Friday 3 September 2010

Leave Them Kids Alone

The other day, when PJ and I had our heads buried in books, Z found an old chair in the shed.

The less we parent, the better for everyone — a sentiment PJ and I often talk about, and now that Z is growing up, a practice more easily fulfilled.

The book I had my head buried in was Tom Hodgkinson's, The Idle Parent, a book that expounds do-nothing parenting, just as Fukuoka posited do-nothing farming.

Hodgkinson writes:
We need low-impact parenting, do-nothing parenting, no-work parenting. Harness natural processes and nature will do the work for you. In the case of gardening, this may involve a lot of simply wandering about. Just sitting in your garden or strolling around it will produce umpteen ideas for low-effort improvement and refinement. So it is with children. Just sit near them with a book and watch them play and chatter.
...And incite new life into old things. And old parents like us.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

couldn't agree more: freedom brings quiet brings the creational state and indulgence in being(alone)
Su

Umatji said...

I so agree! on days when I am frazzled it seems like I actually need to tie a scarf around my head covering my mouth entirely! love the production that Z worked on - it is fantastic. will have to have a look at the book.
x

Rachel said...

i like what Z did with the chair back. so smart and useful! and this book sounds wonderful too.

Lucas said...

hang about! what did he actually make? some sort of backpack thing?

Meg said...

Lucas yes, it is a backpack, to carry all his winnings in, but more currently, his lunch and school books. xx