Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In Western culture, we tend to think of motherhood as “an instinct that comes as naturally to women as the sex drive does to men,” John Gillis writes in his book A World of Their Own Making. But in reality, parenting is a learned skill. And the traditional sources of knowledge are the women and men who have already raised a few whippersnappers themselves—the grandmas, grandpas, aunties, uncles, and nosy, helpful neighbors. Once the older generations disappeared from the home, so did their parenting knowledge and skills.