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Awareness of risk, perhaps
[quote=Edukator ]Did you stop reading there, Aracer? We aren't our parents and we a talking about risk appreciation here.
No, but my reasons are nothing to do with risk. I'm not worried about burning the house (or the trampoline) down. I'm sure I don't need to justify myself on the "risky" things I get up to with my kids.
In any case, the issue isn't a lack of casual disregard of risk. I'd suggest that never was a particularly good thing. The issue is an inability to correctly assess risk. I'd rather my kids didn't get up to things which really are risky, but quite happy for them to do things which aren't which might get other people tutting.
FC Wales (NRW) here, but just wanted to make sure that people didn't get the idea that FC encourage people to wander into the forest and start fires! 🙂I just looked up. Seems FC Scotland tread a finer line that FC England...
Yes we've got a [url= http://www.carmarthenshireforestschools.com/index.html ]Forest School[/url] project near us who do all this sort of thing which I think is excellentFC even encourage such play for children...
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/fce-rope-swings-dens-fires.pdf/$FILE/fce-rope-swings-dens-fires.pdf
Just last week got my 6 and 4 year olds to cycle 12 miles round Lake Vyrnwy..
There was many cake and haribo stops. I cant think of many parents at school who would even take their children onto a road with bikes.
Horses, bikes, surfing, tree climbing, cycling, camping... all actively encouraged. The only worrying part in all this is my 2 year old has absolutely no fear and loves climbing. Theres been a few heart in mouth moments when ive turned my back for just a second.
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We were on a French campsite that had a rope adventure trail onsite, as well as kayaking and ponies, bike trails and all sorts of outdoor awesomeness for kids The rope trail was great, very well put together. All the kids wore harnesses with double carabiner loops to a steel safety cable, and of course helmets. The instructors were very professional and attentive, and I estimated the highest point to be no higher than about twenty feet. My kids absolutely loved it, but they had spent a large chunk of their time climbing the trees in our garden. I mentioned it to the woman in the caravan next to ours and she had a near breakdown. These things were deadly, and I mean there was a risk of serious injury! It was irresponsible of the campsite to encourage such dangerous activities, and there was no way she would let her little cherubs anywhere near it. I tried to explain the safety harness and cable system, but she clearly couldn't grasp how it would stop the kids from hurting themselves.
She reported us to the campsite management when we spent a jolly evening playing with a Pringles-tube canon, launching balled up gaffer tape with lighter fluid. The campsite manager engaged in a modicum of gallic shrugging and failed to understand enough Anglais to take the complaint on board. The bottle rockets off the car compressor didn't impress her much either.
We eventually got our own back on her by getting her mouse of a husband pissed on some Belgian beer that was so sickly we decided it wasn't worth drinking. 😈
Pringles tube cannon sounds like a great idea. Might have to try that one!
We use these at work, with added vent holes, and it works well, leaving no mark (unless on grass) and the kids are great at starting and managing them.
Matt, they also make an effective hot smoker for fish.
Pringles cannon does sound great...
and what exactly is wrong with wanting to keep the grass in good shape and not have burn holes in things?
Nothing at all, but having a bonfire is more fun. (ask your kids)
Pringles tube cannon recipe:
Eat two tubes of Pringles.
Remove base from one of the tubes with a Stanley knife
Join the two tubes together using gaffer tape.
Pierce the bottom tube about an inch from the base leaving a fuse hole about half an inch diameter.
Squirt one squirt of Zippo/Ronsonol liquid into the fuse hole and warm the tube in you hands. You're looking to create a combustion space filled with vapor, not liquid fuel.
Create a projectile using balled up gaffer tape, shiny side out, not too dense in construction, and make it a reasonably snug, but not overtight fit in the tube.
Place it in the top tube as far down as the join.
Insert barbecue lighter with piezo spark into fuse hole and click. Do not peer into loaded tube whilst clicking.
Please note that this can be scaled up using various diameters of piping. I hesitate to recommend the final version which involved plastic fall pipe, a cooker piezo and potatoes. Experimenting with various propellants and amounts we were surprised to discover you can launch potatoes across an entire Scoutcamp using butane and hairspray.
An ex RAF friend of mine speaks fondly of scaling it up to cable bobbins and cabbages.