Complicating childhood-nature relations: negotiated, spiritual and destructive encounters

The aim of this paper is to complicate predominantly western, dominant discourses of childhood-nature relations. Drawing on an approach inspired by common-world theorisations, we attend to the experiences of children and their families living, learning, working and playing in the goings-on of Indian urban transformation. Based on in-depth, ethnographic research, we build on literature which highlights the messy world of child-nature relations to extend current theorisations. We pay attention to socio-spatial negotiations, spiritual influences and destructive tendencies to offer a new perspective on how children perceive, experience, affect and are affected by diverse natures.