Wild Play: Parenting Adventures in the Great Outdoors [Paperback]

A trailblazing environmental educator raised his children in the heart of nature. His story shows other parents how they can counter todays pervasive nature deficit. Updated wtih new essays.

When David Sobels children,Tara and Eli, were toddlers, he set out to integrate a wide range of nature experiences into their family life, play, and story telling. Blending his passion as a parent with his professional expertise, he created adventures tailored to their developmental stages: cultivating empathy with animals in early childhood, exploring the woods in middle childhood, and devising rites of passage in adolescence.

Wild Playis Sobels vivid and moving memoir of their journey and an in spiring guide for all parents who seek to help their children bond with the natural world. Through this familys experiences, we observe how free play in nature hones a sense of wonder, provides healthy challenges, and nurtures earth stewardship. Parents need to support kids access to independent outdoor play, says Sobel. Of course they should use judgment, but the benefits outweigh the risks.

Richard LouvsLast Child in the Woodsidentified the urgent problem of nature deficit in todays children, sounding the alarm for parents, educators, and policy-makers.Wild Playis a hopeful response, offering families myriad ways to blaze their own trails.

A trailblazing environmental educator raised his children in the heart of nature. His story shows other parents how they can counter todays pervasive nature deficit. Updated wtih new essays.

When David Sobels children,Tara and Eli, were toddlers, he set out to integrate a wide range of nature experiences into their family life, play, and story telling. Blending his passion as a parent with his professional expertise, he created adventures tailored to their developmental stages: cultivating empathy with animals in early childhood, exploring the woods in middle chillS6