Customer Reviews

Natural Childhood: The First Practical and Holistic Guide for Parents of the Developing Child

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First, readers of these reviews should be aware that Dan Dugan has made a profession of his near-fanatical opposition to Waldorf education. If he had read this book, he would have found that it integrates many educational perspectives, including Montessori, Paul Goodman, Carl Rogers, Robert Cole, John Holt, Rahima Baldwin, parent-teacher coops, home-schooling, etc. One of the contributors to the book is the editor of the Educational Review.

In my opinion this book is exquisitely designed, full of heart, and manifestly dedicated to opening a ground where adults and children can meet and learn from each other.

I give this book as a gift to all my expectant and new mother friends. It has chapters on child development, imagination and play, health, and education all from an integrated, holistic perspective. It is filled with beautiful color photographs and illustrations, practical advice and how-to information on making toys, children's games to play, etc. As a student of Waldorf Education, I recommend this book to all parents of young children who are interested in learning more about the Waldorf philosophy. Helpfully, the author of the chapter on education compares different educational philosophies including Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf), Piaget, John Dewey, Maria Montessori and others. A valuable and enlightening resource -- highly recommended.

I'll make it short. This book has been a great resource for me. I think it's wrong for people to write a review if they have apparently never read it. It covers so many different philosophies (Montessori,...) not just Waldorf.

This book was passed along to me when I was pregnant with my first son. I wasn't really interested at that time, so I put it away and forgot about it. Over time, I realized how frustrated my son was in a world of plastic toys that broke easily, or didn't stay together to begin with. He was much more content to collect leaves in the park than to play with an action hero. When I became pregnant with my second son, I re-discovered this book and really looked at it. It seemed to validate much of what I was feeling, and I could see that my son had naturally gravitated to this lifestyle as well. This book helped us come up with other ways to make our lives more natural.

This book is not strictly Waldorf type. For example, Legos are suggested as a good open-ended toy in the book, where in a Waldorf setting, tree-blocks might be used instead because the Legos have a cold, sterile feel. This book is a combination of Waldorf/Steiner, Montessori and other "whole child" methods.

It is a great starting point if you want to give your children the best start to life.

This a fantastic book to have on "natural" childcare, geared to creating a creative, wholesome, and gentle childhood experience that is nature-based. Full of guidance and suggestions, John Thomson's informative text leads you through a child's changing world and needs as his sense of self grows. This books is an appropriate springboard for someone interested in a Montessori or Waldorf-based elementary education, or for a parent not interested in fancy plastic toys or TV but who wants to help their child explore the world through fingerpaint, the outdoors, blowing bubbles, and making their own doll with materials at hand, etc. Emphasis is on creative play.

Natural Childhood is a treasure of joyous photos and colorful pictures that reflects the joy of childhood, ready to inspire a new parent - or an old one for that matter!