The toils of parenting can seem nebulous and never-ending, which is why Julie Morgenstern's new book, Time to Parent, came as such a breath of fresh air for me. A professional organizer by trade, she breaks down the overall job of parenting into manageable tasks, to help parents make their time productive and meaningful.
Honestly, reading her book was like hiring a project manager for my family. And it turns out we could definitely use one.
CMP is an rstyle affiliate.Related: Amiyrah Martin on the most genius time-saving hacks for moms (They are SO good!)
What I found most helpful about Julie's book is that she doesn't expect parents to be exceptional at every single task. For instance, you can be great at relating to kids but need help in the teaching department, and that's totally okay -- you just need to learn to manage your own (admitted) weaknesses so your kid is getting what they need. It's actually a lot like the theories we've learned from KJ Dell'Antonia's book, How to Be a Happier Parent so clearly this is an increasingly accepted new way of thinking about parenting right now. As you might imagine, Julie is a realist. She recognizes that giving your child your undivided attention every minute of the day isn't possible, and she doesn't ask you to. Instead, she shares strategies about how to give your child bursts of highly focused attention that go a long way in nurturing their development. One of the best things about Time to Parent though, is that four out of the eight tasks that Julie outlines focus on the parent's self-care: sleep, exercise, love, and fun. Because central to her premise is the notion that parents who take care of themselves make better parents. Now that's an idea I can get behind. Order Time to Parent at our affiliate Amazon or find it at your favorite local bookstore.
