A book review of How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature by Scott D. Sampson
Stars: ****
Mariner Books (2016)
Nature Education
352 pages
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Summary: By the beloved and wildly popular host of the PBS Kids show Dinosaur Train, here is the book every parent needs: a rousing call to connect our kids to the natural world, filled with tips and advice.
The average North American child now spends about seven hours a day staring at screens and mere minutes engaged in unstructured play outdoors. Yet recent research indicates that experiences in nature are essential for healthy growth.
Regular exposure to nature can help relieve stress, depression, and attention deficits. It can reduce bullying, combat obesity, and boost academic scores. Most critical of all, abundant time in natural settings seems to yield long-term benefits in kids’ cognitive, emotional, and social development.
How to Raise a Wild Child is a timely and engaging antidote, offering teachers, parents, and other caregivers the necessary tools to engender a meaningful, lasting connection between children and the natural world.
How to Raise a Wild Child
If you are looking for help bringing more nature into your children’s lives, this book is perfect. Whether you want to incorporate nature study in your homeschool or just want your children to appreciate nature more in general, this is your guide.
The book starts off with what is nature and do we really need it. This may seem obvious to some people but it’s a topic that is needed to start off the conversation.
You don’t need access to woods or a beach to access nature. The author explains how these are nice but not necessary to embrace nature. So, you can embrace the nature that is closer to you.
The book goes over how to be a good nature mentor to your children and help them fall in love with nature. Later on, there are also chapters on the different ages and stages of children to tailor the advice to the ages.
I recommend this book for those who want to increase nature’s presence in their own and their child’s lives.
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