National Trust list of 50 things to do before the age of 12
THE National Trust has launched a campaign to bring back some good old fashioned 1950s values to today's children.
It has produced a list of 50 activities to do before the age of 12.
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Den bulding at Beechenhurst
The list comes after a report commissioned by the trust revealed fewer than one in 10 children regularly play in wild places compared with almost half a generation ago, and a third have never climbed a tree.
In the age of Facebook and smartphones, children are more sedentary than ever even when they are outside, with one in 10 unable to ride a bike.
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Other highlights of the list of simple outdoor pleasures include running around in the rain, bug hunting, snail racing and flying a kite.
The National Trust has recruited five elite rangers from its ranks to encourage families to get involved, including a tree-climbing expert and stone-skimming supremo.
Justin Scully, assistant director of operations for the National Trust in the East of England, said: “We’re hoping that the nation’s children will embrace our 50 things campaign. It’s a great way to encourage more families to enjoy adventures outdoors and our free weekend is the perfect opportunity to visit.
“With heaps of enthusiasm for the outdoors, our staff and volunteers are a fantastic bunch just waiting to encourage kids to tick off the 50 things. The question is, will your family be up for the challenge?”
The full list is as follows:
1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Throw some snow
12. Hunt for treasure on the beach
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Go sledging
16. Bury someone in the sand
17. Set up a snail race
18. Balance on a fallen tree
19. Swing on a rope swing
20. Make a mud slide
21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild
22. Take a look inside a tree
23. Visit an island
24. Feel like you’re flying in the wind
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Watch the sun wake up
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Get behind a waterfall
30. Feed a bird from your hand
31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a butterfly in a net
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what’s in a pond
36. Call an owl
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go wild swimming
43. Go rafting
44. Light a fire without matches
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try bouldering
47. Cook on a campfire
48. Try abseiling
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river
Comments
by BarryWalmsley
Sunday, February 10 2013, 5:08PM
“It would be a mistake to take this list as a criticism of modern parenting in the UK, or to read it too prescriptively. It is providing a picture of 'real childhood' and it is well worth reminding ourselves that virtually every child of that age, in the correct context, would find most of the items on that list exciting and adventurous. It is up to us to make sure that we provide the context within which each child can experience and enjoy at least some of those activities.
Modern life does tend to militate against this however and many children, for a wide variety of reasons, will not be able to tick of anywhere near as many of those items as they would like to.
It is a sad fact that, whilst in France, and in the USA attendance on residential 'summer camps' for children is common, and the activities listed by the National Trust will play a significant part of their programme, in the UK such camps are virtually unknown, and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that UK children are missing out on some very valuable educational experiences as a result.
In the 1960s and 70s, a UK organisation called 'Colony Holidays' briefly popularised the French model of Summer Camps with great success, and children were encouraged by trained young adults, working as enthusiastic volunteers, to engage in the sort of activities promoted by the National Trust, and to leave behind the trappings of a modern society for just a short while.
A much smaller organisation known as Active Training and Education is still doing this with their incredible 'Superweeks' and one can only hope that this timely campaign by the National Trust will help their cause.”