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A Country Called Childhood: Children and the Exuberant World
While traveling the world in order to write her award winning book Wild , Jay Griffiths became increasingly aware of the huge differences in how childhood is experienced in various cultures. One central riddle, in particular captured her why are so many children in Euro–American cultures unhappy – and why is it that children in traditional cultures seem happier?
In A Country Called Childhood , Griffiths seeks to discover why we deny our children the freedoms of space, time and the natural world. Visiting communities as far apart as West Papua and the Arctic as well as the UK, and delving into history, philosophy, language and literature, she explores how children's affinity for nature is an essential and universal element of childhood. It is a journey deep into the heart of what it means to be a child, and it is central to all our experiences, young and old.
In A Country Called Childhood , Griffiths seeks to discover why we deny our children the freedoms of space, time and the natural world. Visiting communities as far apart as West Papua and the Arctic as well as the UK, and delving into history, philosophy, language and literature, she explores how children's affinity for nature is an essential and universal element of childhood. It is a journey deep into the heart of what it means to be a child, and it is central to all our experiences, young and old.
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2013
47 people are currently reading
902 people want to read
About the author
Jay Griffiths
32 books134 followersJay Griffiths was born in Manchester and studied English Literature at Oxford University. She spent a couple of years living in a shed on the outskirts of Epping Forest and has travelled the world, but for many years she has been based in Wales.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 3, 2015
This is my first review... I usually figure that no one cares about my opinion but this book was BAD enough that I felt morally obligated to say something.
I suppose this will forever be on my "currently reading" list because I don't intend to ever finish it. For me to say I hate a book and actually stop reading almost NEVER happens, but I gave this book enough of a chance and it never redeemed itself.
I am a firm believer in getting kids outside. (Just took my 3-month-old on a nice walk in 18 degree weather, as I am wont to do.)
I am a firm believer in the idea that kids learn through play.
I am a firm believer in looking at other cultures to see how WRONG we are in Western Society as we raise the next generation.
BUT... this lady is Bonkersville.
If you want a solid, informative literary work on Nature Deficit Disorder, read Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. If you want a poetic, rambling discourse on an unrealistic ideal world where American children play naked in the streets all day, read this. Where Louv uses actual research, Griffiths uses irrelevant cross-cultural anecdotes and Huck Finn.
I skimmed a couple other reviews on this book before I read it and I should have taken heed. The word "judgmental" was thrown around, and I think that is astute. Other words could be: "idealistic", "narrow-minded", "confusing", and... what's another one..? Oh yeah... Bonkersville.
Since I didn't make it to the end, I don't know what the author's solution to the problem ends up being. I assume she has one, and that she is just using way too many chapters to expound upon the problem, but at this point it seems like she believes we can only raise a successful society if we abandon our entire way of living and all start raising reindeer. I mean, I applaud her for her anthropological work and I wish I could go spend a few years living among a subsistence society or two. But to suggest that American children would be better off if we let all 8 year olds raft the Mississippi (a point she actually implies) or to conclude that we can superimpose an Amazonian way of life into our modern culture is complete nonsense.
To say ONE good thing about this book... I think we come from the same starting point. I, too, see a lot of problems with the way that modern American (or Western European) children are being brought up and educated, and I think this issue needs to be addressed. To keep going with "business as usual" will not only deprive our children of meaningful experiences in the outdoor world, but also create a generation that is stunted in their usefulness to society.
But I just don't like her heavy-handed lament or her "my way or the highway" attitude... I don't think it will be very helpful in actually solving the problem.
I realize this long, wordy rant is just MY opinion, so take it or leave it. But if you LIKE long, wordy, opinionated rants... then you'll love this book! And Jay Griffiths is much more poetic about it than I am.
Now, I am going to stop wasting my time with this ridiculous book and go take my kids outside so we can all actually learn something.
I suppose this will forever be on my "currently reading" list because I don't intend to ever finish it. For me to say I hate a book and actually stop reading almost NEVER happens, but I gave this book enough of a chance and it never redeemed itself.
I am a firm believer in getting kids outside. (Just took my 3-month-old on a nice walk in 18 degree weather, as I am wont to do.)
I am a firm believer in the idea that kids learn through play.
I am a firm believer in looking at other cultures to see how WRONG we are in Western Society as we raise the next generation.
BUT... this lady is Bonkersville.
If you want a solid, informative literary work on Nature Deficit Disorder, read Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. If you want a poetic, rambling discourse on an unrealistic ideal world where American children play naked in the streets all day, read this. Where Louv uses actual research, Griffiths uses irrelevant cross-cultural anecdotes and Huck Finn.
I skimmed a couple other reviews on this book before I read it and I should have taken heed. The word "judgmental" was thrown around, and I think that is astute. Other words could be: "idealistic", "narrow-minded", "confusing", and... what's another one..? Oh yeah... Bonkersville.
Since I didn't make it to the end, I don't know what the author's solution to the problem ends up being. I assume she has one, and that she is just using way too many chapters to expound upon the problem, but at this point it seems like she believes we can only raise a successful society if we abandon our entire way of living and all start raising reindeer. I mean, I applaud her for her anthropological work and I wish I could go spend a few years living among a subsistence society or two. But to suggest that American children would be better off if we let all 8 year olds raft the Mississippi (a point she actually implies) or to conclude that we can superimpose an Amazonian way of life into our modern culture is complete nonsense.
To say ONE good thing about this book... I think we come from the same starting point. I, too, see a lot of problems with the way that modern American (or Western European) children are being brought up and educated, and I think this issue needs to be addressed. To keep going with "business as usual" will not only deprive our children of meaningful experiences in the outdoor world, but also create a generation that is stunted in their usefulness to society.
But I just don't like her heavy-handed lament or her "my way or the highway" attitude... I don't think it will be very helpful in actually solving the problem.
I realize this long, wordy rant is just MY opinion, so take it or leave it. But if you LIKE long, wordy, opinionated rants... then you'll love this book! And Jay Griffiths is much more poetic about it than I am.
Now, I am going to stop wasting my time with this ridiculous book and go take my kids outside so we can all actually learn something.
March 25, 2015
Jay Griffiths soared away on a seven-year pilgrimage to forage for the knowledge that illuminated her book Wild. She spent a lot of time with wild tribes, and with conquered people who still had beautiful memories of wildness and freedom. As she bounced from place to place, both modern and indigenous, she became aware of a glaring difference between wild people and the dominant culture — their children.
This presented her with a perplexing riddle. “Why are so many children in Euro-American cultures unhappy? Why is it that children in many traditional cultures seem happier, fluent in their child-nature?” Her dance with this riddle gave birth to her book, Kith.
Griffiths is English, and the book’s title refers to the old phrase, “kith and kin.” Kin means close family. Kith originally meant knowledge or native land, the home outside the house. When peasants lived on the land, their knowledge was rooted in the living place around them, not in mysterious juju like mathematics, economics, or engineering. In recent centuries, most peasants have been driven out of their home, and their traditional knowledge has been forgotten. Today, the meaning of kith has been reduced to extended family and neighbors.
Like “sustainable,” kith was once a beautiful word of great importance, now no more than a toothless ghost. Both words are lifesavers, if we could just remember them. They are not forever lost. Griffiths reminds us that “the past is not behind us, but within us.”
In this book, kith is used in its ancient form, a sacred word of power. Why are kids so unhappy? They have no kith. They are dreadfully impoverished. In our society, kids (and adults) are unwell because they have largely been exiled from nature. They live indoors in manmade environments. Nature is an essential nutrient for health and sanity. Kith is life.
Griffiths and her brothers spent much of their youth playing outdoors, wandering across the land, getting wet and dirty, without adult supervision. They rarely watched television. She fears that her generation may be the last to experience the remaining vestiges of a normal childhood. But I think that the game will change radically after the lights go out. Mass insanity may not be our closing act. After the plague comes healing.
Evolution prepared our species for a life of hunting and foraging. All infants born today are wild animals fine-tuned for thriving outdoors in a tropical climate, surrounded by wild flora and fauna. Being surrounded by nature is what all animals require for a normal and healthy life. Like all other animals, young humans need to explore, play, learn. Children need nature like fish need water. They need a place where they belong, a home, a land that will be “mentor, teacher, and parent.”
They need to grow up in lands that still have their original parts — deer, birds, snakes, frogs, coyotes — our relatives who have not forgotten how to live. They have so much to teach us. Pets are unacceptable replacements for our wild and free relatives. Cities are unacceptable substitutes for healthy places to live. Zoo animals have miserable lives. Confinement in industrial civilization is devastating for tropical primates of all ages.
Several centuries back, Griffiths’ ancestors lived in villages near commons. The commons were open lands where the people could hunt, fish, pick berries, gather wood, and graze livestock. Today, the commons are nearly extinct. They have been eliminated by a process called enclosure, whereby wealthy lords fenced off the commons, replaced forests with sheep pastures, evicted most peasants, and burned down their humble cottages.
Enclosure is the diabolical anti-kith. Modern kids no longer have abundant open spaces in which they can mature in a healthy manner. Space has been enclosed and denatured. So has freedom, the essence of childhood. They are no longer free to spend their days wandering where whimsy leads them. Modern childhood is now rigidly scheduled.
Community has also been enclosed. Kids used to be raised in villages where there were no strangers. Kids were mentored and parented by neighbors and extended family. Modern kids grow up in a world of automobiles, strangers, and nuclear families. Outdoors, behind every bush, are tweakers, psychopaths, perverts, and predators. Kids spend much of their lives under house arrest.
Kids have immense interest in learning, but we give them “a school system that is half factory, half prison, and too easily ignores the very education which children crave.” They major in obedience, punctuality, self-centeredness, and the myths of civilization. They spend their childhood years indoors, in classrooms, and graduate knowing nearly nothing about the ecosystem they inhabit, their kith.
This is quite different from how children in traditional societies are raised. Wild children are in constant human contact until they learn to walk, some sleep with their parents for the first five years or so. They are never left alone to cry themselves to sleep. They are never scolded, beaten, or given commands. They are socialized, respected, treated like adults. Socialization teaches them to be respectful of others, and nurture good relationships. They develop confidence and self-reliance.
Importantly, wild cultures do an excellent job of guiding youths through a healthy transition into adults. Every person is born with a unique personality. We all have different gifts, interests, and destinies — trackers, herbalists, counselors, scouts, singers, dancers, drummers, shamans, storytellers, healers, slackers, morons, lunatics.
Elders carefully help youths find their path in life. “Every child needs their time in the woods, to find their vision or their dream. Yet most children today have no such rite, no way of negotiating that difficult transition into adulthood.” Most of them want to become famous celebrities.
The first generation of enclosure victims were painfully aware of all they had lost. Their city born descendants have little or no awareness of the lost treasure of kith, and the harsh poverty of their consumer prosperity. They are “denied their role as part of the wildlife.” Many may go to their graves without ever experiencing the beauty that is the sacred birthright of tropical primates, and every other living thing.
Griffiths learned to talk and read at a very early age. She has a great passion for words and learning. You get the impression that she has read 10 or 20 books a week since she was crawling around in nappies. She writes with flourish and flamboyance. Kith is not an instruction manual for childrearing, but it provides a wealth of important insights for tropical primates who live in modern society. It’s an excellent companion to Jean Liedloff’s masterpiece, The Continuum Concept.
NOTE: Kith is the title of the UK edition. The US edition is titled A Country Called Childhood.
This presented her with a perplexing riddle. “Why are so many children in Euro-American cultures unhappy? Why is it that children in many traditional cultures seem happier, fluent in their child-nature?” Her dance with this riddle gave birth to her book, Kith.
Griffiths is English, and the book’s title refers to the old phrase, “kith and kin.” Kin means close family. Kith originally meant knowledge or native land, the home outside the house. When peasants lived on the land, their knowledge was rooted in the living place around them, not in mysterious juju like mathematics, economics, or engineering. In recent centuries, most peasants have been driven out of their home, and their traditional knowledge has been forgotten. Today, the meaning of kith has been reduced to extended family and neighbors.
Like “sustainable,” kith was once a beautiful word of great importance, now no more than a toothless ghost. Both words are lifesavers, if we could just remember them. They are not forever lost. Griffiths reminds us that “the past is not behind us, but within us.”
In this book, kith is used in its ancient form, a sacred word of power. Why are kids so unhappy? They have no kith. They are dreadfully impoverished. In our society, kids (and adults) are unwell because they have largely been exiled from nature. They live indoors in manmade environments. Nature is an essential nutrient for health and sanity. Kith is life.
Griffiths and her brothers spent much of their youth playing outdoors, wandering across the land, getting wet and dirty, without adult supervision. They rarely watched television. She fears that her generation may be the last to experience the remaining vestiges of a normal childhood. But I think that the game will change radically after the lights go out. Mass insanity may not be our closing act. After the plague comes healing.
Evolution prepared our species for a life of hunting and foraging. All infants born today are wild animals fine-tuned for thriving outdoors in a tropical climate, surrounded by wild flora and fauna. Being surrounded by nature is what all animals require for a normal and healthy life. Like all other animals, young humans need to explore, play, learn. Children need nature like fish need water. They need a place where they belong, a home, a land that will be “mentor, teacher, and parent.”
They need to grow up in lands that still have their original parts — deer, birds, snakes, frogs, coyotes — our relatives who have not forgotten how to live. They have so much to teach us. Pets are unacceptable replacements for our wild and free relatives. Cities are unacceptable substitutes for healthy places to live. Zoo animals have miserable lives. Confinement in industrial civilization is devastating for tropical primates of all ages.
Several centuries back, Griffiths’ ancestors lived in villages near commons. The commons were open lands where the people could hunt, fish, pick berries, gather wood, and graze livestock. Today, the commons are nearly extinct. They have been eliminated by a process called enclosure, whereby wealthy lords fenced off the commons, replaced forests with sheep pastures, evicted most peasants, and burned down their humble cottages.
Enclosure is the diabolical anti-kith. Modern kids no longer have abundant open spaces in which they can mature in a healthy manner. Space has been enclosed and denatured. So has freedom, the essence of childhood. They are no longer free to spend their days wandering where whimsy leads them. Modern childhood is now rigidly scheduled.
Community has also been enclosed. Kids used to be raised in villages where there were no strangers. Kids were mentored and parented by neighbors and extended family. Modern kids grow up in a world of automobiles, strangers, and nuclear families. Outdoors, behind every bush, are tweakers, psychopaths, perverts, and predators. Kids spend much of their lives under house arrest.
Kids have immense interest in learning, but we give them “a school system that is half factory, half prison, and too easily ignores the very education which children crave.” They major in obedience, punctuality, self-centeredness, and the myths of civilization. They spend their childhood years indoors, in classrooms, and graduate knowing nearly nothing about the ecosystem they inhabit, their kith.
This is quite different from how children in traditional societies are raised. Wild children are in constant human contact until they learn to walk, some sleep with their parents for the first five years or so. They are never left alone to cry themselves to sleep. They are never scolded, beaten, or given commands. They are socialized, respected, treated like adults. Socialization teaches them to be respectful of others, and nurture good relationships. They develop confidence and self-reliance.
Importantly, wild cultures do an excellent job of guiding youths through a healthy transition into adults. Every person is born with a unique personality. We all have different gifts, interests, and destinies — trackers, herbalists, counselors, scouts, singers, dancers, drummers, shamans, storytellers, healers, slackers, morons, lunatics.
Elders carefully help youths find their path in life. “Every child needs their time in the woods, to find their vision or their dream. Yet most children today have no such rite, no way of negotiating that difficult transition into adulthood.” Most of them want to become famous celebrities.
The first generation of enclosure victims were painfully aware of all they had lost. Their city born descendants have little or no awareness of the lost treasure of kith, and the harsh poverty of their consumer prosperity. They are “denied their role as part of the wildlife.” Many may go to their graves without ever experiencing the beauty that is the sacred birthright of tropical primates, and every other living thing.
Griffiths learned to talk and read at a very early age. She has a great passion for words and learning. You get the impression that she has read 10 or 20 books a week since she was crawling around in nappies. She writes with flourish and flamboyance. Kith is not an instruction manual for childrearing, but it provides a wealth of important insights for tropical primates who live in modern society. It’s an excellent companion to Jean Liedloff’s masterpiece, The Continuum Concept.
NOTE: Kith is the title of the UK edition. The US edition is titled A Country Called Childhood.
December 3, 2015
I couldn't do it. I tried. You know how sometimes candy is so sickeningly sweet? It's like, "Mmm, I love sweet things. I'll have the candy," and then you put it in your mouth and you just feel gross for days and need to run off and brush your teeth because it's just overly sweet and mushy. Yeah, reading this book is like that.
I get it. Kids should be outside and play and explore and we shouldn't put them in little learning boxes and uniforms and expect them to be tiny adults. You can say that in a chapter... 2 tops.
Trying to read this book was like reading a rambling paper written by a high schooler where they're super trying to suck up to their English teacher by using as many fancy words and metaphors as possible. Just stop. Say what you want to say. Descriptors are nice, but stop overdoing it. This book contains hundreds of pages of verbal vomit.
So, yeah, I wouldn't read this if I were you. The concept of the book is great, and the title is really compelling. But, blech, barf-a-roni.
I get it. Kids should be outside and play and explore and we shouldn't put them in little learning boxes and uniforms and expect them to be tiny adults. You can say that in a chapter... 2 tops.
Trying to read this book was like reading a rambling paper written by a high schooler where they're super trying to suck up to their English teacher by using as many fancy words and metaphors as possible. Just stop. Say what you want to say. Descriptors are nice, but stop overdoing it. This book contains hundreds of pages of verbal vomit.
So, yeah, I wouldn't read this if I were you. The concept of the book is great, and the title is really compelling. But, blech, barf-a-roni.
October 5, 2016
Started on December 22nd, abandoned on January 11th.
I read an extract from this book in the Guardian sometime in early 2013 and was immediately intrigued. When I moved to Edinburgh in July I was pleasantly surprised to discover that their library system had a copy of this book, so I put myself on the waiting list sometime in August. Given that the author had recently spoken at the Edinburgh Book Festival, the waiting list was quite long, and it appears that the book even went missing at some point in November. I finally got an email saying that my copy had arrived for collection sometime in December, and I was determined to get through this book in the three, brief weeks I had before I needed to pass it on to the next person in the queue.
Perhaps all this waiting hyped up the book for me, or perhaps the original extract was simply one of the better parts of this book, but I gave it a full 100 pages before throwing in the towel. The book was already a couple of days overdue at this point and while I could have skim-read to the end before returning it and paying my 45p fine, I really wasn't getting much out of this book.
The premise definitely appealed to me--Western children are unhappier than those in less privileged cultures, and this stems from not being able to use their imaginations, having overly structured lives, not having time to spend enjoying nature, etc. Given that I agree to all of these points (to an extent) I honestly thought I would love this book. But these gems of "Aha! What a great point!" moments were few and far between. Sometimes I would read for thirty or so pages and want to give up, only to read one sentence that made me think, "Okay, that's a decent point, maybe I'll keep going."
I think I expected this book to be a whole lot more academic than it actually was. Perhaps this is the downside of mostly only reading non-fiction for university for the past four years, but given the subject matter, I expected this book to be have a more structured argument, with relevant references to source material. Instead, what I had was a rambling, poetic, sometimes rant-like stream of consciousness of how the author felt about childhood, intersperced with stories from cultures she'd visited, her own childhood experiences, and very occasionally, references to some sort of academic or scientific study. If you desperately want to know what Jay Griffiths personally feels about childhood, you'll love this book. But if you're looking for something a little more balanced or unbiased... Hahahaha. Yeah. Go hunt somewhere else.
There were a few moments where I honestly felt like Griffiths was whacking me over the head with the book and shouting. "Controlled crying is evil! Toys are of the Devil! Why can't our children just run around the fields and play with sticks? No structured activities! Let your children do whatever the hell they want!" The funny thing is that I did mostly agree with the foundational points Griffiths was arguing...but the way she presented them was so forceful and arrogantly "I know what is best for all children in the world ever" that I found myself building counter-arguments in my head and defending alternative perspectives.
In summary, this book wasn't what I was looking for. If you want to read an idealised perspective on how childhood should be, in a long-winded poetic style (which is very lovely in places, but after four years of studying English Lit., I'm a little tired of poetry), this is definitely for you. I think I wanted something a little more academic, or maybe something written by a parent who had first-hand experience of how these different elements affected children's development. A lot of Griffiths' evidence came from her own (idealistic, perfect) childhood or interviewing children or parents in other cultures. Maybe if I owned a copy of this book I'd go back to it over time and finally finish it, but given the tidy little fine I'm building up at the library, I'm going to be brave and say that there are other books more worthy of my time and money.
And the extract in the Guardian? Definitely one of the better written, more relevant pieces in this book. If I don't hear another word about the Enclosures Act this month, I'll be ever so relieved.
I read an extract from this book in the Guardian sometime in early 2013 and was immediately intrigued. When I moved to Edinburgh in July I was pleasantly surprised to discover that their library system had a copy of this book, so I put myself on the waiting list sometime in August. Given that the author had recently spoken at the Edinburgh Book Festival, the waiting list was quite long, and it appears that the book even went missing at some point in November. I finally got an email saying that my copy had arrived for collection sometime in December, and I was determined to get through this book in the three, brief weeks I had before I needed to pass it on to the next person in the queue.
Perhaps all this waiting hyped up the book for me, or perhaps the original extract was simply one of the better parts of this book, but I gave it a full 100 pages before throwing in the towel. The book was already a couple of days overdue at this point and while I could have skim-read to the end before returning it and paying my 45p fine, I really wasn't getting much out of this book.
The premise definitely appealed to me--Western children are unhappier than those in less privileged cultures, and this stems from not being able to use their imaginations, having overly structured lives, not having time to spend enjoying nature, etc. Given that I agree to all of these points (to an extent) I honestly thought I would love this book. But these gems of "Aha! What a great point!" moments were few and far between. Sometimes I would read for thirty or so pages and want to give up, only to read one sentence that made me think, "Okay, that's a decent point, maybe I'll keep going."
I think I expected this book to be a whole lot more academic than it actually was. Perhaps this is the downside of mostly only reading non-fiction for university for the past four years, but given the subject matter, I expected this book to be have a more structured argument, with relevant references to source material. Instead, what I had was a rambling, poetic, sometimes rant-like stream of consciousness of how the author felt about childhood, intersperced with stories from cultures she'd visited, her own childhood experiences, and very occasionally, references to some sort of academic or scientific study. If you desperately want to know what Jay Griffiths personally feels about childhood, you'll love this book. But if you're looking for something a little more balanced or unbiased... Hahahaha. Yeah. Go hunt somewhere else.
There were a few moments where I honestly felt like Griffiths was whacking me over the head with the book and shouting. "Controlled crying is evil! Toys are of the Devil! Why can't our children just run around the fields and play with sticks? No structured activities! Let your children do whatever the hell they want!" The funny thing is that I did mostly agree with the foundational points Griffiths was arguing...but the way she presented them was so forceful and arrogantly "I know what is best for all children in the world ever" that I found myself building counter-arguments in my head and defending alternative perspectives.
In summary, this book wasn't what I was looking for. If you want to read an idealised perspective on how childhood should be, in a long-winded poetic style (which is very lovely in places, but after four years of studying English Lit., I'm a little tired of poetry), this is definitely for you. I think I wanted something a little more academic, or maybe something written by a parent who had first-hand experience of how these different elements affected children's development. A lot of Griffiths' evidence came from her own (idealistic, perfect) childhood or interviewing children or parents in other cultures. Maybe if I owned a copy of this book I'd go back to it over time and finally finish it, but given the tidy little fine I'm building up at the library, I'm going to be brave and say that there are other books more worthy of my time and money.
And the extract in the Guardian? Definitely one of the better written, more relevant pieces in this book. If I don't hear another word about the Enclosures Act this month, I'll be ever so relieved.
January 19, 2015
I really enjoyed reading this book. I imagine it is probably quite polarizing though and it is pretty much a big polemic which I can imagine might rub some people the wrong way, or just be hard to get through if reading things you don't agree with is a chore. And it's easy to disagree with this, Jay Griffiths is at times quite extreme.
I guess I felt it picked up around chapter 3 and in spite of the fact that it sort of made me feel like I would always be some sort of terrible failure as a parent because of how much I am steeped in the modern rat race, it was an enjoyable read.
Some of the reviews I've read ring true in parts, certainly the arrow of causation seems potentially wrong in some of the claims made, and some claims made are so bold as to be too trivially refuted or disagreed with, but I still couldn't help finding myself enjoying the read. There are some nice turns of phrase and some chapters get nearly to the point of overwrought (maybe some passages do get to that point) but so what? This exuberance is exactly what is being so passionately argued for.
So not today, probably not tomorrow, and maybe not ever, but, reading this does sort of make me want to pack off into a forest somewhere and get a pet and create a place that my children deserve in spite of the way my Euro-American influenced lifestyle is now.
I guess I felt it picked up around chapter 3 and in spite of the fact that it sort of made me feel like I would always be some sort of terrible failure as a parent because of how much I am steeped in the modern rat race, it was an enjoyable read.
Some of the reviews I've read ring true in parts, certainly the arrow of causation seems potentially wrong in some of the claims made, and some claims made are so bold as to be too trivially refuted or disagreed with, but I still couldn't help finding myself enjoying the read. There are some nice turns of phrase and some chapters get nearly to the point of overwrought (maybe some passages do get to that point) but so what? This exuberance is exactly what is being so passionately argued for.
So not today, probably not tomorrow, and maybe not ever, but, reading this does sort of make me want to pack off into a forest somewhere and get a pet and create a place that my children deserve in spite of the way my Euro-American influenced lifestyle is now.
November 24, 2023
I enjoyed her style and the mythology facts, but I was disappointed she didn't include a disclaimer at the front that she knew she couldn't speak for all children. There was no mention of how childhood is affected by disability and wealth, and all the prejudices of society to different people groups, or any mention of neurodiversity except her narrow perspective of ADHD. Her opinions will never age well.
April 20, 2015
Griffiths sets out to answer the question of why children in western cultures are so often unhappy, and the result is a richly textured, wide-ranging narrative that I think would be compelling to parents, educators, those concerned with the health of society and of our planet, and anyone captured by the magic of childhood. In traversing the landscape of childhood, the author dwells in discussion of the natural world, imagination, metaphor, education, fairy tales, and--my most kindred spirits--the Romantics.
One of the most original nonfiction voices I recall reading. Many dog-eared pages here.
One of the most original nonfiction voices I recall reading. Many dog-eared pages here.
June 29, 2013
Perhaps the most profound book I have read in a very long time. It is a big book, heavy, worthy all that kind of stuff but it is so readable, it clicks with you. I've marked quote upon quote and am hopeing all that 'good stuff' stays in the mind for ages. I don't know how you describe a book like this - part philosophy, part education theory, part lit crit, part social commentary, part 'hippie' liberal thought, part childhood memoir but it is fascinating. I'm glad I found it on the library shelves.
November 26, 2015
Adding to my shelf of personal bibles--guides to help me stay true to myself, my natural goodness, creativity, wonder. In one sense to serve as exemplar to my son. That it is written in stunningly gorgeous prose by a person who possesses an encyclopedic love of books and language only deepens the many pleasures I had in reading this. To read this book as some sort of parenting manual would be a disservice to the book, author, and most importantly, you, dear reader.
August 13, 2018
I'm very happy to have read this book.
My quick explanation for the missing star is that the prose is a little wandering at times and left me wondering what the purpose of the section was. There seemed to be an eagerness to cite other works that simply introduced more words to read, but no further takeaways.
On to the good stuff -- at so many points throughout this book I recalled fondly memories of my own childhood or even connected distant memories thereof to subconscious truths about myself only realized as I read. The insights into the needs of children and the fascinating power of the mind have impressed upon me the great responsibility I have as a parent and adult. They have also really excited me =)
The one question that consistently came to my mind while reading, but was left unanswered: at what point did we "adults" grow up an stop being children ourselves?
Thank you for this book!
My quick explanation for the missing star is that the prose is a little wandering at times and left me wondering what the purpose of the section was. There seemed to be an eagerness to cite other works that simply introduced more words to read, but no further takeaways.
On to the good stuff -- at so many points throughout this book I recalled fondly memories of my own childhood or even connected distant memories thereof to subconscious truths about myself only realized as I read. The insights into the needs of children and the fascinating power of the mind have impressed upon me the great responsibility I have as a parent and adult. They have also really excited me =)
The one question that consistently came to my mind while reading, but was left unanswered: at what point did we "adults" grow up an stop being children ourselves?
Thank you for this book!
October 10, 2018
Although I am in total agreement with the author, Jay Griffiths, about the importance of children being allowed to explore their environment on their owns terms, I was continually derailed from her message by her lengthy ranting, sadly. So couldn't finish this book.
I do thank Jay for having the courage to speak up about this important issue, which we as humans need to take far more seriously. This will allow our precious children to grow into adults who are happy to be unplugged from technology and cities, and to explore the world on their own terms!
I do thank Jay for having the courage to speak up about this important issue, which we as humans need to take far more seriously. This will allow our precious children to grow into adults who are happy to be unplugged from technology and cities, and to explore the world on their own terms!
April 8, 2024
The rambling, winding style of this book made it pretty inaccessible in my opinion. This is ironic because the whole premise of the book is about creating a more accessible environmental experience for children.
December 9, 2016
Wonderful meditation on what's wrong with childhood today. Creates awareness of what's important for children, and everyone else, essentially.
February 3, 2020
Mixed. Some good chapters and definitely lots of important counter-cultural ideas contained within, but I grew frustrated with the overly poetic style and increasingly abstract themes.
October 5, 2020
Important read for all of us
October 19, 2020
A very well written book. This book I found while reading one of Robert MacFarlane's books.
September 25, 2013
really interesting book which explored childhood and how other cultures raise children.
sometimes it's comparative so like one group of people may practise this method of child rearing whereas in the West we do it this way.
it's not saying which way is best. but just exploring how others raise their children and how perhaps in the West it's due to upbringing and social development that there are so many problems.
for example in a lot of cultures or societies, children don't necessarily have one home in that if they live in a village any1 can tell them to behave etc whereas in the West especially in cities there is no sense of community.
it's a fascinating read really. non-fiction of course but well researched i think and thought provoking. if you are interested in children/childhood development etc then definitely give this a read.
this book also focuses on the importance of nature and how children connect with the natural world. i think that is vital in development...running around barefoot, making up games and yes the outside world is part of us. we are part of the ecosystem too. =P
kind of a glimpse into collectivist cultures and child rearing practices.
but yes you will definitely feel nostalgic about your childhood reading this. (even though i am not that old!)
sometimes it's comparative so like one group of people may practise this method of child rearing whereas in the West we do it this way.
it's not saying which way is best. but just exploring how others raise their children and how perhaps in the West it's due to upbringing and social development that there are so many problems.
for example in a lot of cultures or societies, children don't necessarily have one home in that if they live in a village any1 can tell them to behave etc whereas in the West especially in cities there is no sense of community.
it's a fascinating read really. non-fiction of course but well researched i think and thought provoking. if you are interested in children/childhood development etc then definitely give this a read.
this book also focuses on the importance of nature and how children connect with the natural world. i think that is vital in development...running around barefoot, making up games and yes the outside world is part of us. we are part of the ecosystem too. =P
kind of a glimpse into collectivist cultures and child rearing practices.
but yes you will definitely feel nostalgic about your childhood reading this. (even though i am not that old!)
January 31, 2017
Kind of heavy in places and I'm not sure about her writing ALL the time, but mostly it was pretty good. More on historical and esoteric stuff as opposed to railing on-and-on against technology (which is what I tend to do).
I thought it was a good read!~! and if the outdoors or outdoor pursuits have been a big part of your life and you're a believer in "experience" then you'll probably enjoy this book.
I'm a teacher (and an ex-climber) and did notice the obligatory chapter on how regimented and stultifying public schooling can be, and it is is at times, but so much more happens in the milieu that's it's worth a few boring hours a week to have friends, band, sports, etc.
But I digress. A good book. Check it out.
I thought it was a good read!~! and if the outdoors or outdoor pursuits have been a big part of your life and you're a believer in "experience" then you'll probably enjoy this book.
I'm a teacher (and an ex-climber) and did notice the obligatory chapter on how regimented and stultifying public schooling can be, and it is is at times, but so much more happens in the milieu that's it's worth a few boring hours a week to have friends, band, sports, etc.
But I digress. A good book. Check it out.
February 16, 2015
There are many important concepts here, and some beauty and much personal honesty and passion. Mothers and grandmothers should read a few chapters. Language and references to literature are very fun. Downsides - this isn't scientific research but opinion and romanticism. I was thrown off by examples, plucked from the author's experience, presented as truth. Also, as there is much repetition, skimming is required! That said, Griffiths' concept of childhood is provocative, wild, beautiful and somewhat true.
September 10, 2015
Well, it's really 2.5 stars, interesting and well-written, and I do agree with the author that children need to experience nature, and to play outside, and shouldn't be beaten to a whimpering pulp by fanatical parents, or otherwise be abused and humiliated, but...I don't romanticize children, or childhood, nor do I think children can do a very good job of raising themselves. I disagree with the author far more than I agree, which did make for a rousing read. On this subject, I would recommend "How To Raise A Wild Child" by Scott D. Sampson, instead.
October 28, 2015
Only this author could have written this book. Beautifully composed, this insightful cultural critique functions as an essential guide and countercurrent to all the United States neurotic parenting books and ideologies that are now popular exports. This generation of children are undeniably metaphyscially homeless and Griffiths situates childhood back in its country, kith, rooted in place.
July 9, 2015
Griffiths poetically makes the case for the need for children in the developed world to reconnect with nature. This is not a scientific study so, if that is what you are looking for, this is not for you. This book is unashamedly subjective.
June 26, 2016
I'm not sure what the point of this book is, because I couldn't get through even 1/4 of it. I kept on waiting for that aha moment, where I grasp what this book is about, but it was just a long run on sentence of poetry to me.
April 25, 2017
this is the probably the most important book I've read as a parent. very challenging at times but spoke to a part of me that often gets buried under modern life. the way she writes connected me back to my own child self which is remarkable and refreshing and a perspective I search for constantly while raising my daughter.
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November 20, 2018Childhood used to be directly related to nature, and we’ve taken that away from kids. No wonder they (and we) are so unhappy! -> Back to nature. Enclosure is bad, automation is bad, etc. The idea is right on the money, but it’s a bit repetitive and boring for my taste.
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