What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About Raising Children

In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff looks back to our ancestors for solutions to our failing modern-day parenting theories.

In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff looks back to our ancestors for solutions to our failing modern-day parenting theories.

When Dr Michaeleen Doucleff became a mother, she examined the studies behind modern parenting guidance and found that the evidence was frustratingly limited, and the conclusions often ineffective. She began to wonder if an opposite approach was needed – one founded on traditional wisdom, like the knowledge and experience passed down over hundreds, even thousands, of years within ancient cultures.

With her young daughter in tow, she travelled across the world to observe and practice parenting strategies alongside families in three of the world's most venerable communities: Maya families in Mexico, Inuit families above the Arctic Circle, and Hadza families in Tanzania.

Dr Doucleff soon learned that these cultures don't have the same problems with children that Western parents do. Most strikingly, parents build a relationship with young children that is vastly different from the one many Western parents develop, built on co-operation instead of control; trust instead of fear; and personalised needs instead of standardised development milestones.

In Hunt, Gather, Parent, Doucleff introduces us to families where parents help little ones learn to control their emotions and reduce tantrums by the parents themselves controlling their own frustrations; foster self-sufficiency by safely giving kids the autonomy to manage risks and explore their limits; and motivate children to help with chores without using bribes or threats. Doucleff also talks to psychologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists, and sociologists and explains how the tools and tips can impact children's mental health and development.

Packed with practical takeaways, Hunt, Gather, Parent helps us rethink the ways we relate to our children, and reveals a universal parenting paradigm adapted for modern families.