49 - Sleep in the Wild



50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do 

 

Ethan, Gavin and Mikey have experienced sleeping outdoors on many occasions in several different settings. They have all been involved in Boy Scouts of America as cub scouts. Recently Gavin has 'crossed over' into Boy Scouts and has had the experience of wilderness camping as well as sleeping at a campsite. The camp Gavin slept at has open flap platform tents - open to the air and whatever might be sharing that space.

 

My boys have also been sleeping in the yard for several years. Now and then they will decide to set up camp in the backyard and "campout" for the night. Recently, Gavin and his friend camped outside in his friend's large, Long Island backyard.

 

 

These two boys also engaged in Dangerous Things #28, #43 and #45 all in the same evening! That's just how they roll ;) As I write, Gavin is packing to leave for another friend's house and I have heard that their options for sleeping are the loft of a barn and a previously hand-constructed shelter the two friends built recently.

 

I am sure these traditions will continue in (or rather outside of) my house. Soon they will have to take their little brother out and initiate him into the clan called "They-Who-Sleep-Out-In-The-Yard".

 

I love when they sleep out there - it's just so good for them and everyone should do it at some point. I hope my boys gets lots of opportunities to sleep under the stars. Have your kids slept in the yard?

 

 

Dangerous? Depends on who your ask. I have had strange reactions from people to allowing my kids to sleep in the yard. I have been asked if I'm worried about animals - nope, or people 'stealing' them - nope. I am not afraid and I think it is good and safe and a wonderful experience.

 

“The woods were my Ritalin. Nature calmed me, focused me, and yet excited my senses.”
― Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

42 - Break the Recipe Rule Book

50 Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do)

"Hi Auntie, can we do some 'Dangerous Things' today?"

That's how the 'Breaking the Recipe Rule Book' entry got started. One of the first things Gavin and Sam decided to make was 'tea'. Out in the backyard they chose some leaves from my herb garden and some other things they know to be edible from the lawn - clover & dandelion. When they found out the I owned a mortar & pestle, they were thrilled. They also chose to use some spices from my cabinets and the concocting began.

Gavin chose a tea ball and Sam the boil and strain method. Both teas were creative and tasty.

They followed the directions in the book of collecting ingredients and preparing the pan. It was interesting to hear them negotiating what would go into their 'cake'. I was merely a spectator and photographer. They agreed that flour, milk, oil and eggs were necessary. Then the 'big idea' came to them - a S'mores cake - so chocolate chips, marshmallows and crumbled graham crackers were added. They also both agree that baking soda was necessary although neither of them could articulate why. They discussed measurements and amounts.

It was totally edible, fairly spongy, and very sugary! Recipes rules were definately broken - several times I wanted to tell them that they would need some salt or that is waaaayyyy too much vanilla - but that would have ruined the exercise.

Dangerous? These kids are competant at loading stuff into the oven, so I think it was pretty safe. I will admit that tasting it required some bravery from the rest of us. You will definately get mom (or dad) points for giving your kids free reign of the kitchen for a little adventure in cooking.

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure.

In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” 

― Julia Child

11 - Throw Rocks

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

Ethan's activity of choice since he could walk, and grab a rock in his chubby little hands, was to throw rocks. We gave him appropriate places to do it, his favorite being into a little stream behind my mother's house. He spent lots of time with my mom just throwing rocks as a little kid.

All my boys enjoy throwing rocks (is that like saying they all like candy?) I have gone places with the intention of allowing them to throw rocks into a stream or a pond only to have other mom's telling their kids repeatedly to 'put the rocks down'! My kids would shoot me a glance to see what I expected of them - go right ahead I would tell them.

  

I taught them very early on to throw rocks when there was nothing between them and the water - like other people! I also showed them when and where we would throw rocks and where we would not. I feel like because they had chances to do it when they wanted - they were willing to abstain when  I asked them to.

Let them throw rocks! It is fun and feels really good - go ahead, try it.

Dangerous? A little bit. The risks are mild if the parameters and settings are right. 

What we remember from childhood we remember forever - permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen. ~Cynthia Ozick

34 - Deconstruct an Appliance

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

I happened to have a bunch of kids at my house. I also happened to have a VCR that I bought at the thrift shop for $3.98 on 1/2 price day. Borrowing Dennis' tools, I gave them something to keep them busy for an hour and a half.

I did not give them any instructions, but I told them that they were welcome to the tools and the VCR if they had interest. They all went promptly to work.

They were all interested in different parts of the machine. Some liked the circuit boards, other copper wiring, some smooth spinning wheels on ball bearings, and some were interested in fashion - look, Janet...I made a headband!

I was watching 'headband girl' for several minutes, because she seemed to be on the periphery of the project and I was trying to see if she needed me to intervene for her. Then I noticed what she was doing was taking the discarded screws and matching them to the screwdrivers that were available. She informed me that there were 'star-shaped' tops and 'lines'. Neat.

When they all had their fill of unscrewing, wire clipping, hammering, unsnapping, and breaking the VRC down it's tiniest elements, they procured Ziploc bags and divided up the booty. There was trading and negotiating, a little fighting and then they all seemed to gather an acceptable cache of 'treasure'.

No tools or children were hurt in the carrying out of this challenge.

Dangerous? No, not really. But really interesting.

45 - Play With Fire

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

I believe we have met the criteria for this many times. Our boys have all been interested in varying degrees with fire. I have written about it before here and here.

Allowing kids to light, experiment and play with fire might be an experience that many parents balk at. I think it is an experience that can allow them to develop competance at an early age. Being around fire lets kids literally 'feel the heat', understanding quickly the boundaries that must not be crossed to ensure their own safety. In my experiene, kids that have not be adequately introduced to fire tend to act the most irresponsible when around it.

I think it is important to speak to children about these things in the positive. I don't believe in telling kids they will burn themselves or set their surroundings on fire. We inform them of the proper way to be around and handle fire and what to do if things do not go as planned. Being able to start and maintain a fire can be a life-saving skill.

Dangerous? Only if you are not prepared to give your kids the information and latitude they need to develop responsibility around fire.

47 - Melt Glass

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

I was not sure we could build a fire hot enough to melt glass. The typical fire burns at about 900 degrees and 1400 degrees is required to melt glass (I found out from the book - I did not know that). Gavin had a pretty good fire going when I suggested that we 'melt glass'. We constructed an 'oven' as the book suggested and scavengered our neighbors recycling bins. Gavin placed a glass bottle in the newly configured fire. We were fortunate it was such a windy day so the fire was easily stoked without us huffing and puffing.

We built up the fire on top of the bottle as the book instructed and waited.

You can see how round the mouth of the bottle is and the shoulders are so well-formed. We were supposed to watch for the glass to 'slump' because it was so hot it would lose its shape.

See the curved mouth of the bottle? The kids were poking it with sticks and it was pretty maleable. Eventually the whole bottle collapsed onto itself and it was a mushy mess!

Dangerous? Absolutely. This was one of the hottest fires we have made in the backyard. I think the specific constrution of it, the vast amount of wood we put on and the wind contributed to that factor. We tried to roast some marshmallows while waiting for the bottle to 'slump', but they kept catching fire.

Have fun melting your own glass!





14 - Put Strange Stuff in the Microwave

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

We followed the directions in the book for putting some strange items in the mirowave. They were all pretty interesting and we had neat results.

We put a CD on a paper towel and in the microwave for 3 seconds. We did not have any idea what was going to happen and were surprised that 3 seconds did it. The CD was just what you would picture a brand new CD would look like...but this is what came out!

Another thing we put in the microwave was a grape. We cut the grape in half, leaving a small connection of skin between the two pieces. We put it in for 10 seconds. The book did not tip us off as to what would happen.

Two other very fun items to put in the microwave were marshmallows and Ivory Soap. I won't tell you what happened so that you can do them for yourself. They were both worth doing.

Dangerous? I don't think so. This in no way damages the microwave and nothing really scary happened except for the weird plasticky smell from CD, the super-hot marshmallow and the burning grape.

03 - Master the Perfect Somersault

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Chidren Do

 

The boys have had lots of opportunities to do somersaults. They taught themselves and have always done them at home. They recently had a chance to hone them at their circus arts class. But, in the spirit being true to the book, we did a few anyway.

Dangerous? Nah! But cute to have a record of these three doing somersaults. (There was no way Ethan was participating, even though I know he can do one.)

38 - Learn Tightrope Walking

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

Gavin, Mikey and even Sean (and previously Ethan) take every opportunity to scale things, climb things and balance on objects that beckon them to balance on. While other mother's are yelling at their kids to get down, I'm taking photos.

Gavin & Mikey are particularly agile, and I like to think some of it is because they have been allowed to hone their skills. As far as tightroping walking goes, they can do the tops of bike racks, chain link fences, the tops of swingsets, and railings.

I particularly like that they did this with books in their hands, looked like they were walking on the ground and turned around at one end and did it again without falling.

Hey, you have to start somewhere!

Dangerous? We haven't had any problems yet. I guess you risk a broken bone, but I supposed that's bound to happen sometime.

53 - Whittle

50 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

I don't know how many kids whittle. I don't know how many kids are allowed to carry and handle knives. Are yours? Gavin & Mikey as well as their friend who were whittling here the other day are all Cub/Boy Scouts. In order to carry/use their knives they were taught how to handle a knife and some basic guidelines. They know that the improper use of a knife would results in losing that privilege. That is *really* something these boys do not want to lose.

Worried about your kids playing too many video games? Give them knives - they'll go find much more interesting things to do. You have to get outside to whittle, it could turn into a fabulous hobby, and it's a useful skill - how can you go wrong?

Dangerous? It is, but with proper training and some simple guidelines you can trust that nothing more than a little blood will be the worst of it.



10 - Play with the vacuum cleaner

50 Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)

Playing with the vacuum is just not something the boys have thought about doing before. That might be because I love that vacuum dearly and have told them that it is probably the most expensive thing I own. They had alot of fun and were able to make crazy sounds come out of it!

One of the sounds was a high-pitched humming sound and the other was a terribly annoying buzzing. Then the broke out the shop vac to test out Mr. Bernoulli's Principle.

 Dangerous? Only to my vacuum. Not remotely for the kids. It was still fun and keeps us on the track of doing all 50 'dangerous' things.



13 - Boil Water in a Paper Cup

50 Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)

We attempted to boil water in a paper cup. Sounds ridiculous (and dangerous) right? The book recommended doing this activity with a true paper cup or an origami box. We picked an origami box, which was a hard enough feat, making all those folds and getting them in the right places.

With Gavin, is his cousin, who is making herself a pair of duck tape shoes.

We followed the directions meticulously and read the science behind why you would be able to get water to boil in a paper cup. Only, it didn't work out for us :(

The first box leaked alot. The browning on the top of the box was expected, in fact, the book stated that it may even go on fire. It suggested using the shiniest paper you had available (higher clay content) and so our second box was made from magzine paper.

The second box leaked faster and more furiously. We noted that the water was really hot and just about boiling. But not quite. Maybe we will experiment with it another time.

Dangerous? Absolutely! I asked the boys to stand back as I was concerned about the flopping open and the hot water scalding them. The book made it clear that it was fine to allow the top of the box to burn since it would be stopped by the water in the cup - definately 'dangerous' stuff!

09 - Make a Bomb in a Bag

50 Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)

The 'bomb' referred to in this activity harnesses the awesome power of cider vinegar and baking soda. The fun of it was containing it within just the right amount of space to cause some cool results.

The goal was to keep the packet of base out of the pool of acid until you 'set off your bomb'. The boys had a good time redesigning their 'bombs' and coming up with additional ideas.

Seems like I found the explosions pretty entertaining ;)

Dangerous? Apparently, from the sounds of the videos, I was scared!

08 - Throw a Spear

50 Dangerous Things (you should let your kids do)

We didn't have to look far for a spear around here - we're armed to the teeth! The book definately had some good tips on good form and increasing your likelyhood of hitting your mark.

In the book, there was data and facts about spears that prompted alot of 'Bing' searches.

Dangerous? Only to the pillow case we used as a target!