Musings on Minimalist Parenting

Healthy babies need very little. Cuddles, food, sleep, a clean nappy, you.

Children need about the same. Cuddles, food, rest, a peaceful environment and YOU.

But these days there’s so much pressure to clutter our lives and our homes with the latest toys, gadgets, electronics and theories.

Walk in to any shopping centre this time of year and the message will hit you like a tonne of bricks.

This Christmas, you need STUFF. Your children need STUFF. Just buy them lots of STUFF and they will be happy. STUFF covers over a multitude of parenting sins.

I love Christmas and I love the concept of gift giving, but I hate the way Christmas is so heavily commercialised and I can't believe we all fall for the same "MUST-GET-STUFF" mentality every year.

RANT OVER.

Christmas aside, because this post isn't meant to be about Christmas...

The concept of minimalist parenting - which has appealed to me for some time - just came to the fore of my conscience when out (Christmas) shopping last week. Shhh. Don't tell anyone!

Here are our thoughts on minimalist parenting. Feel free to add yours or correct me if I have it completely wrong!

Borrow. It’s really not necessary to buy everything yourself. Especially if you’re not certain you’ll have more children and if you have lovely rich friends who bought only the best for their only child. Things like bouncers, bassinettes, clothing, playpens and prams. Sure, it’s nice to have some new things and there’s nothing wrong with new. But there’s nothing wrong with borrowed either.

Buy Pre-Loved. I’m not in to pre-loved everything. Personally, I think things like cot mattresses and carseats should be purchased new – anything that is of particular hygiene or safety concern; not a good idea to compromise on these two! But our cot is pre-loved. It rested 2 babies before we purchased it. It’s housed my 3 little ones and will be used for our 4th. It’s perfect! If you can disinfect it and hose it down, why not??

Wait. At a recent baby expo, we showed an expectant couple the Caboo. They loved it. They wanted it. But they only had $1000 to spend and they had to get a pram. So off they went. Having had 3 children and hardly used a pram with any of them, all I wanted to do was scream at them to stop! It had nothing to do with wanting them to buy my product. For all I cared, they could have bought any carrier at the expo. I just wanted them to wait. Why spend that hard-earned $1000 when they might not even use the pram! Some children hate prams. Some children have reflux and can’t be in a pram. Some kids live in them, it’s true. But until you know what kind of a baby you have, don’t spend that much on ANYTHING!

Think smart. Glass bottles last FOREVER (if you don’t drop them) and if you invest well in a good set, you need only replace the teats for each subsequent baby. Invest in stainless steel containers rather than plastic. Plastic will not last the distance! Nappy bags are dangerous territory. You could spend $20 or you could spend $200. Whatever you do, make sure it's something you can use once they're out of nappies.

Play more. It’s so true that you are – and always will be – your child’s favourite toy. Test the theory if you don’t believe me. Give them a bunch of fabulous toys to play with then interrupt them with “hey, let’s go outside and do some exploring!” You might not have much confidence in your ability to gain the attention of a worldwide audience, but I guarantee your child will jump at the opportunity to play with you. So cull the toys.

Well actually, if you’re just starting out – don’t buy them. If you’re well into your journey as a parent, chances are you have an overflowing toy box. Purge it. Make it so the lid closes again. And then do something fun. Most kids will feel pretty cheated if you get rid of all their toys and don’t give them something to do. So play with them. Give them craft supplies. Go to the library and read books for an hour. Bake. Paint. Plant a garden. Walk to the park. Watch a movie together. Have a tea party. Dress up dolls. Play cars in the dirt. You’ll be surprised how few toys and gadgets your children need to make them happy. Most of the time we buy lots of toys for our kids to make up for our own absence. But like all human beings, all they really want and need are other human beings.

Am I on the right track? Could I be a minimalist parent, do you think?

© Oz Baby Trends 2011