Simple life parenting: Teaching kids how to slow down

Whenever I ask fellow parents how they are, the first answer is always "busy." Parents are under a lot of pressure from work, family, school and community. It's easy to get so caught up in our busy lives that we forget to live. We disconnect from spouses and kids because we're stuck in a too-fast lifestyle. We complain that kids are too busy, but they learn from our example. Here are ways parents teach kids, by example, how to slow down. Simple life parenting: Teaching kids how to slow down 

Biggest parenting time-wasters with better alternatives

Wasting time is something we all need to do now and then. Continually working at maximum productivity isn't good for machines, let alone humans. We parents are especially notorious for working ourselves to the edge and over. When I work too hard for too long, the quality of my work suffers (I'm also freakishly grouchy). Having said that, there are more and less healthy ways to waste time. Here are some not-so-great ones, with better alternatives. (Picture shows us wasting time at a gazebo at Myrtle's Plantation in St. Francisville, La. For tips on how to waste time, click here Biggest parenting time-wasters (with better alternatives)