Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters!

I love Rachel and have followed her blog and Facebook for quite some time. I have 3 children under 4 (nearly 4, nearly 2, and newborn) and I stay home with them but work from home and am a full-time online student. I'm in my 20's so Facebook, Instagram, and other social media things and texting, etc are just something I've learned to do. Also being an online student and virtual assistant working from home - my computer or phone is often near. I have had a problem since having children with feeling guilty for always feeling busy, always having way too much on my to-do list, always feeling connected to my phone - much like Rachel lists as problems. This book and her blog have had me in tears from time to time because I wrestle with guilt and struggle with balance between family, work, school, and just being me. I decided upon receiving this book that I just needed to take the leap. I've assigned myself times I can be on a computer, doing school or work, I've been putting my phone down and am more hands-on with my kids, I'm still writing to-do lists in fear that I will forget and not do something, but I instead begin each day picking two of the most important things off the list and leaving the others for the next day. It alleviates my anxiety of feeling like there's tons to do and has given me strength to know there's still tomorrow to do the rest. It's been about a month now and I LOVE it... I've not felt this sense of freedom since I first got married 8 years ago. Now is this all due to this book and Rachel? Of course not because you have to want to do something like this (especially when so much of your life relies on electronics), but I can say having this book and reading her stuff makes me feel less alone and more empowered to do it. It reminded me of what was important which is my children and keeps me reminded that other things can always wait. I'm still a work in progress, but this definitely helps.

Hands Free Mama is for parents who can’t seem to get enough kid time because of the relentless distractions from all the screens and undone tasks surrounding them. It is for busy parents who continually say to their kids things like “Hurry up!” and “Give me a minute.”This is the book for 2014 parents, the first year in history when every parent and child has a computer, a smartphone, a tablet, a TV, and a host of other screens telling them what to do. We are all bombarded with messages from people who want something via email, social media, telephone, text message, and more. We are distracted by the siren calls of the world, and as a result we are disconnected from each other.Rachel Stafford is the voice of this generation of parents living the digital family lifestyle. Her message is simple. Be the kind of parent who can regularly disconnect from mobile devices and to-do lists in order to connect with your child.As for the style of the book, I would describe it as a combination of personal anecdotes and reflective writing about her conversion from tiger mom to tender mom. She does not slap you in the face and shame you. Instead, she humbly confesses her past failures and brings you into her current lifestyle transformation. She writes from the heart, and her fans adore her vulnerability and her clarity of message. The Hand Free Mama blog is a huge success because she gets in her readers’ hearts and stirs things up that need stirring.Stafford’s target audience is mothers, but fathers, teachers, and grandparents will easily translate her message. As a father, I am moved to make some changes in the year ahead to be a more hands free dad.I have no doubt that this book will make an impact on families this year.

This is a classic. Rachel's soul is so beautiful. I am ever grateful to her for giving me so much more happiness in my life! Thank you, Rachel! You are amazing. Thank you for what you have given me and my family!I bought extra copies for family. I think I will continue to do so until I have flooded my friends and family with this book.This is a life-changing book. Don't be afraid of it. It will make you happier than you have ever been, or at least happier than you are now, I promise (If you do what it says, that is). I read it a bit at a time.I think it has taken me a year to read it because I am ADD and I am at every moment always in the middle of 50 books. It is best that I read it that way, because I took to heart each challenge and took each challenge one at a time, to ponder it. I still have a long way to go.On about February 1st, 2016, I quit facebook. I quit cold turkey and gave 50 groups I had created, the opportunity to take over and admin my groups. I did not need facebook anymore. I am still surviving without it. Quitting facebook really helped me and my family a lot. I was so addicted to it. Now I am into gardening and my kids. Now I give more time to phone conversations with my parents and siblings. Now I converse more with my husband.This is a better way to live for sure!

So, confession #1: I am not nearly as tied to my devices as, say, my husband or others I have witnessed.Confession #2: So, that means I must be lying and I need this book more than anyone elseI am about a third of the way through and already notice a difference. When I am conscious about putting down the phone to spend time with my husband, we end up having the most incredible conversations.This is not tough stuff. It's about realizing that the people you are connecting to on the phone, ipad, computer, etc. are likely not near as important as the ones in front of you. The little ones finding joy out of the simplest things or the big ones who just want you to love them.

Beaucoup de retour à l'essentiel, à la simplicité, pour vivre avec ses enfants, et non simplement à côté d'eux. La vraie vie !

This amazing book should be a mandatory read for every parent in this day & age of distraction. We only get one shot at this thing called life so what not eliminate the needless stress & deadlines that our iPhones cause us?!This book is beautifully written, easy to read, & bears soul. It is written with passion & conviction, & honesty. I found the reflections at the end of the chapters very beneficial when evaluating my personal practice & for identifying areas where I need to grow.Thank you Rachel for your teachings. They have changed my parenting style & outlook on life.

This book came to me at the right time. Not when I was looking for it, but shortly after I already started my own "hands free" journey. I was completely unaware that others felt the same way as I did. Like the author, I too had a complete melt down followed by epiphany one random day when trying to juggle far too much whilst trying to raise a baby. I'm not sure I'd have understood or appreciated the book, had it been given to me before that moment of realisation. It talks about things I never thought possible and always easily came up with excuses for reasons that this life style wouldn't work. Funny thing is, it does. And by doing less, I suddenly found myself able to do so much more. It's hard to explain but once I slowed down dramatically & drastically, I had time to take things in. And those experiences counted for a million more moments and memories than rushing through as much of my day as I possibly can; trying to run a business, work full time whilst single handedly raising a baby. Not to mention "have a life".This book certainly helped to solidify what I was already busy changing and I felt relieved that I wasn't becoming some reclusive nutter, uninstalling Facebook and chat apps, unfollowing a million groups, re evaluating what's really important, I somehow thought that all those things kept me connected to friends and life, - yet it actually did exactly the opposite.More importantly, I learned to think about who's really important. And deciding what really truly matters.

! Estupendo ! Me habría gustado leerlo hace años, pero nunca es tarde .... Con ideas para llevarlo a la práctica y todo

Eine ehrliche Reflexion und ein sehr gutes Handbuch, wenn man auch das Gefühl hat, dass man manchmal vor lauter Verpflichtung ein wenig vergisst, dass man die Zeit mit seinen Kindern so gut wie nur möglich genießen sollte. Dieses Buch hält einem sehr oft einen Spiegel vor - und das ohne erhobenen Zeigefinger. Rachel Macy Stafford predigt nicht von einem Podest herunter, sondern nimmt die Stellung eines "woundes healers" ein, der alle Fehler bereits selbst begangen hat. Dadurch kann man es sehr entspannt lesen. Man fühlt sich verstanden und inspiriert. Da ich den Inhalt und auch die Präsentation des Inhalts als sehr gut empfinde, gebe ich guten Gewissens fünf Sterne.