First of all, I loved this book.
Alison challenges the popular idea of parenting by presenting a different way of taking care of children. The modern model of parenting is to try and mold your child into what we believe could be a functionally productive adult in our society. This, to Alison (and to me), is just how a carpenter works, their piece is treated with the utmost detail so that the result will look as it is pictured in their head.
I think the gardener's way of looking at your child that the book presents sounds both more demanding and rewarding. To care for a child has a new meaning for me, the job of a caretaker is never to create a type of adult but to provide an environment where adaptability reigns. We cannot predict the future. The children born today will have their own set of difficulties and opportunities, if we choose to rigidly dictate the path they will take, we are leaving them with no room for the unknowns and no one but ourselves to blame.
I'm sure I will be coming back to this book in the near future.