Pagan Parenting: Spiritual, Magical & Emotional Development of the Child

Author(s): Kristin Madden
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
Release Date: 11/01/2000
Available formats: Paperback - Trade Paper (ISBN: 1567184928)
Number of pages: 312

reviewed by Jia Starsong

As a Pagan mother of 2 I was excited to read this book. Inside its pages I hoped to find exercises and rituals to help me expose my children more to spiritual practice. I hoped to find a work that would guide me in teaching the basics of pagan theology in a kid-friendly manner. I hoped to read a work that gave lots of examples in a practical easy-to-read manner. I was hoping for a text chock-full of child-friendly material.

However, this was not quite what I got, and frankly I was a bit disappointed.

While Ms. Madden's book touches on different stages of our lives as parents . from getting through pregnancy and infancy . to guiding our children as they become part of our community (such as when they start school) . to issues of health and healing, I found myself surprised at the lack of a personal touch.

While Ms. Madden does share some personal stories the book overall has an intellectual feel. The book sounds almost like a childhood psychology textbook. It seems to be more of an exploration of the parenting issues a Pagan mom or dad might face, not the guidebook I was anticipating.

Rituals are described, not laid out for you. While an experienced practitioner might not have any difficulty translating these explanations into a ritual format, someone new to creating rites for a group may have more difficulty. Ideally I would've liked to see rituals laid out for the reader. With roles for the parent(s) and children.

The Sabbats are only discussed over a couple of pages with examples of enjoyable activities for that time of year. This section could've used a lot more detail. Ideally I would've liked to have seen a few pages devoted to EACH holiday, with meal suggestions, stories to read to teach the mythology and lessons associated with that time of year, as well as activities to make it all more fun.

While I feel that "Pagan Parenting" is an intelligent look at the day-to-day issues that face the Pagan Family I feel that it could've been so much more. Ms. Madden touches on many topics, but none of them have the depth that I would want in a guide to parenting as a Pagan.