Green Parenting: Wie man Kinder groß zieht, die Welt rettet und dabei nicht verrückt wird

by Kate Blincoe

Wie wird Einkaufen zum Erlebnis? Wie macht man aus Stubenhockern Outdoorfreaks? Wie gestaltet man Schmetterlingsgärten? Welche Köstlichkeiten lassen sich aus Klee, Löwenzahn & Co. zaubern? Und machen Geburtstagsfeiern ohne Müllberge auch Spaß?

Kate Blincoe hat ihre Alltagserfahrungen in einem liebevoll gestalteten Buch zusammengetragen und gibt praxistaugliche Antworten auf diese und viele andere Fragen. Für die Mutter zweier Kinder »geht es geht nicht darum, perfekt zu sein; es geht darum, Dinge auszuprobieren und zu spüren, wie gut es tut, die Welt ein klein bisschen besser zu
machen«.

Genres: Parenting, Family

180 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2015

About the author

Kate Blincoe is a freelance journalist and writer for publications including The Guardian and Eastern Daily Press who has been working in the environmental sector for over a decade. While working with the RSPB she became aware of how many children had very little experience with nature and the environment. Raising children with an understanding of and connection to the natural world is now just as important to Kate as reducing the carbon footprint of their early years.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bright and colourful parenting guide to help you become the ‘green’ family that we all aspire to be. It is a challenge to be more green, but – like so many of these guides – you can take what works for you and it is a good read. The book covers: Learn and play naturally, Your green nest, Can I eat it now?, Hunter-gatherer, Body talk, Little green fingers, How nature can nurture your family and Green celebrations.

There are some excellent points made in this book – from the huge toy mountain we all accumulate to reusable nappies. I also liked the ‘Grumpy Granny’ sections, with excellent advice to exhort us, as parents, to calm down, rush around less (not easy I know) and try to concentrate on activities like gardening with our children rather than driving them from activity to activity. I also liked the Green Challenges; although I suspect trying to siphon bath water out of a window in a heatwave (assuming we have one) would end in disaster if I attempted it!

Still, there is lots to enjoy and try out in this book and, as I said, you can take what you want from it. The idea is to be greener and we have already managed to encourage hedgehogs into our garden, using the idea of a transparent box with hedgehog friendly food (and a small access point to keep out cats and foxes) which has delighted my children. Hopefully, if they become regular visitors, we can make a hibernaculum for them once the weather gets cold. There is loads of advice on recycling, living a greener life and having more interaction with nature, so I recommend this book for any parents who do want to make a difference to the environment and with your own family.

[Thomas Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a green parenting book that doesn't preach or make you feel guilty! Beautifully written, with a refreshing dash of humour, this book is perfectly pitched for the mass market of parents who want to help their children understand and engage with nature and the environment. It is packed full of fun (and cheap!) ideas to keep the kids entertained whilst learning the value of the world around us.

[Row_Rabbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It gives a well laid out and structred approach to being greener without being snooty or tree huggey. A difficult balance to reach on this subject. Pictures are amazing and make it a book i want to keep picking up time after time. Cookery tips are good, we tried the Brownies and they were amazin!
Is it going to be Green Cook book next?

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won this book on first reads,really intresting book lots of facts my neice loved nature and the outdoors, good book

[Stephanie Tree · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a nice change to the usual 'green' or 'eco' books which can often be quite hard line and make you feel like a planet destroyer, this book puts it into perspective with useful, practical information and funny too! Oh and the pictures are beautiful...

[Daniel Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great green parenting book. Taught me lots without making me feel bad for not doing everything!

[SALLY WHITE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Goodreads for sending me this book. This book is quite an inspirational read, as it contains guidance, practical advice & information on how to live a greener lifestyle as a family. without really compromising the enjoyment of family life. There are simple, straightforward ways given on how to be aware of our natural world, how to make, find, build, buy and recycle things with kids in an ecological friendly way. Some of the information may take a little time and effort, but you don’t necessarily need to follow every suggestion in this book. However, the book provides so much information that you do not need to spend time researching elsewhere – its been done for you! The front cover states “how to raise your child, help save the planet and not go mad” and it does exactly that.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ideas in this book are great (though they aren't all a good fit for my family), but the layout is too busy and disjointed. Five stars for the ideas and one star for the layout brings this book to a total of three stars.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne.

Grundsätzlich kein schlechtes Buch. Es gibt viele gute Ideen und Anregungen zur "konsumfreien" Gestaltung des Alltags mit Kindern. Tolle Bastelideen und Rezepte für gesündere Alternativen an Feiertagen etc.

Evtl. liegt es am Layout (der deutschen Version), aber teilweise gibt es Infokästen auf Seiten, die nicht direkt mit dem sonstigen Inhalt in Relation stehen. Man hat oft das Gefühl, die Autorin wollte hier noch eine bestimmte Sache, die ihr wichtig ist noch irgendwie unterbringen. Auch wenn das Buch versucht alle Themen nach Kategorien abzuhandeln, wirkt es häufig doch sehr zusammen gewürfelt. Den meisten Lesern wird das egal sein, mich hat es etwas beim Lesefluss gestört.

Ich habe auf jeden Fall viele tolle Anregungen rausgeschrieben, die wir demnächst ausprobieren werden. Und ich werde mir das Buch sicherlich noch einmal ausleihen und nochmal nachschlagen.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a nice book of parenting tips from pregnancy through young childhood about how to live green with your family. From toys and play to house cleaning, food, and more, each chapter has a "Is it Green or Gross...?" section as well as some sort of list of tips and resources, such as book suggestions for children, craft ideas, "top ten tips for ... greening your supermarket shop", gardening, and more. The author is British and the book refers to activities and other things that are specific to Great Britain, but could be adapted to be applicable to anywhere. I think that new parents can find some good ideas about green living in this book. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wondered if this book would cover any new material as this topic is pretty saturated, but I was pleasantly surprised at the wide range of topics. It was a great (possibly best for beginners) guide to things like foraging, recipes for those foraged ingredients, gardening, finding wildlife, challenges, celebration and holiday suggestions, natural alternatives for minor ailments, ideas for making your own items (like a jump rope out of plastic bags), and even ways to encourage your kids to explore and take risks while being close enough to step if needed. The subjects are covered from many angles and the book was a friendly read.

Thank you to NetGalley and UIT Cambridge/Green Books for a digital copy for review.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a good introduction to the green lifestyle. It is similar to many homesteading books, but with a more limited focus. I have read similar books before and didn't find much new in this book. That being said this could be a great book for someone just diving in to green life.
There are tons of activities for introducing your child(ren) to nature, but most of them didn't resonate with me. There was an excellent recipe for non-toxic sunscreen which I will try.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book for all regardless of whether they have kids, the author has managed to packed so much information general interest to all of us trying to our your bit for the planet.

[Majo Colerus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blincoe fordert laufend dazu auf Kinder zu erpressen, ihnen zB nur Kekse zu geben, wenn sie bei den von Eltern geplanten Spielen mitmachen und Kinder zu Wetten zu ermutigen und die Wettgewinnenden mit Schokolade zu belohnen. Außerdem propagiert Kate immer wieder Fleischkonsum und sogar Speck in Meisenknödel zu verarbeiten - was stark gewürztes Fleisch in einem Kleinstvogelmagen verloren hat, bleibt offen.

[Sindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nur überflogen, leider vieles nichts für mich oder schwer mitten in der Großstadt umsetzbar. Mir hat ein bisschen was von dem Tipps zum erklären gefehlt, sind sehr viele Beispiele zum vorleben drin, was halt meist nur funktioniert wenn man selbst recht outdoorsy ist, was ich nicht bin.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas