Grow Wild

"Grow Wild is a must-read for any parents and educators who want to inject more movement into kids’ lives but aren’t sure where to start. With plenty of photo inspiration and some great ideas to try, Bowman combines the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of movement to give a field guide to turning sedentary kids into a generation of wild movers."—Caroline Williams, author of Move! and My Plastic Brain

"Pandemic parenting. Zoom meetings. Virtual school. If you’ve coped with looking at devices all year, Katy Bowman’s Grow Wild will strike you as a gentle, cautionary guide about kids’ “super-sedentary” environments, and how it’s counter-cultural, yet urgent, to start changing these.

A biomechanist, Bowman encourages reconnecting with movement and nature, not only for their health benefits or evolutionary ties, but for longer-term family and community vitality. Rather than outlining specific exercises, her holistic approach spans everything from choosing footwear and flexible clothing, to setting up movement-friendly indoor spaces, to adding motion in natural stages. Its methods dovetail with activities we’d be doing anyway, such as making food.

Color photographs of real families and alloparents supplement the book’s personal stories about engaging wild and urban spaces. These inspire ways to rethink how we use our settings. Logical, persuasive, and compassionate arguments make this a timely resource: we’re all culpable of sitting around too much, but we’re all capable of redefining our modern mold, too.”—Karen Rigby, Foreword Reviews 

"Brilliantly organized and accessible, Grow Wild is full of actionable items that families can do immediately... An important book you'll want to keep handy as a daily reference."—Dr. Rose Hayden-Smith, author of Sowing the Seeds of Victory: American Gardening Programs of WWI

"Grow Wild provides essential movement nutrition for you and your family…An inspiring, original and even a joyful book, Grow Wild is an instant classic."—Professor Vybarr Cregan-Reid, author of Primate Change: How the World We Made is Remaking Us

"It is [the adults'] job to give [kids] permission to try [growing wild], and an environment that gives them the ability to succeed. Grow Wild is not a book of exercises. Rather it is a helpful reference for creating active spaces for children to move in throughout their ordinary day."—Sheryl Campbell, Mother Earth News

"Through touching images, convincing science, and warm-hearted wisdom, Katy Bowman offers you practical strategies to get moving even in the face of environmental and psychological barriers."—Diana Hill, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and author of ACT Daily Journal: Get Unstuck and Live More Fully With Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

"Grow Wild is a wondrous invitation to belonging and connection in a world that has forgotten how much movement matters. In this essential guide, Katy Bowman offers a magical blend of inspiration and practical action. Every page glows with ideas for cultivating the innate bodily intelligence that connects kids (and all of us) to health, creativity, radiance, and the wisdom of the earth."—Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Mozart’s Starling

"This is more than a book to get you and your family moving more. Each of us has a role to play towards regeneration, and this book outlines ways to shift everyday essential activities from the mundane to the meaningful."—Doniga Markegard, regenerative rancher, author of Dawn Again and Wolf Girl

“Katy Bowman lays out the case for centering your family life around movement so plainly that it may not dawn on you right away how profound her suggestions are. Make no mistake--the ideas in this book are a paradigm shift. Making space for wildness doesn’t just help the young humans in your life (and you, too); it can also save the human race and the planet, all while making your family life more fun and fulfilling. No big deal!”—Kate Hanley, author of How to Be a Better Person