Outdoor Parents, Outdoor Kids: A Guide to Getting Your Kids Active in the Great Outdoors

by Eugene Buchanan

There is a movement upon us and it's full of parents who refuse to let their children become a statistic of childhood obesity, and who understand the fate of the environment rests with connecting their kids with the outdoors. Outdoors Offspring shines a much needed headlamp on helping parents accomplish this and more. With an informative and entertaining look at biking, camping, swimming, paddling, snowsports, hiking, fishing, climbing and more, award-winning author Eugene Buchanan extends parents a helping hand in getting their kids outside and instilling in them a respect for their health and the environment. It's a set of training wheels for first-time parents and an essential guide for hair-pulling veterans.

Genres: Parenting, Nature

300 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

Eugene Buchanan is the editor-in-chief of Paddling Life magazine and was the former publisher and editor-in-chief of Paddler magazine. He is also a freelance writer for national magazines such as Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Men’s Journal, and many others. A member of New York’s prestigious Explorers Club, he is an avid adventurer with several first descents to his credit. His passion for traveling, writing, and paddling has taken him to more than 30 countries on six continents. Buchanan lives in Steamboat, Colorado, with his wife and two daughers, a block away from the Yampa River, the last remaining free-flowing tributary of the Colorado River.

Reviews

[Andrew]

As referenced in The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids: How to Plan Memorable Family Adventures and Connect Kids to Nature

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un excellent ouvrage ! Inspirant, motivant, humoristique… Ça donne le goût de jouer dehors ! Vraiment instructif. Un livre à mettre entre les mains de tous les parents ! Le meilleur que j’ai lu dans la catégorie « Bouger en famille ». Wow !

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a lot longer than it needed to be. Strip away the incessant similes and analogies and it would shed 100 of its 300 pages. Adding to my lukewarm reaction to the book is my perception of the author's attitude toward parenting. He seems to think that being a parent really cramps his (outdoor life)style, and that he'd much rather be kayaking class IV rapids than hanging out with his daughters. So, the tone throughout the book seems to be "well, since I'm stuck with them, I'm going to take them out with me as much as I can and, gee, in doing do, I've realized that being a dad doesn't suck so bad after all."

That said, he does give some practical advice on a wide range of outdoor activities. As long as I don't compare my outdoor family time with his (which is truly impressive), it's really inspired me to take my wife and son out for a lot more than I have. Glad I read it, but wish I hadn't had to suffer through his smug, self-amusing prose.

[Lori Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of cute, but more of one father's experiences with outdoors sports and kids, both juggling schedules so he can get away and bike, etc., and figuring out ways to involve them. I think most people who read the title are going to be looking for something more like me: fun activities to add into hikes with the kids to help them love it, specifics on gear that works well for different ages to go camping, what ages can do what in a canoe, etc. It's more of a memoir than a guide (and the author uses a LOT of similes which can get a bit distracting, though I admit it's really fun to read), and while it's inspiring to read the large number of outdoor sporting trips he manages to squeeze in, it's probably not one I'll read again.

[Tasmin Brown]

I really liked this book's conversational and anecdotal style along with chapters that focused on main outdoor activities and what could be co-opted with them - for example, chapter on kayaking included info on type of kayaks for families, times of year, places to go, what to look for, camping along the way, what to do to keep kids entertained on floats, etc. It approached a nuts and bolts explanation of how to introduce skiing along with other activities in snow (sledding / snowboarding / snowman building). Gave me some ideas and a bit more confidence to branch out on this year's activities.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chad read a review of this in the paper, and assigned it to me. I was hoping for more detailed advice regarding taking kids on outdoor adventures, but much of this was simple memoir instead of useful facts. If I had been looking for a memoir, I would have enjoyed his dry humor about kids and burleys, kayaks, and hiking -- but I was not looking for a memoir, so was cranky.

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this book could have been more usefull for me if I was leaving in the U.S. instead that Berlin, but it's funny and gives you nice tipps even if I consider it too long and a bit too much of a memoire.
Thanks to Netgalley and Heliconia Press for the Preview!