Earth Parenting
Our Story
Earth Parenting was created as a remedy for the disconnection of our modern world
Founded in 2018 by Kristill McMullan, Earth Parenting promotes a return to the firm foundations of a life planted in natural rhythms. A way of being that supports the fundamental design of human nature.
We care for and support each other, and the earth supports us. It’s the gateway to a joyous and playful life, full of wonder, awe and imagination, rooted in wisdom and held by community.
Earth Parenting spreads this knowledge through nature-play and parenting workshops, events, playgroups, and advocacy.
Raw Materials
a short film by Robert Castiglione & Silvia Lehmann
The founder’s story
Hi, I’m Kristill McMullan
I’m a qualified nurse, sailor, mother of four, grandma, knowledge keeper, bushcraft teacher and a parenting advocate.
But my story really started when I got a peek into two very different worlds...
When I was young, my father worked as ground crew for Qantas, so my family grew up all over the world. During my childhood and teenage years, we were stationed in Fiji, Arabia, and Pakistan, and we travelled extensively.
We had access to some of the best hotels on Earth, and my family loved to get out into local villages and meet the people who lived on the land.
This allowed me a glimpse into both the indigenous cultures of these countries, and the world of the very affluent expats in the big hotels and cities.
I noticed a baffling disparity.
The kids in the indigenous cultures (I called them Earth kids) all had the same qualities. They were confident, happy, robust, and competent. They played in mixed age groups without adult supervision.
There was a different quality common to the affluent kids. They tended to be shyer, less playful, and seemed less robust and more reliant on adult interaction.
The Earth mothers seemed different to me too. They had an ease about them that made me feel safe. Women in these communities were always together, sitting and socialising or sharing work. There was always easy laughter among them.
My mother's friends and the women in expatriate circles seemed colder to me as a child. There wasn’t as much ease, and I sensed a hidden competition between them.
The differences fascinated me.
And later in life as I grew up and became a registered nurse, I began to see the differences in health outcomes. I witnessed alarming health conditions happening at a higher rate in affluent communities and saw hardiness and happiness in children from poorer countries.
As my perception of the modern world grew, and I saw the discontentment and disconnection that our society has fallen victim to; I felt called to uncover the forgotten knowledge of these indigenous cultures. And one question kept swirling around in my mind...
“What did Earth mothers do in the raising of their children?”
I searched the libraries for answers, but anthropologists and historians didn’t focus on parenting techniques, though they did commonly state when writing about these cultures, “The children are so happy.” It was a clue but not a conclusion.
So, when I started a family of my own, my life became a living experiment.
And that question was the basis for every decision,
“What did the Earth mothers do?”
I learnt how to carry my babies on my back like the African women I’d met. I slept outside in the garden with my children and kept them close to the earth. We grew food and kept chickens. I lived with no running water, no electricity, I carted water to use every day, and I cooked on a fire.
I got as close to the physical situation that Earth mothers experienced, and wisdom and insight began to flow. Natural rhythms emerged, dictated by sunlight and sleep cycles. Thought patterns and preparation schedules built themselves to sustain and nourish us. I was held in a matrix of natural intelligence.
I learned bush skills through hands-on trial and error. I slowly stepped out of my comfort zone and found my footing. I faced my fears and discomfort. I relished the lessons.
But the real fruit of Earth Parenting was my children.
Industrious children who rarely said they were bored when there was access to the outside. Children who were robust and content, who were fascinated by rocks and bottle tops, and skies and stories and each other. They were like the indigenous children that I’d witnessed all those years ago.
I now teach the wisdom that took me a lifetime to learn. I’ve distilled it down so that it’s easily accessible and digestible for modern families. You don’t need to live the way I did to reap the benefits within your family.
Earth Parenting is the culmination of my life’s search for a better way to parent. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a simple remedy for a broken world. It’s a way to come home.
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