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  • THE GAPS DIET
    • I want to do the GAPS Diet, where do I start?
    • What Is The GAPS Diet?
    • GAPS Intro Diet Ebook
    • GAPS Intro Stages
    • Moving To The Next GAPS Stage
    • GAPS Family
    • GAPS & Breastfeeding
    • GAPS Cheats
    • GAPS Troubleshooting
    • Ketogenic GAPS
  • THE KETO DIET
    • How to Start the Ketogenic Diet & What You Can Eat on Keto
    • Keto Diet for Kids: Risks and Benefits (huge benefits!)
    • The Ketogenic Version of the GAPS Diet
    • Boost Your Keto: 3 Quick Changes to Get More Out of a Low Carb Diet
    • Why You Need Fat Bombs (low carb, keto, GAPS)
  • Recipes
    • breakfast
    • Main Dish
    • Dessert and Treats
    • keto recipes
    • Dairy-Free
    • Carnivore Diet/Zero Carb Diet
  • About
    • About Cara
    • Leaky Gut Treatment Through Diet
    • Healing Brain Trauma with Food, Supplements, and Lifestyle (Autism, TBI, PTSD)
    • Gourmet Candymaking Without Corn Syrup, Canned Milk, Artificial Colors or Flavors
    • The Soup Challenge
    • Folate vs Folic Acid, Tongue Ties, and Why I Regret Taking My Prenatal Vitamin
  • BeautyCounter
    • Shop Safer Skincare and Makeup
  • Classes & Ebooks
    • What Can I Eat Now? 30 Days on the GAPS Intro Diet
    • Gut-Healing Starter Pack
    • Picky Eating Solution Webinar
    • Keto Family Class
    • Freezer Cooking Class
    • Candy Making Without Corn Syrup
    • Member Login
    • Carnivore Training Wheels Class Login

Minimalism and Parenting Children With Special Needs

Home » GAPS Diet » Minimalism and Parenting Children With Special Needs

Hannah ergo 4yo(picture: She pretty much lived in the Ergo – it provided sensory input that she craved, and kept her from getting into things or running)
Having a toddler on the spectrum made me change our home to be efficient, minimal, and child proof in ways that most people never think of. Children with special needs often have sensory processing issues too, which means what looks a little messy to you looks like complete paralyzing chaos to them. Toning down the toys, clutter, and decorations can help children with special needs feel more at home in their own homes. They also often have impassivity issues typically reserved for the under-3-feet-tall set, well into the ages where physically they can reach more, climb more, and no longer nap!

When you’re maxed out parenting a child with challenges, it’s helpful to take a day or 5 and clear all the clutter to streamline your life. When we started GAPS I readily traded my sewing and knitting hobbies for new cooking and sourcing natural food hobbies.

Crafts

It’s worth it to take a deep breath, realize that the craft store will always have more yarn, fabric, and scrapbooking material, and hold a yard sale or donate the majority of your supplies. Keeping a few basic tools like a sewing machine, rotary cutter and mat, scrapbooking scissors, etc, are small and easy enough to store in a box, but the fabric, paper, and other consumables will make your life much simpler if they’re not in multiple storage containers in the attic to get knocked over as you get the Christmas decorations.

For keeping up with the kids’ crafts, see this post by Nourishing Minimalism.

Kitchen

Going through your kitchen equipment and making a list of things that you want to replace with a better model (pots, pans, vegetable peeler, knives) and then tossing any duplicates as you replace them. I had ‘backups’ of plastic serving spoons and spatulas, serving platters, even my old nonstick pans that were never used, but made my dishes take twice as long to put away out of the dishwasher every morning. When you’re cooking a lot as a lot of us do who are doing special diets for our children, it might seem like more is better, but more items just get in the way more often and you will still reach for the same 10 kitchen tools over and over.

Toys

While my daughter was young and very easily overwhelmed with visual clutter, I kept toys in the living room and completely out of the bedroom. She had a blankie and a very minimally decorated bedroom with just the kids’ beds in it. Even the dressers stayed in my room (that doubled to make it super easy to put away all the laundry- all the dressers were in the master bedroom and that’s where we folded laundry).

When children are overwhelmed, or just when they’re having trouble sleeping or need some time to cool off, a bedroom without distractions (or anything to take off the wall) prevents the chaos from escalating.

A smaller house

Having less means you can get by with a smaller house, which is helpful when you need to keep an eye and an ear out for a child that gets into everything. If the kids share a room (mine do, even though they could have their own rooms now) there are many opportunities for practicing getting along.  The whole family is more encouraged to get outside too, which is recommended by both Dr. Natasha for fresh air, and every occupational and physical therapist I’ve talked to for building muscle tone, increasing body awareness, and limiting the distractions that are abundant inside.

 

Does this sound like something you’d enjoy? Check out these new books on how to get a clean and organized home in 30-90 days by my friend Rachel here!

30-Days-to-a-Clean-and-Simple-Home

Look for more posts this month on how and why to own less:

  • I’m not a Minimalist, I just Don’t Like STUFF
  • Special Needs Children and the Benefits of Owning Less STUFF
  • Doing more, owning less
  • Choosing ‘buy it once’
  • Appreciate habits
  • Why telling people about your goal may make you 30% less likely to achieve it
  • Teaching our children the value of not owning things
  • How to keep things off the floor when you have children

And more on children with special needs:

  • You know I have a Child With Special Needs… But this is what I most likely have not told you
  • You Know I have a Child With Special Needs, Here are 10 Tips to Interact With Our Family
  • How to get children with sensory processing issues to eat on a restrictive diet

 

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← I’m Not a Minimalist, I Just Don’t Like Stuff Keeping Children From Feeling Deprived When You Own Less – the importance of adding back in good things →

About Cara

Cara is the main author here at Health Home and Happiness. She loves the health and energy that eating well and playing well provides and has a goal to share what she's learned with as many families interested in making healthy changes as possible.

She helps other families achieve health in simple steps through healing their gut with the GAPS Diet and helps them stock their freezer for busy days with the Allergy-Friendly Afternoon Freezer Cooking Class.

Previous Post: « I’m Not a Minimalist, I Just Don’t Like Stuff
Next Post: Tart Cherry Juice to Help Kids and Toddlers Sleep {Naturally raises melatonin levels} »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sannah

    October 6, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    I have a 5year old autistic child he is on resperdal i also give him omega 3 as suppkement i try to give him healthy food as he is a picky eater the most challenging is he is alwas running when trying to keep him calm to sit down for atlist 5min he cant how can i help him

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. I’m Not a Minimalist, I Just Don’t Like Stuff | Health, Home, & Happiness (tm) says:
    August 12, 2014 at 7:43 am

    […] Having a Child with Special Needs and Owning Less Stuff […]

    Reply
  2. Keeping Children From Feeling Deprived When You Own Less – the importance of adding back in good things | Health, Home, & Happiness (tm) says:
    August 30, 2014 at 11:46 am

    […] Special Needs Children and the Benefits of Owning Less STUFF […]

    Reply
  3. How Minimalism Can Benefit Those With Sensory Issues And Special Needs | Nourishing Minimalism says:
    June 29, 2015 at 2:37 pm

    […] What looks a little messy to you, looks like complete paralyzing chaos to them. Toning down the toys, clutter, and decorations can help children with special needs [and SPD] feel more at home in their own homes.. ~ Minimalism and Parenting Children With Special Needs […]

    Reply
  4. You Know We Have a Special Needs Child (Here’s What We Haven’t Told You) – Preteen edition | Health, Home, & Happiness says:
    August 12, 2016 at 11:59 pm

    […] Minimalism and Special Needs […]

    Reply
  5. You Know We Have a Special Needs Child, But Here are 10 Things We Might Not Have Told You - Health, Home, & Happiness says:
    March 18, 2019 at 8:16 pm

    […] Minimalism and Parenting Children With Special Needs […]

    Reply

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