underwear, socks. This way we’re always ready, if there’s an accident, or should they want to spend the night with grandparents or a cousin while we’re out at a party or something. It’s indispensable.
- Create weekly routines. Aside from regular family times (mentioned above), it’s good to have a weekly routine that’s written out and posted somewhere everyone can see it. A weekly routine might include regular practice times, house cleaning day, washing the car, yard work day, errands day, recurring appointments, etc. This makes the schedule more predictable for everyone, and eliminates a lot of surprises.
- Communicate as a family. Regular communication between family members solves a lot of problems. Have regular times when the family can talk about family issues. Dinnertime is a good time for that. We also have a weekly “Family Meeting” where we all sit down and talk about household issues, we compliment and thank each other, we plan our Family Day, and we play a fun game at the end.
- Go on dates. If you have trouble finding alone time with each child (whether you have one child or more than one), setting up “dates” can be a good way to ensure that you do things together. Make a date with your child for a specific day and time, and together you should decide what you want to do on that date. It can be something simple, like taking a walk in your neighborhood or in a park, reading together, playing board games, sports or video games, or it can be something like going to a restaurant or movie or amusement park. If you have lots of kids, you might have to rotate dates with them.
- Create alone time for your spouse. It’s easy to become so busy with your kids that you forget about your significant other. Don’t let this happen — it’s a sure way to drift apart and lose that bond that led you to having a family together. Keep the relationship alive by getting a babysitter (maybe once a week) and doing something together, just the two of you.
- Let things go sometimes. I’m not always good at this, but it’s something I work on constantly: don’t always be so strict. Let things go. They’re kids — let them live. I have a tendency to be very strict about things, but I remind myself constantly that it’s not worth all the hassle to get on their cases about things. Instead, let things go, and just relax. They’ll turn out just fine in the end, as long as you love and support them.
- Make decluttering a family event. I like to set aside one day every few months when we go through all the stuff in our rooms and declutter. We do it together, and it can be a bonding time. We end up with trash bags full of junk, boxes full of stuff to donate or give to family, and in the end, much simpler rooms. It’s very satisfying.
- Spend quiet time at home. Often we get so busy that we’re on the road all the time, going to one thing or another. And when we have family time, that’s often spent on road too — going to movies or restaurants or other fun events. But that can be exhausting, and expensive. Instead, try to spend time at home as often as you can. You can watch a DVD instead of going to the movies, and pop some popcorn. You can play board games or go outside and play a sport. You can read to each other, or by yourselves, or tell stories. There are dozens of things you can do at home that cost nothing, and that are relaxing and fun.
- Create traditions. Kids love traditions, from holiday traditions to family traditions. My mom likes all our kids to come over before Christmas to make Christmas cookies, or come over before Easter to color eggs. The kids love those traditions. You might also create some traditions at your house, whether that’s a family dinner time, Family Meetings or Family Day, or anything that brings you together. If you make it a regular thing, and give it special importance, it will be a tradition, and it will be something your kids remember into adulthood.
- Make cooking and cleaning a family thing. Cooking and cleaning can be complicated things, and they can take your time away from your kids. Doing these activities as a family solves both problems — having everyone pitch in can really simplify cooking and cleaning, and it gives you quality time together while teaching your children valuable life skills. Make it fun — let them choose recipes, go shopping for ingredients with you. See how quickly you can clean the whole house — if my whole family pitches in, we can do it in about 30-40 minutes. Make everything a game or a challenge.
- Reduce commitments. This tip applies to both your commitments and your kids’ commitments. If you have too many, your life will be complicated. If you reduce your commitments, your life will be simplified. It’s that simple. Make a list of all your family’s commitments and see which ones align with your priorities, and which ones are the most important. Which ones give you the most joy and benefit? And which ones just drain your time and energy without giving you much back in return? Keep the essential commitments — yours and your kids — and eliminate as many of the rest as possible.
- Get active. These days, kids can become very inactive (and unhealthy) with all the TV, Internet and video games they consume. Get them active by going outside with them and taking walks, going for swims, playing sports. My family likes to play soccer or kickball. Play freeze tag. If you run, let your kids run with you, at least part of the way. Get them bikes and go to the park. Do challenges, like races or pushup or pullup challenges. Make it fun, but get them active. How does this simplify your life? It means they consume less media, which in my opinion is a complicating factor. And even better, it gets them healthy in an inexpensive way, reducing your healthcare costs down the road.
- Focus on doing, not on spending. Too often we send messages to our kids about how to live life, based on what we do: we like to go shopping, and eat out, and go to the movies, and so our kids learn that having fun means spending money. We focus on material things, and therefore so do they. Instead, teach them (by talking but also by your actions) that what’s important is doing stuff, not buying stuff. Go for walks in the park, play outdoors, play board games, read, tell stories, play charades, cook and clean, go to the beach or lake, build stuff, wash the car. Spend quality time together, doing stuff that doesn’t cost money.
“You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.” - Franklin P. Jones
Book Writing Update: I wrote two hours and a chapter of my book today! That makes 3 straight days I’ve done that. Key to my productivity: no Internet connection. Also, knowing that I had to report back to you guys.
译文:
25种方法让你简化有孩子的生活
“小孩子总是比你想象的要更麻烦--当然也更可爱。”--查尔斯·奥斯古德
任何有孩子的人都知道：生活中有了孩子就会变得复杂得多，至少在某些程度上是这样的。额外的洗熨工作、洗澡、煮饭、购物、开车、上学、家务、危险、运动、跳舞、玩具、发脾气……你的生活中将不再缺少复杂。
如果你有了孩子，你就不可能再回到极端简单的生活中去。但是你可以找到简化的方法，无论你有多少孩子。
拿我的生活作为例子来看看：我的房子几乎要被孩子挤满了，但我还是想办法让我的生活变得流畅，在混乱中找到了宁静和幸福。这种魔幻般的诀窍是如何办到的？事实上，没什么神奇的地方，这些年，让我的生活变得简单的仅仅是一些小事而已。
不过，最主要的神奇窍门就是：把我的家庭放在绝对优先的地位，并且在生活中尽量少设些优先的事情。如果你有太多的事情要做，或者需要做，你的生活就会变得复杂。但是如果你只选择几件重要的事，排除剩下的那些其他的事，你的生活就会被大大简化。
以下是一张单子，记载的东西可能会让一些人觉得复杂--25条建议！相信我，我可以轻而易举地把这张单子翻个倍，但是我不想打击你。别想马上去解决单子上的所有事情，先选一些你碰到的事试一下。在这一页设个书签，然后时不时地回来试试其他的主意。如果它们激发了你自己的主意，那就最好了！
自我满足。随着时间的流逝，这个技巧会大大简化你的生活。但是，在短期之内，它会让事情更复杂。这个方法是说随着你孩子慢慢长大，越来越有能力，你就应该教会你的孩子“自己的事情自己做”的道理。教他们自己做些事情，而非事事亲历亲为。这可能会花一些时间，刚开始也可能会让你有些挫败感，但是在以后会有回报的。比如，我的孩子可以自己烧早饭、自己洗澡、自己穿衣服、自己刷牙，而且渐渐地，早上他们可以在我们最少的提示下办妥一切。他们会打扫房间、洗碗、扫地、拖地、擦灰、洗车。大一点的几个可以做一些基本的食物并且照看几个小的。在过去的几年中，这种自我满足让我和我太太节省了很多时间，也避免了很多麻烦。
一本日历。如果你有不止一个孩子，那你可能会有很多活动。从学校活动（比如圣诞节演出、家长会）到课余活动（比如足球训练、舞蹈课或者新春音乐会）。用一本简单的日历来计划你的生活（我用的是Google的日历），根据日历的记载来出席所有的活动或者约会，不管是孩子的事还是你自己的事。当他们给你一些学校发的文件或足球赛制表时，立刻将每件事都输入日历中。这样，每天看一眼日历就可以帮你计划一整天。
玩具箱。孩子们有很多玩具，这是生活中必然的事实，而且这些玩具会弄得到处都是。如果你想用独裁的方式--比如冷酷--来处理它们，你会把自己逼疯的。不要这样，就让孩子玩吧，不过你得多准备一点箱子，他们玩完之后可以把玩具扔进去。这样，清洁就变得容易多了--他们只要把地上所有的东西都扔进箱子里就可以了，然后接着去制造下一场混乱。你可以指定哪个箱子放什么玩具（这个是装乐高的，这个是装填充玩具的，这个是装汽车的），也可以准备一些多用途的箱子用来装那些哪里都不能放的东西。不必太严谨，所有目的只为把事情简单化。
定期清理。如果你象我一样不喜欢混乱，教你的孩子收拾自己的烂摊子--让他们制造混乱，但是常常告诉他们是时候该清理一下了。一定要在孩子们做其他事之前告诉他们打扫的事情，比如午饭时间或者就寝时间。每天固定一个时间让他们做清洁确实不错，比如上床之前或者他们上学之前，这样不管日夜，家里都可以保持整洁。
安静的睡前常规。孩子们很容易形成习惯，没有什么常规比睡前的那个更好的了。睡前有一个惯例--也许包括清洁、淋浴、刷牙、换睡衣和阅读。在他们睡觉之前大声地向他们朗读是一个很好的主意，因为这可以让他们在一天地活动后平静下来，可以给你们在一起的黄金时间，并且可以让孩子们形成阅读的习惯。另外，这是每个人都享受的事。
前一天晚上准备好一切。早晨不管是对于父母还是孩子来说都非常“刺激”，但其实可以不是这样的。在前一天晚上尽可能多地将一切准备好，你的早晨就可以轻松许多。我喜欢把午餐准备好，帮孩子把衣服拿好（当然我的也是），让他们淋浴，准备好他们的家庭作业和书包。这样，早晨就只是简单的吃一顿早饭，稍加修饰，穿戴整齐，然后在出门前把东西集中起来。以这样的方式开始一天真是不错。
不要制定太多的时间表。有时，我们把时间表定地满满当当，这样，每一天的每一分钟都被策划好了。这会导致压力和问题。换一种做法，每天的时间表尽可能的少一点，在两项事项、约会或者活动之间流出空闲，这样你的一天就会在有条不紊、从容不迫中过去。提早做准备就不会匆匆忙忙，给自己足够的时间从一件事情过渡到另一件。一张松动些的时间表远比一张，密密麻麻的时间表要令人轻松得多。
有专门的家庭时间。在你的时间表中流出一段固定的时间，什么事情都不要做，就是和家人在一起。对一些人来说，晚餐时间是一个不错的时段--一家人围坐在餐桌旁吃晚餐，在那个时段，没有其他的活动。对于其他人，周末或者仅仅是周末的其中一天会更好。我们家里把星期天作为家庭日，我们尽可能不在那天安排任何个人活动。这正是我们期盼的东西。一般而言，周末是留给家庭的，晚上也一样--所有的工作都在工作日结束，在五点之前。
衣着简单。最好给你的孩子买那些能轻松搭配的衣服--选择一个相近的色系，这样你就不用老是搜遍他们的衣服，只为找一件合适的来搭配。隔几个月就整理一遍他们的衣服，把不能穿的那些整理出来（孩子们长得真快啊！）送给亲戚或者捐到慈善机构去（或者给小一点的兄弟姐妹穿）。保持他们的衣柜简单整洁--如果他们的抽屉不够整洁，那就把其中这样或者那样东西清理掉。不要塞满抽屉，不然你很难找到东西。袜子通常是一件令人头痛的东西--用网袋，一个装干净的袜子，另一个装脏袜子。然后把脏的那袋扔到洗衣房去，袜子就不会弄丢了（或者至少不会那么经常丢）。
始终造作准备。提前看看时间表（通常提前一天）确定要做什么事，我尽量把这一点作为要点。这样做让我能提早为那些事项或活动做准备，就不会在准备时手忙脚乱。例如，在足球日，我们确保所有用具都准备就绪，包括折叠椅、水瓶、点心和一些杂七杂八的东西。造作准备让随后的事情更简单。
身边常备点心。孩子们总是容易肚子饿。所以做好准备--如果你在路上，在包里放一些点心。薄脆饼、干酪、水果、胡萝卜、PB&J的三明治、全麦饼干、花生、葡萄干……这些都是很好的便携点心。一个带有可反复使用的冰袋的隔热午餐盒可以让食物保持新鲜。也要常备水，因为孩子们也经常口渴。虽然不能帮你处理卫生间水管破裂的问题。
宝宝抹布和紧急用具箱。混乱无处不在。做好准备。宝宝抹布——即使他们不用尿布了——是这些混乱不可缺少的东西。把它们包起来放在紧急用具箱里，箱子里也可以放一些常用药、读物、活动用品、一条毛巾和备用衣物——你能想到的任何东西都可能帮助你应付那些有规则地发生的事。
打包一些备用衣物。我们有一个小的手提行李箱，里面装的是每个孩子的一组换洗衣物——漂亮衣服（用于出席派对或一些类似活动）、正装、内衣、袜子。我们总是这样准备，万一有什么突发情况，比如我们在外面参加派对或其他活动，而他们要和他们的祖父母或者堂、表兄弟姐妹过夜。这是绝对必要的。
设一些每周的惯例。除了固定的家庭时间（上述提及的），能有这样一种每周的惯例——写出或在哪里布置——是很好的。一个每周的惯例可能包括固定的实践时间、大扫除日、洗车、院子打扫日。使命日、循环约会等等。这使得时间表对每个人来说都可预见，就不会大吃一惊了。
作为家庭的交流。家庭成员之间定期的沟通可以解决很多问题。把时间固定，其间家庭成员们可以讨论一些家庭事务。晚餐时间是很好的选择。我们还有一个每周一次的“家庭会议”，我们会坐下来谈论一下家庭事务，互相称赞并互相感谢，计划一下我们的家庭日，最后还会玩一个小游戏。
依靠约会。如果你无法找到和每个孩子单独相处的时间（无论你有一个孩子还是更多），设一些“约会”可以有效地确保你们一起做事。和你的孩子在一个特别的日子或时间段来个约会，你们要一起决定你们在那个日子想干什么。可以是很简单的事，如在小区或公园散个步、一起阅读、玩棋类游戏、运动或者打游戏、或者可以是去餐馆吃一顿、去看电影或者去游乐场。如果你有很多孩子，你可能不得不和他们轮流约会。
为你的另一半留点单独相处的时间。人们很容易因忙于照顾孩子而忽略了对你非常重要的另一半。不要让这种情况发生——这肯定会让你们疏远，失去那把你们结合成一个家庭的纽带。请一个保姆（可以一周一次），让你们的关系保持鲜活，一起做些事情，只有你们两个。
有时放下一些事情。我不是很善于这么做，但是我一直坚持做的是：不要老是那么严格。放下一些事。他们只是孩子——让他们以自己的方式过。我有对事情严格的性格倾向，但是我不断提醒自己没必要为了他们的事情的发展而争论。让他们去吧，放松些。他们最后总会变得很好的，只要你爱他们，支持他们。
把家庭事务集中起来。我喜欢每几个月留出一天来整理一遍我们房间里的东西，集中起来。我们一起干，这就使它成了一段团结我们的时间。我们最终会理出几个装满垃圾的垃圾袋，装满衣服的箱子，我们把这些东西送给邻居或者给别的家庭，最后得到的是几个更简洁的房间。这非常有满足感。
在家度过一段安静的时光。我们经常很忙，总感觉自己老在赶路，做一件又一件的事情。当我们度过家庭时间时，也常常时花在路上的——去电影院或者餐馆或者进行其他有趣的活动。但是那样可能让人觉得很乏味，而且又昂贵。取而代之，我们可以尽量在家里度过这些时间。你们可以用DVD来取代去电影院，爆些爆米花。你们可以下棋或者去户外进行体育运动。你们可以互相为对方朗读，或者自己阅读，或者也可以讲故事。在家里你可以做很多很多事情，不用花钱，而且轻松又有趣。
创造一些传统。孩子们喜欢传统，从假日传统到家庭传统。我妈妈喜欢我们所有的孩子在圣诞前过去做圣诞饼干，或者在复活节前过去做复活节彩蛋。孩子们喜欢这样的传统。你也可以在你家里创造一些传统，无论是家庭晚餐时间、家庭会议或者家庭日，或者任何可以把你们团聚起来的活动。如果你把它变成固定的事，并赋予它特殊的重要性，它就会变成传统，就会成为你的孩子长大成人后一直记得的事。
让做饭和清洁成为全家的事。做饭和打扫可以非常复杂，他们占用了你和孩子相处的时间。以家庭为单位做这些事就可以同时解决两个问题了——让每个人努力投入真的可以简化煮饭和打扫，而且教孩子们一些有价值的生活技巧可以让你和孩子们拥有相处的黄金时间。让它变得有趣——让他们自己选择，和你一起买调料。看看你打扫整个房子可以多快——如果我们全家总动员，我们可以在30－40分钟内完成。让每件事都成为一个游戏或一场挑战。
减少承诺。这条贴士适用于你的承诺，同样也适用于你孩子的承诺。如果你承诺太多，你的生活会变得复杂。如果你减少承诺，你的生活就可以被简化。就这么简单。给你家里所有的承诺列一张清单，看看哪些和你的当务之急一致，哪些又是最重要的。哪些给你最大的快乐和好处？哪些仅仅是浪费你的时间和精力，却没有给你任何回报？留着那些必要的承诺——你的和你孩子的——尽可能把其他的消除掉。
积极一些。如今，孩子们在电视、英特网和录像的伴随下会变得很怠惰（并且不健康）。让他们变得积极要通过和他们外出散步、游泳或者参加其他体育锻炼的方式。我们家喜欢玩英式足球和儿童足球游戏。玩冰冻标签（译者注：类似于躲猫猫的捉人游戏）如果你跑步，让你的孩子跟你一起跑，至少跑一段路。帮他们买辆脚踏车让他们去公园。来些挑战，比如跑步、伏地挺身或者引体向上。有趣一点，让他们积极活跃一点。这些怎么简化你的生活？这意味着他们少关注媒体，这在我看来是一个复杂的事实。不过更好的是，这可以用不贵的方法让他们变得健康，可以大大减少你医疗保健的费用。
关注所做的事，而非所花的钱。我们往往会通过我们的行为传递给我们的孩子如何生活的信息：我们喜欢购物、喜欢下馆子、喜欢去电影院看电影，所以我们的孩子认识到娱乐代表花钱。我们关注物质的东西，所以他们也是。不要这样，要教他们（既要言传，更要身教）重要的是做事情，而不是买东西。在公园里散步、在户外玩、玩棋类游戏、阅读、讲故事、玩看手势猜字、煮饭打扫、去海滩或湖边、做物品、洗车。一起度过黄金时间，做不用花钱的事。
“你可以从孩子那里学到很多事情。比如，你有多少耐心。”——富兰克林·P·琼斯
作品更新：今天我只花两个小时就写了我的书的一个章节！那一般要花我整整三天的时间。我的生产力的关键在于：没有英特网的链接。当然还有我知道我必须反馈你们大家。