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Natural Learning Rhythms
A New Parenting Philosophy
By Jenn Director Knudsen
Geoffrey "Ba" Luvmour suffered food allergies as a kid, but no work ever was done to identify a food culprit. In his 20s, Luvmour did the work; he experimented with different diets and eliminated the troublesome foods. Now 59, he's not suffered since. In Luvmour's mind, families that struggle to be a healthy unit composed of healthy individuals struggle unnecessarily – like he had with undiagnosed food allergies.
Just as Luvmour figured out which physical nourishments didn't jibe with his body's needs, family members must provide one another "developmental nourishments," he says. In so doing, "it's like creating a healthy immune system," a system that functions beautifully and continually without the need for "palliatives," says Luvmour, considered a pioneer in the field of whole-family experiential learning and also a father, new grandfather and national and international speaker.
How does one – and how does a family – strengthen its so-called immune system? Luvmour and a growing number of individual and group adherents to Luvmour's philosophies, believe Optimal Parenting: Using Natural Learning Rhythms to Nurture the Whole Child (Sentient Publications, 2006) holds not the answer, but many different ways people can arrive at their own right answer for their children and their families.
"I have read many of the parenting books out there, and this one stands above the rest," says one reader in Luvmour's hometown of Portland, Ore. "It doesn't just address problems or difficulties, but instead offers concrete examples and beautiful ways to nurture the well-being in my child, in my family, in society and in myself. I found this so refreshing. It offers great narratives, examples in case-history form and really easy-to-understand tables that help tie everything together in one place."