Lara's Reviews > How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature

Soooo...yeah. This just wasn't what I wanted it to be, I guess. It's SO much background info and reasons for why you want you kids to spend time in and love nature, but I already knew almost all of this stuff, so it felt really tedious. I wanted waaaaay more of the "How to..." and way less of the justifications for it.

I picked this up because my then 6-month-old son accidentally rolled into the grass on the patio and had a complete melt-down about it and then I of course freaked out and was like, "Oh no! My kid hates grass! What do I do?" Okay, it wasn't really that extreme (he definitely did panic, but sometimes he panics when someone coughs, so). But it did make me think about the fact that I love being outside, I love animals, I love astronomy and weather and camping and plants and the ocean...and I want him to love those things too, and to care about protecting the natural world.

I guess I really wanted something that tells you how to introduce your child to nature at an early age. What kind of activities do I do with a now 7-month-old to get him interested in the world around him? This book does cover getting kids out into nature at different ages, but mainly starting at like, 5 or 6, I think. I personally feel like it's probably good to start earlier, but I don't 100% know how, other than spending a lot of time outside, putting him in the grass on a blanket in a patch where there is no dog poo (hard to find) and letting him explore that way, and bringing his bathtub outside for water play. There might be bits and pieces like that in this book, but there's just SO. MUCH. INFORMATION to wade through.

I think it also sort of annoyed me how it's so many personal examples. Like, look at me, here's how I did it and my kid's amazing! Aren't I the perfect dad and coyote mentor? It just felt off-putting to me. Parenting books are irritating!

I guess I can see this book working for someone who doesn't really know much about why nature is important, only...are those the people who are picking up a book called How to Raise a Wild Child? I'm not convinced.