The original idea for a whole book about dangerous things you should let your children do was a bit of a fluke. But after spending a weekend watching kids lick a 9-volt battery for the first time (at Maker Faire Bay Area) or reading about families who blog their way through the book (like the Johnsen Clan, featured in this slideshow) it's clear that what kids needs these days is... more danger in their lives!
Of course, I'm not talking about things that are life-threatening or emotionally scarring. However, kids these days are often hardly allowed the time and freedom just to be kids. How did you spend your summer vacation as a kid? Roaming your town with your friends, catching fireflies, sneaking into a movie, swimming in the local quarry, taking the L-train down to watch a Cubs game? And how do your kids spend their summer vacation? One week of soccer, two weeks at summer camp, one week at grandma's, one week of swimming lessons, two weeks at cheerleading camp?
"Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)" is an invitation to kids and parents alike to spend a little time doing something silly, fun, educational, and yes - potentially a little dangerous.
Take a look at what a few kids have to say about doing some dangerous things...
Mark C. Miller: Comedy Camp Boosts Kid Comedians' Self-Esteem
Dangerous Things (Video 2000) - IMDb
HowStuffWorks "10 Dangerous Everyday Things in Your Home"
Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) - Boing Boing
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And fire...let your kids learn about fire. Learning about fire teaching a very valuable lesson...how to put one out. If the first time your kid learns of a grease fire is an emergent situation, that could be trouble (water...flare up...ouch). Even a campfire...learn what keeps it from spreading and not to rely on just tossing water when a fire is getting unruly.
And I support the familiarization with crazy glue. That stuff has a bazillion uses, even medically. Avoiding it out of fear of having fingers glued together for eternity is ridiculous. If you have access to nail polish remover within a 10-mile radius, fear of crazy glue is the equivalent of buying a home alarm to protect against the Easter bunny. Even without the nail polish remover, you're fine in 5-10 minutes.
I also spent a year or two living on a military base in Germany. The MPs would teach us fighting moves. We would roam the entire base.
Lived in Ludwigsburg, and with a bike, we roamed the entire area. There was a wooded are where some travelors lived, and we would drink a bit of beer with them.
The stories.
Perhaps point two isn't so likely any more (I grew up in the '70's), but the first is still true - and our kids are crying for this kind of exploration.
Don't forget, folks, there is a growing connection between kids raised "indoors" by over protective parents, and disorders like allergies and autism. Look it up.
God Bless
There are many stories in the various neighbourhoods, I lived in about a little brown boy who was always up to something. I had my two mates, and all was right with the World.
Whoopsie.
I, too, did most of the other things here at a young age, and then some: bicycled 10 miles from home when I was in third grade, scaled the outside of a three-story building in fourth, jumped on and climbed atop a moving train in sixth. Yet I'm still here. Imagine my surprise.
Our kids were 8 and 10 when we moved there from a suburb. At first they were bored and lonely. But then they discovered "the outside world!!" Trees to climb, a quarry down the road, so much to do and explore. My husband took them on weeklong camping trips sleeping in a tent and using sleeping bags, learning how to make fire, shoot a rifle, other common sense things to do to survive in the wilderness.
They're grown now but they have fond memories. Best thing we ever did for them, IMO!
It is true though that the memories do not come from owning these books- we find many of the kids at our camps have owned the books for years and not done anything from it- it is the doing that makes memories. So parents- don't buy the books, DO the books with your kids.
My list:
Explore a sewer.
Throw dirtclods at bulls.
Tease mean dogs.
Shoot an arrow in the air and try to catch it.
TP a teacher's car.
Joust on bicycles with a buddy using 8-foot floresent light tubes.
Stick your face against a car window on lovers lane.
Sneak into an R rated movie.
Try to get close enough to a moving train to spit on it.
Ride a bike with your eyes closed as long as you can.
Just an opinion mind you... certainly not always the case.