50 DANGEROUS THINGS

Despite the title, this book is not about getting your children to take stupid risks. It is about allowing them to learn to handle risk and danger in a safe and responsible way and at an appropriate time for their maturity. It is a definitive backlash against all the modern overprotection of children promoted by lawyers, Health and Safety Departments and hyped up by the press.Many of the activities are normal things that many many parents did as children and survived. The books premise is that it is safer to allow children to learn about risk in a controlled environment so that they can learn to assess it and make informed decisions, rather than wrapping them in bubble wrap and making them afraid of everything and hence incompetent and more likely to hurt themselves through inexperience.It also, rightly points out the extent to which overprotecting stunts a sense of discovery and learning.This is an absolute breath of fresh air.Surprisingly, all parents I have met who have bought this are delighted. It seems to have 'given people permission' to allow their kids to do things that parents have been too afraid to allow them to do because they felt everyone would condemn them for it. Now they can finally breathe and say that yes, why shouldn't their kids wittle with a penknife like we all used to...as long as they are taught how. Of course they might cut themselves but so did we and the vast majority of us lived to tell the tale. Never mind the fact that learning that you survive cuts, bumps and bruises is also a valuable lesson.Buy it. None of it is amazingly dangerous. There are careful prep recommendations and much of it is just plain old fashioned kids experimenting and discovering but in a controlled environment.This book needs 30 stars.

Great fun and great way of teaching kids to be sensible.

I love this book. As a parent myself now, I seem to forget how it is/was, to be a child. The adventure, the curiosity, the unknown. This book is a good reminder of the past for me ;)

interesting book...i will definitely try some of those, my daughter is only 1 but will grow into stage of trying dangerous things

Brilliant book, full of good 'old fashioned' things for kids to do. From simple things like putting your hand out of a car window when its moving, to more 'dangerous' things like using sharp knives, and fun things like poisoning your friends!full of the sort of things we used to do ourselves as kids, before we had electronic games to keep us safe indoors.... feed their minds!