SHOW / EPISODE

Grow Wild, My Child: Restoring the Wonder of Childhood | Ainsley Arment (Bonus Episode)

29m | Oct 4, 2026

If you've been listening for a while now, you know, I've talked about the benefits of getting kids outside or living a slower childhood or having less screen time. But in today's conversation, we're going to be talking about the negative side of making our children's childhood too structured and adult directed. And what children can gain when we give some of that back?

Today, I'm joined by Ainsley Arment, founder of Wild and Free, an author of the new children's book, Grow Wild My Child, for a conversation about protecting the wonder, curiosity, and freedom of childhood, we talk about how easily parenting can become over-structured and adult-directed, why not every childhood interest needs to become productive and the tension between guiding our kids and knowing when to step out of the way because our job isn't necessarily to manufacture a magical childhood for our children, but to leave enough space for them to experience one.

Links Discussed in This Episode |


About Ainsley |

Ainsley Arment is the founder and leader of Wild + Free, author of the bestselling book The Call of the Wild & Free, and co-host of the regular Wild + Free Podcast. As she leads this movement of families doing homeschooling in a new way, she thinks deeply about making the most of life and ensuring her children have a fertile seedbed for their own uniqueness and creativity.

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