Weekend Reads: "The Last Child in the Woods."

In general, I am not a fan of parenting books. To me, parenting is something that I learn through experience, not by reading. Yes, specific books can be helpful and I certainly turned to some in the early days of parenting.  But as a rule, I learn by doing, not by reading.  Though I do read a lot!

This book was different to me.  I have read it a time and a half now.  It just seems to be speaking truth.  The chapters read like short stories and most of the time I spend reading it I am reminiscing about my own childhood.  That's one of the things that makes this one an "OK parenting book" to me.  You don't have to be a parent to enjoy it.

The premise is as we move more into a modern age, we are taking our children and ourselves out of the natural environment.  Both children and adults are missing the sense of wonder and open-ended discovery provided by nature.  Everyone can learn from just being outdoors and the concepts and research are applicable to adults as well.

Basically, this book made me want to plan my next backpacking trip. (And I gave myself bonus points for reading this outside yesterday morning).