Simple Happy Parenting: The Secret of Less for Calmer Parents and Happier Kids

Create space for calmer, more creative kids and restore order and happiness at the heart of family life.

In Simple Happy Parenting, Denaye Barahona, Ph.D., provides a revolutionary approach to parenting, full of practical tips to help you step back from the system overload so common in modern family life and, instead, create more time to enjoy living and learning together. From easier meal planning to mindful shopping, worry batching to waste reduction, Simple Happy Parenting is an honest and practical roadmap for all families striving for balance.

Start with the Simple Manifesto:

1. Buy less.
2. Fear less.
3. Referee less.
4. Hurry less.
5. Entertain less.

Then begin your journey to simple by embracing a new, lighter way of life in your home. Step-by-step projects and realistic goals guide your way. Discover how a curated toy cabinet fosters imaginative play; a smaller, carefully selected wardrobe reduces stress; and structured, nourishing meals create relaxed family dinners.

Next, expand the simplicity to your mindset. Learn how letting go of fear provides children with valuable opportunities to grow and develop; positive discipline strategies strengthen family relationships; and inviting more unscheduled time in your calendar gives your family space to thrive.

Not only will these straightforward solutions allow your children the room to progress and flourish, this mindful approach to family life will provide you with more energy, calm, and joy.

Denaye Barahona is the inspirational voice behind Simple Families blog, podcast and community, where she spreads her simple solutions for thriving in motherhood. Her work has been featured on the like of the Today Show (where she is top contributor on the parenting team), Pop Sugar, and Parenting Magazine.

A clinical social worker with a speciality in child and family practice, and a Ph.D. in Child Development, Denaye has spent much of her career working with parents who deal with challenging behaviour in children. She lives in New York state with her husband and two children.

From her on-the-job training as a mom and her professional experience, Denaye has learned how desperately all parents want to get everything right – yet in the process, have the tendency to overcomplicate, over-think and get overwhelmed. Denaye’s refreshing philosophy is that simple really is smart. She advocates taking a holistic approach to helping the whole family stay well: physical, emotional and relational. That means living well by developing a healthy relationship with yourself, your family and your home.