In The Idle Parent Tom Hodgkinson provides a revolutionary and wholly sensible approach to childcare, based on the idea of D.H. Lawrence and many others that the best thing we can do for children is to leave them alone.

Of course, this doesn't mean that we should completely neglect them, but rather that we should provide them with the space and time to grow up self-reliant, confident, happy and free. To do so we need to stop worrying and start nurturing the natural instincts towards creativity and independence in every child. And in so doing we will find ourselves becoming happier and better parents.

This is the perfect guide for anyone grappling with parenthood and wondering why the existing manuals are so dispiriting.

Juliette Mitchell, Hamish Hamilton Associate Editor , on The Idle Parent:

'D.H. Lawrence said the best thing you could do for your children was leave them alone, and Tom Hodgkinson, perhaps the world's expert on idleness, agrees wholeheartedly. Hands-off parenting, he tells us, is the way to go and will make you -- and your children -- much happier. So if life as a parent sometimes feels like a never-ending round of chores, it's probably time to read this book and work out a better way to deal with those sleepless nights, endless demands and overpriced family days-out . . '