Parenting is one of the most challenging responsibilities that moms and dads need to face in their life. It’s because they need to take care of their kids while working and while maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness at home. Most of the time, doing all these things result in overwhelmed, confused parents and over-scheduled, over-parented kids. But you can actually avoid these by becoming minimalist parents. Minimalist parenting will challenge parents to cut through the clutter of more, and change their activities and belongings down to what’s really important.
If you’re a parent and you’re finding all the tasks as a parent daunting, then you might want to try minimalist parenting. Maybe it’s time for you to stop raising your bar of perfection and let go of some things undone. Maybe there are things that you don’t need to get to and you just need to let go of. In parenting, less can also mean more.
Today, we are going to give you different ways of how minimalism can help improve parenting. After reading this, you might decide to give it a go because it will truly help you a lot in raising your children and keeping your home organized at the same time.
1. Less Multi-Tasking
When you’re a parent, most especially a mom, multitasking is your nature. In multitasking, more is better. However, if you are starting to feel burnt out from doing this, then you might want to consider the idea of being a minimalist. Imagine how happier you can be as a parent if you remove 50 percent of your household possessions and deleted 40 percent of the upcoming activities on your calendar. When you choose to become a minimalist, you will be able to tame the burn-out from multitasking.
2. Improved Financial Management
It is every parents’ goal to provide financially for their children. Some parents may also want to buy their kids everything they want. But when you become a minimalist, you will be able to focus on the things that matter and add value. Think about it, if your child already has more than 60 toys at home, is purchasing one going to improve his or her life?
3. Fewer Distractions
There are really lots of distractions when it comes to parenting. It’s because parents will stop whatever they are doing and tend to their children, especially younger children who have immediate needs to be met. But how many non-essential distractions do you want to give yourself? When your home is filled with a lot of things, it also means there can be many sources of distractions and stress as well.
If your goal is to take care of your children but your work environment is filled with excess stuff, then your job will really become much harder. You will constantly be pulled to clean things, sort stuff, and organize everything. But when you bring minimalism into parenthood, you will be able to remove those distractions that are unnecessary.
4. Become a Model to What Really Matters
Children usually model their parents’ behavior. Therefore, when you exhibit the daily habits that matter, it means you are modeling to them and cultivating the important things. It is also the same with intentionally saying no to all the things that do not matter. When you choose a minimalist lifestyle, you need to shift the scale of your yes and no. It’s because when you say yes to needless things, you are also saying no to the meaningful things. Therefore, when you give more “no” to busyness and accumulation, you will be able to give your children more “yes” to their meaningful requests.
5. You’ll Have Better Mental Health
When you’re a parent, your mental health will really be tested. It’s because parenting is usually mentally exhausting, especially for moms. Mothers usually strive for the impossible ideal of the perfect mother and they tend to set themselves up for unrealistic expectations. But when you choose to become a minimalist, it means you will be responsible for less stuff. Having fewer activities will enable you to see the unrealistic expectations you’re holding to and how these affect your mental health.
6. Minimalism Will Cause You to Take Parenting More Seriously
When you’re a minimalist parent, you will be able to prioritize and focus in the everyday moments. Weighing the different activities and passions of your life will help you and your family rise to the top. Parenting is a huge responsibility, therefore, you should take it seriously.
7. It Will Give Your Child the Chance to Just Be
If you practice minimalism in your parenting, you will be able to give your child some quiet time which is good for personal growth and self-reflection. You can give them time to play alone or let them color while you do chores around the house. When you allow your children to choose their own adventure, it will inspire them to become a leader.
8. It Will Teach You to Choose Your Battles More Carefully
Parents usually have issues that they make a big deal over. For example, during the time they decide if they are going to force their preferences about different things such as clothing, activities, friends, movies, music, and language onto their kids. When you’re a minimalist, you will acknowledge that there are unlimited options but capacity is limited. This means that you need to choose what you give your time and energy to.
If you want to help your kids transition from dependent to independent, you also need to learn to let go in appropriate areas. Remember that there are times to stand your ground and there are times that it’s not worth it. You need to decide which things are important in your relationship with your kids and let those things drive your decisions.
These are some of the ways minimalism can help improve parenting. If you want to transition from regular parenting to minimalist parenting, it may require a little thought and intentionality. But in the long run, your efforts will definitely result in your family, especially your kids, learning to value who they are more than the things they have. If you want to learn more about minimalist living, you can also read our post on Steps to Get Started on Minimalist Living for more information.