Buy new:

$8.83

List Price: $15.95

Save: $7.12 (45%)

$4.55 delivery Monday, January 22. Details

Or fastest delivery January 17 - 18. Details

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$8.83 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Pen & Parchment Media

Ships from

Pen & Parchment Media

Sold by

Pen & Parchment Media

Sold by

Pen & Parchment Media

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$9.40
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Revolver Market

Added

Not added

$15.47
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: QCompany

Added

Not added

$15.95
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Follow the author

Tom Hodgkinson

Follow

The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids Paperback – Illustrated, May 13, 2010

by Tom Hodgkinson (Author)

4.3 50 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$8.83","priceAmount":8.83,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"83","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"vOwneBhL6eaYue3wLnUJqD%2FxcY2cSUc9%2FRQRAcVTHF%2BZQKYeNxrorgEWzJQHDhJfMU9PpmgBO%2BFz%2BLv06BNFVaUATJJZCj%2BaZEFQzgvqNOzq%2F5IQIcfdGKDXpxEHnb%2BjVmQXPh3DJZ3gE8eMP0X7PPU84IIKNtXFDlEcUGhZmWSgfqOP2qzO4tlvWIT43l5Q","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

This wise and funny book presents a revolutionary yet highly practical approach to childcare: leave them alone.

"The Idle Parent came as a huge relief to the whole family. Suddenly, it was okay to leave the kids to sort it out among themselves. Suddenly, it was okay to be responsibly lazy. This is the most counterintuitive but most helpful and consoling child-raising manual I've yet read."--Alain de Botton, author of The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and The Consolations of Philosophy

"The most easy-to-follow-without-being-made-to-feel-inadequate parenting manifesto ever written . . . A godsend to parents."--The Sunday Times

"Add liberal doses of music, jovial company and deep woods to play in--all central to the idle, not to say Taoist, life--and you have a recipe for bright, happy people with need of neither television nor shrink. Who could ask for more?"--The Evening Standard

In The Idle Parent, the author of The Freedom Manifesto and How to Be Idle applies his trademark left-of-center theories of idleness to what can be one of the thorniest aspects of adult life: parenting.

Many parents today spend a whole lot of time worrying and wondering--frantically "helicoptering" over their children with the hope that they might somehow keep (or make?) them flawless. But where is this approach to childcare getting us? According to Hodgkinson, in our quest to give our kids everything, we fail to give them the two things they need most: the space and time to grow up self-reliant, confident, happy, and free. In this smart and hilarious book, Hodgkinson urges parents to stop worrying and instead start nurturing the natural instincts toward creativity and independence that are found in every child. And the great irony: in doing so, we will find ourselves becoming happier and better parents.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

TarcherPerigee
Publication date

May 13, 2010
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.69 x 8.23 inches
ISBN-10

1585428000
ISBN-13

978-1585428007
See all details

Frequently bought together

The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids

$15.47

Get it as soon as Wednesday, Jan 24

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Sold by QCompany and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.

+

$8.99

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jan 23

Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

One of these items ships sooner than the other.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

Michaeleen Doucleff
3,149
Paperback
in Children's Studies Social Science
54 offers from $9.31
Tom Hodgkinson
404
Paperback
44 offers from $2.04
Tom Hodgkinson
244
Paperback
34 offers from $2.49
Tom Hodgkinson
96
Paperback
58 offers from $2.25

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Daily Telegraph parenting columnist Hodgkinson, author of How to Be Idle and editor of The Idler magazine, argues for the primary parenting principle of "leave them alone" in this witty, welcome guide to raising happy, self-sufficient children. Beginning with a 21-point manifesto ("We try not to interfere"; "An idle parent is a thrifty parent"; "We reject the inner Puritan"; "We embrace responsibility"), and quoting extensively from such unlikely parenting authorities as Rousseau and D.H. Lawrence (the source of "leave the children alone"), the married father of three explores a range of child-rearing issues, from sleeping and mealtimes to whining, and repeatedly makes a convincing case for the power of letting children be. Citing damage done by overzealous parents, he's critical of television, the Wii, scheduled activities, all toys but the most basic ("simply pluck a branch from a tree"), and anything else--including school--that gets in the way of a child's imagination, sense of freedom, and independence. While his suggestions may seem disquieting, or put well-meaning parents on the defensive, they're grounded in a solid sense of reality, a sincere interest in fulfilling children and parents, and experience: "We wasted hundreds on absurd devices, like the thing that they sit in and use to walk around the room. No: they learn how to walk on their own."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"The most counterintuitive but most helpful and consoling child-raising manual I've yet read."
--Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrow of Work

"The most easy-to-follow-without-being-made-to-feel-inadequate parenting manifesto ever written. Hodgkinson is right on almost everything"
--The Sunday Times

"Add liberal doses of music, jovial company and deep woods to play in--all central to idle, not to say Taoist, life--and you have a recipes for bright, happy people who with need of neither television nor shrink. Who could ask for more?"
--The Evening Standard

“If you wait long enough, you will find a parenting book that endorses your style of mothering. Mine was just published … the book that argues why laid-back parents raise healthier and happier kids. Appropriately titled, The Idle Parent is a refreshing change to most of the parenting books on the market.”
--Beliefnet

"Wise, funny, practical and personal, The Idle Parent puts the fun back into parenting."
--Oliver James

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ TarcherPerigee; 1st edition (May 13, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1585428000
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1585428007
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.69 x 8.23 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #750,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #369 in Children's Studies Social Science (Books)
- #1,191 in Medical Child Psychology
- #1,468 in Popular Child Psychology

Customer Reviews:
4.3 50 ratings

Important information

To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Tom Hodgkinson

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Writer and editor Tom Hodgkinson cofounded the Idler in 1993. He is the author of two books based on this attitude to life: How to Be Idle, published in 20 countries, and How to Be Free, which takes an anarchic approach to the everyday barriers that come between us and our dreams. He lives in Devon, United Kingdom.

The Idler team created the best-selling and widely imitated Crap Towns I and II.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

50 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Megan R

If you need to persuade someone that it's okay to give the kids some space, this is for you

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

I didn't love the writing, but the concepts are laudable - the author is basically saying "let's all back off our kids and have some more fun with this parenting thing" and if you agree with that but have family that struggles with that concept, this book might be an effective way to lend credibility to your approach. If you're already 100% on board and supported with that approach, this book doesn't offer much in the way of new ideas. That said, I'm such a fan of the entire concept of giving our kids space, and I'm happy that this book exists for people who DO need a persuasive, somewhat redundant text - so I'm happy to give it 5 stars. I don't know if I'd recommend it to other parents who are already fully embracing this* lifestyle.

*letting kids be bored, giving plenty of unstructured playtime, ensuring that parents needs are met, considering the whole family when committing to activities, lots of other pretty basic stuff.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jah

Great Book - of course, you can't base your parenting solely on one book!

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book is a comfort to parents who are just doing what they can -- and for parents who might sometimes feel guilty for not playing with their children every moment of every day. This book asserts that children NEED to develop self-sufficiency, and being a little more hands-off might just be a good thing for your child. HE may be a little too Rousseauian for my taste, but makes great -- and FUNNY -- points!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

John Konrad

Turns out my wife is...

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2011

Verified Purchase

After reading the The Freedom Manifesto: How to Free Yourself from Anxiety, Fear, Mortgages, Money, Guilt, Debt, Government, Boredom, Supermarkets, Bills, Melancholy, Pain, Depression, Work, and Waste I visited Tom's website to find out he wrote a book on parenting. For years I've been very much against the reading of parenting books which seem to cause more harm than good... but, being a fan of Tom, I decided to give this book a try. I'm glad I did! Yes the book needs to be read with a grain of salt but the advice is brilliant and it's so well written. In fact, the only problem I have with the book is that my wife has been doing most of these things (unplugging the tv, avoiding supermarkets, etc) for years while I have been fighting her the entire way.

I must say I've never been so glad to have been proven wrong (by my wife and Tom)! This book works!

-John Konrad author of Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Refreshing but frustratingly inconsistent

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2010

Verified Purchase

Tom Hodgkinson's "The Idle Parent" is a frustrating mix of refreshingly anarchic parenting advice (relax, leave your kids alone, enjoy the journey) and weirdly didactic philosophical manifesto (quit your job, don't buy anything plastic, reject most societal norms) -- with plenty of tongue-in-cheek satire sprinkled liberally throughout. Hodgkinson is profoundly pro-environment and anti-capitalist, and believes in living a life as carbon-free and detached from The Man as possible -- yet the extent to which he foists his radical beliefs upon readers quickly becomes an irritant. Despite claiming that all Idle Parents should find their own way and create their own rules when it comes to parenting (yahoo!), his rhetorical style doesn't follow his own mandate -- instead, chapter after chapter outlines the way he's creating his own Idle Family (by getting rid of the dishwasher, eliminating "Family Days Out", growing a garden with his kids, etc.) and strongly intimates that unless you do the same, you're not following The Rules of Idle Parenting.

Indeed, by drawing almost exclusively upon his own experiences (which affords him plenty of opportunities for humorous self-denigration), he alienates readers who don't live on a farm in England with easy access to animals and wilderness; ultimately, he fails to provide readers with a balanced sense of their options. Living in an urban environment, for instance, I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take my kids outdoors to a nearby park -- yet Hodgkinson roundly labels all man-made parks the devil's work (!). Perhaps most egregiously, his categorical cries against both daycare and full-time work outside the house don't acknowledge those of us who find both those societal conventions to be an excellent start at Idle Parenting, given that they allow us to achieve two of his purported goals: a) widening the circle of adults to help care for our kids (daycare), and b) maximizing our own adult enjoyment of life (through meaningful work).

Finally, Hodgkinson barely addresses the world of parenting with kids under three (his three kids are ages 3-8). He touches briefly upon sleeping arrangements (he's an advocate of co-sleeping, which does NOT make life easier and simpler for all parents!), and gratuitously notes that he thinks swaddling is a restrictive practice which should be banned. (Clearly none of his kids had colic... Swaddling can be a true godsend for the Idle Parent of a Fussy Baby.)

With all that said, Hodgkinson's basic credo -- relax and stop feeling guilty about everything you're NOT doing for your kids -- is such an essential antidote to the toxicity of modern helicopter parenting that I'm willing to recommend this book to many of my friends -- with the caveat that much of what he writes (the book could/should have been about half the length) needs to be taken lightly, or ignored altogether.

149 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kategal

I am not a terrible parent after all! Who knew?

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2010

Verified Purchase

My love for Tom Hodgkinson's book "The Freedom Manifesto" borders on the obsessive, so I have been looking forward to the US release of "The Idle Parent" for a long time. It did not disappoint. This is the only parenting book I have ever read (and I believe I have read them all) that makes me feel as if I have actually been doing it (sort of) right all these years. I say "sort of right," and I think Tom Hodgkinson would approve of that - because unlike the other 1456 parenting books I've read, this author is happy to point to specific examples where he has totally messed up in the parenting department. How refreshing! This is the anti-helicopter-parenting bible, as far as I am concerned. Enjoy your own life, and let your kids enjoy theirs. Brilliant!

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

dragonfly

Great ideas and suggestions

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2012

Verified Purchase

This is my first parenting book (only 6mo pregnant right now), but it follows with what my husband and I pretty much believe (reduce plastic, don't run a restaurant at mealtime, lots of outside play time, etc.), and now I don't think that I need another book. I do agree with other reviewers that there's not enough in there about infants though, so I may need to re-read this in 2 years or so.

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2011

Verified Purchase

I loved this book, it reminded me to take a breath and let my child enjoy his childhood. It reminded me to let him live his life and have fun with him and not worry so much about everything !! I want him to grow up self sufficient and brave --this is a good reminder of how you treat them in their youth will reflect in their adulthood.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bryce P. Johnson

The best

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2021

Verified Purchase

Hands down my favorite parenting book.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Fuchs Joan

Wie setzt man das nur um

Reviewed in Germany on August 19, 2015

Verified Purchase

Hier gibt es so viele gute Ideen, der Autor weiss ganz offensichtlich, wovon erspricht. Ich würde sehr gerne einige davon umsetzen, weiss aber echt nicht wie. Wir haben nicht das Glück im Eigenheim auf dem Land mit viel Platz zu leben, wo die Kids einfach so raus könnten, so sind auch Hühner und mehr als nur Hauskatzen unvorstellbar. Auch hat sich die Bequemlichkeit mit Computer und Fernseher eingeschlichen, wie man das runterschrauben soll und kann, ist mir nicht ganz klar, aber definitv überlegenswert. Witzig geschrieben, realitätsnah, eine Empfehlung für alle Nuklearfamilien!

Translate review to English

See more reviews

Buy new:

$8.83

Other Sellers on Amazon

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids Paperback – Illustrated, May 13, 2010

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Review

About the Author

Product details

Important information

About the author

Tom Hodgkinson

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new: $8.83

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the author

The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids Paperback – Illustrated, May 13, 2010

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Review

About the Author

Product details

Important information

About the author

Tom Hodgkinson

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$8.83