Rating: 
Summary: Annoying and Out-Of-Touch
Review: I won't restate what has been said by other amazon reviewers of this book - this book was a waste of my time and money. I had so enjoyed St. James' original Simplify Your Life book and was looking forward to reading this book. However, page after page proved to be annoying and genearlly useless. This book IS NOT about simplifying your life. If I had know I was going to be reading a How To Raise Your Kids book, I would have picked one by someone who knew something about it.On top of the other reviewers' comments that St. James' suggestions are too simplistic and sometimes even harmful, I would add that if I had the money to implement all of her "simple" suggestions, I would move out of the country and greatly simplify my life. Her suggestions to single parents to "buy used" and steer cleer of impulse purchases are patronizing and sorely out of touch. Further, her assumptions about "male" and "female" traits and roles are not relevant to the lives of anyone I know. St. James should stick with material she knows.
Rating: 
Summary: Skim
Review: It is probably most effective to read the first twenty pages or so and skim the rest. Not up to par with "Simplify Your Life", but the early parts still have some very good advice. The rest is also good, but can easily be condensed by skimming and reading paragraphs of interest.
Rating:
Summary: Skim
Review: It is probably most effective to read the first twenty pages or so and skim the rest. Not up to par with "Simplify Your Life", but the early parts still have some very good advice. The rest is also good, but can easily be condensed by skimming and reading paragraphs of interest.
Rating: 
Summary: Simplify your life with kids is packed with usable advice
Review: This is the second book I have read by Elaine St. James and once again came away feeling that I could really make a difference in my family life by implementing some, if not all of the suggestions in this book. I have a one and two year old and after reading her suggestions, I now feel I can get some control over the family. This book is packed with very user friendly advice that anyone can implement in their own home. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to make their family life more of an enjoyable experience.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a total waste of time and money.
Review: What a disappointment this book was. The contents has nothing to do with the title. There aren't more three or four practical tips on simplifying life with children. (Warning: the author has NO children!! When she admitted that, I should have stopped right there.) Instead of offering the advice promised, this book is one long lecture on the attitude you should take as a parent, how to react in certain situations (complete with suggested things to say (let's hope your kids have read and memorized THEIR parts in the sample dialogues, otherwise, you'll be in trouble) etc. Worse, this parental advice is so simplistic as to be totally useless and patronizing. For example, she suggests you teach your children to pick up after themselves, to learn to answer the phone with a "Hello", to clean their own rooms. I mean, who did she think her audience was? St. Bernards? Anyone with half an ounce of common sense would be doing these things already. Furthermore, if I were looking for a guide to parenting, I would certainly rather rely on someone who had qualifications in the field: a psychologist, a family therapist or something. I kept waiting for the unsultingly obvious lecturing to stop and the real hints and practical tips to start. Instead, I got more insipid advice. For example, after suggesting you give children "a choice", she provides about ten examples: "Would you like a sandwich or soup? Would you like to wear your pants or a skirt?" and on and on. Thanks lady, we're so dumb, we can't figure out what a choice is without ten examples... Save your money and spend it on a book with substance. This one is a joke. It will only annoy and make you even more frazzled and ill-tempered with your children!
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