Permaculture Parenting: 12 Ways to Parent the Permaculture Way

We reveal practical and philosophical examples of permaculture parenting and how to parent according to the 12 permaculture principles.

1. Observe and interact

  • Look for signals from your children about what developmental stage they are at and support them to learn what they need in this stage.
  • Observe your children’s behaviour to discover what they love and engage in these activities with them – this will facilitate greater connection and better relationships.
  • Observe your children in their difficult times, to assist them in finding their triggers and patterns so that they can learn from them.

2. Catch and store energy

  • Sleep well so that you have enough energy to play with your children.
  • Save up and treasure the good experiences you have with your children – this will help you get through the hard and uncertain times.
  • Children have a lot of stored energy – for learning, creativity, physicality – nurture and support the expression of this energy.

Permaculture Parenting

3. Obtain a yield

  • Teach children how to do something rather than doing it for them – this will result in a repeating yield over time.
  • Use their stored energy wisely (see previous permaculture parenting principle) – get them to collect and chop the firewood!
  • Recognise the unique qualities of your child and make best use of those attributes to contribute to the family.

4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback

  • Illustrate to your children the consequences of their actions, especially their effect on other people’s feelings.
  • Teach them that choices come with responsibilities, and that decisions often have far reaching and long-term effects.
  • Examine your own expectations of your children, and whether these are putting unrealistic pressures on them.

5. Use and value renewable resources and services

  • Make meals (including your own baby food) from home-grown produce.
  • Model a sustainable lifestyle to show what you value in your life.
  • Help your children understand the difference between non-renewable (eg. fossil fuels) and renewable resources (eg. solar power).

6. Produce no waste

  • Feed food scraps to backyard chooks or worms.
  • Model that mistakes are useful – life experiences are never a waste if they are seen as an opportunity to learn.
  • Don’t waste your energy giving yourself a hard time if you make permaculture parenting (or common parenting) mistakes.

kids in nature

7. Design from patterns to details

  • Babies often respond well to a daily pattern of sleep, feed and play.
  • Step back and look at the big picture of teenagers’ lives – don’t get caught up in the small stuff.
  • Modelling patterns of behaviour in your daily life sets up a good foundation. Then you can allow your teens to make their own choices knowing they have a solid foundation.

8. Integrate rather than segregate

  • Enjoy meals together as a family.
  • Make friends welcome in the family home.
  • Become an integral part of your local community.

9. Use small and slow solutions

  • Children will respond to gentleness (with firmness) rather than a heavy-handed approach.
  • Trust that your children will learn what they need to over time – allow the pace of development to reflect the child, not society’s expectations.
  • Provide opportunities for teens to reveal their thoughts and feelings (eg. on car trips, when working side by side or bedtime chats), rather than forcing conversations.

toddler playing in autumn leaves

10. Use and value diversity

  • Treat all children as individuals and respond to their particular needs.
  • Use the “multiple intelligences” model, where everyone in the tribe has something to offer and everyone’s strengths are equally valued.
  • Model an openness to diversity and difference in your life.

11. Use edges and value the marginal

  • Value the spirited and sensitive children – they have much to offer this world.
  • Provide measured challenges for your children that stretch their comfort zones and allow them to develop.
  • Support situations that provide managed risks for older children – give them more freedom, but within set boundaries.

12. Creatively use and respond to change

  • Recognise when your children have moved on to a different developmental stage and adjust your treatment of them accordingly.
  • Encourage resilience development by embracing all changes that happen, and all thoughts and feelings (whether “bad” or “good”).
  • Don’t expect linear progression in your children, allow the maturing process to happen at its own pace.

You can find the full version of this article in Issue #2 of Pip Magazine, which is available here.

Like more articles like this one? Subscribe to Pip Magazine’s print or digital editions here.

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