Natural Childhood: The First Practical and Holistic Guide for Parents of the Developing Child

by John B. Thomson

As a parent, you naturally want to give your children the best possible childhood, to bring out their positive, individual qualities, and to acknowledge them as fully creative beings, so that they may achieve a satisfied, motivated, healthy, and self-confident adulthood. But if, as a parent, you demand more than what you find in any traditional parenting guide, then you will need Natural Childhood, the first holistic book that guides parents from the birth of their child through age seven. Natural Childhood offers: Practical exercises in listening which open the channels for good communication between parent and child Games and activities for the whole family which introduce the natural world, presenting a deeper understanding of the rhythms of the seasons and their influence in our everyday live Projects in creative and cooperative play which help to stimulate the imagination of the growing child The ideas of enlightened thinkers such as Rudolf Steiner, John Holt, and Carl Rogers provide new insights into the internal development of the child. By weaving together the work of leading psychologists, educators, counselors, and doctors, Natural Childhood explores a wealth of new ideas as well as the more traditional aspects of relationships, education, health, creativity, and play.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Education, Reference, Childrens

350 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Steiner Waldorf guide to the first seven years of a child's life. I found this in a charity shop when my children were small and found it helpful, a good source of ideas and the book supported my own ideas about raising children.

Although some parts go into some of the Steiner ideas about character types, which I think is unhelpful nonsense and spirituality which isn't of interest to me, most of the book has a great ethos of imaginative play, creativity, being close to nature and listening to your child. The last chapter is on education and there are some good further reading suggestions.

There are some lovely ideas for craft activities in here. The one my children enjoyed the most was painting the front and the back a person on a piece of old bedsheet and then sewing them together and stuffing them. They painted two small pirates and when they were sewed together they looked great and went on to have many adventures playing in the garden with them.

Although some parts sound dated now, it's a book I would recommend to any new parents.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author will say the book is about: "This book focuses on the natural spirituality of children, and shows the links among the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of a child's growth."

Although a lot of the information is useful throughout life --like reflective listening. Do I agree with every word? No.

Parenting is about spending 9 months reading books awaiting a child (or longer if you adopt) and then applying some of the concepts from all the sources. This book would make a nice gift to a new mom.

[Ginny Pennekamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our fabulous art teacher, Miss Molly, recommends this book to parents and so I checked it out from the LAPL. There's a lot of hippy explanations of life phases, and a lot of great recommendations for games and play, followed by a really long and detailed (and I'm not sure how relevant still) section on education.

Good to read to learn a little bit about how your child's mind works and transitional phases, and also great for ideas of things to do.

[R. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was pregnant with my firstborn, who is now twelve. I checked it out again this week. It is still an awesome manual and my favorite guide to Waldorf-school style parenting for newcomers.

[trinainmanila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veddy Briddish.

[Deirdre K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift from Alison. I haven't read it from cover to cover but have jumped around and loved all of it.

[Eloisa Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

To my family it has become a must have and a book I keep as a reference on how to become a more natural family.
It's simple to read and illustrations and pictures are catchy to the young, which helps when you need to read and your toddler is around.
It's into the Waldorf tune, something that makes me appreciate even more this book.