FARK.com: (7052251) 50 things to do before you're 12

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		50 things to do before you're 12 (stylist.co.uk)		18
		More: Interesting, National Trust, childhood obesity, Trust

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16093 clicks; posted to Main » on 16 Apr 2012 at 9:30 AM | Favorite | share:

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blipponaut		2012-04-16 09:37:30 AM

9 votes:

List is missing:

1) Find a dead body down by the railroad tracks
2) Discover pirate treasure and eat ice cream with a mutant
3) Retrieve a baseball from a yard with a killer dog
4) Learn karate from wise old Japanese man
5) Foil burglars breaking into your house

It's a Sunshine Day!		2012-04-16 11:41:26 AM

2 votes:

As a mother, I find this list horrifying.

1. Climb a tree. He might fall and hurt himself.

2. Roll down a really big hill. He might roll over something and hurt himself.

3. Camp out in the wild. A wild animal could hurt him. Or he could get scared of the dark.

4. Build a den. His father and I are happy to buy him a pre-built environment, so that he won't encounter any sharp edges.

5. Skim a stone. I so don't want to encourage any violence.

6. Run around in the rain. He could catch cold. Or fall down and hurt himself.

7. Fly a kite. I hate to think of him getting tangled in string. Or the kite hitting him.

8. Catch a fish with a net. It's such abuse to the poor fish. Torture, really.

9. Eat an apple straight from a tree. Without washing it, or letting me inspect it for insects or other dangers? As if!

10. Play conkers. I don't know what conkers are, but it sounds like they would hurt him.

11. Throw some snow. Again with the violent actions. I can't allow them.

12. Hunt for treasure on the beach. He could find something dangerous and hurt himself. Or he could tire himself out.

13. Make a mud pie. I don't want to encourage obesity with him making extraneous pies. Plus, he'll get dirty.

14. Dam a stream. I would never allow my son to swear.

15. Go sledging. Again, not sure what this is, but I think there are opportunities for injury here.

16. Bury someone in the sand. Even more violent actions. And what if he forgot to dig him out? Or if he breathed in some sand?

17. Set up a snail race. More abuse of animals. The poor snails. They shouldn't have to compete for our entertainment.

18. Balance on a fallen tree. I don't like to think about it, if he were to lose his balance and fall.

19. Swing on a rope swing. Another opportunity for a fall.

20. Make a mud slide. Sliding = attempts to control a fall. There's an injury waiting. And dirt.

21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild. This will just encourage more eating of strange things in the wild. Eventually, he'll eat something poisonous.

22. Take a look inside a tree. Far too many dangerous things could be inside that tree. Best to leave it alone.

23. Visit an island. Only if it's a heavily-maintained island with lots of adults around to supervise activities.

24. Feel like you're flying in the wind. This one might be ok, as he'd just be standing. He'd need to keep his eyes open, though, in case something in the wind were to come his way, and attempt to hit him.

25. Make a grass trumpet. Put his mouth on grass that hasn't been inspected or sanitized for his protection? No way.

26. Hunt for fossils and bones. Who knows what terrible things could exist on old bones? Bacteria, viruses? I've seen far too many movies.

27. Watch the sun wake up. He really needs his sleep, and to wake up at a pre-determined time.

28. Climb a huge hill. Only with a lot of breaks involved, so that he doesn't get overtired. And with close supervision. And perhaps some padding, in case he falls.

29. Get behind a waterfall. Moving water can be so dangerous. Best to observe from a distance.

30. Feed a bird from your hand. Do you know where that bird has been? Or the bird seed, for that matter?

31. Hunt for bugs. Far too many dangerous bugs for this to be safe.

32. Find some frogspawn. He's far to young for me to have to explain the biology of 'spawn.'

33. Catch a butterfly in a net. Even more abuse of our animal friends.

34. Track wild animals. Wild animals? Wild = dangerous, and they should be left alone at all costs.

35. Discover what's in a pond. I'll tell him what's in a pond. Water, mud, wild animals, possible death.

36. Call an owl. What if the owl takes him seriously? What if he innocently gives a call for attack?

37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool. Rocks = danger. Pools = danger. Crazy = danger.

38. Bring up a butterfly. Still abuse of our wild animal friends.

39. Catch a crab. Again, abuse of animals. Some folks might then eat them, but we only eat organic, farm-raised animals who know about their purposes.

40. Go on a nature walk at night. He will get frightened. And perhaps walk into something and hurt himself.

41. Plant it, grow it, eat it. Well, maybe...but it would have to be organically and ethically raised, and then only eaten as part of a completely balanced diet.

42. Go wild swimming. Swimming must be done only in a completely supervised, chorinated situation. Wild = danger.

43. Go rafting. He would overtire himself. And if he fell out, he could hurt himself.

44. Light a fire without matches. Are you seriously suggesting he make a fire? With all the dangers related to burns, and the fire raging out of control?

45. Find your way with a map and compass. And what happens when he gets lost? I'm not about to take that chance.

46. Try bouldering. I don't know what this is, but boulders are usually bad news.

47. Cook on a campfire. Again with the fires. Not on my watch, mister.

48. Try abseiling. Don't know what this is, but in this list, it can't be good.

49. Find a geocache. Perhaps I could find it for him, and then he could look at it. That way, he won't get hurt.

50. Canoe down a river. We're not frontiersmen nowadays. There's no point in doing something like this. Again, he could get hurt. Or tired.

Tom_Slick		2012-04-16 09:40:29 AM

2 votes:

blipponaut: List is missing:

1) Find a dead body down by the railroad tracks
2) Discover pirate treasure and eat ice cream with a mutant
3) Retrieve a baseball from a yard with a killer dog
4) Learn karate from wise old Japanese man
5) Foil burglars breaking into your house

6) Hide an alien from your parents and the U.S. Government.

Mini Ditka		2012-04-17 12:16:52 AM

1 votes:

#51: Eat something that is so hot, someone will pay you to do on a dare. But, be aware of where you might be when the check comes. (You will have to poop it out)

/Stomach no likey hot saucey things sometimes.......

Resident Muslim		2012-04-16 11:36:12 PM

1 votes:

-put your tongue on a 9 volt battery
-finish a video game
-beat up someone/get beat up and live the aftermath
-lose your mom in the supermarket and cry your eyes out until she walks back from the next aisle
-buy something with 'hard earned cash'
-feel proud of first period/wet dream
-get amazing scabs on knees from falling of a bike or running downhill
-walk really, really far and consider it an achievement
-self-inflict pain on yourself and then wonder what all that was about
-put A LOT of firecrackers together and light them
-burn something with a magnifying glass
-kill a small creature, then live with the regret
-cross a busy street without holding an adult's hand
-first crush
-jumping off wardrobe onto bed
-best friend moves away, you get a new best friend. Life goes on
-stand up to a bully (regardless of consequence)
-walk across moving water that might drag you to your death
-shoot at cans (with anything)
-build complex Lego set
-be the first to get a new toy/game on the block
-get taken to E/R
-jump off a really high swing
-cook something other than eggs and cereal
-understand a difficult puzzle/break a code
-get a 'cool' haircut (whatever passes for cool at the time)

I'm not slowing down with these but have to run.
Hope you like them and YMMV

Because People in power are Stupid		2012-04-16 02:41:01 PM

1 votes:

Rik01		2012-04-16 01:02:07 PM

1 votes:

Did everything except for:
1. Playing conkers. (Don't know what it is.)
2. Making a grass trumpet. (Have no idea at all.)
3. Going behind a waterfall (None nearby.)
4. Bringing up a butterfly. (Why bother? There were thousands around my place.)
5. Bouldering. (Don't even know what that is. Besides, I grew up in Florida.)
6. Abseiling. (Again, don't know what it is.)
7. Geocaching. (No GPS as a kid.)

Didn't use a net to catch butterflies, but used to sneak up on them at catch them with my fingers.

Though I did make glass diamonds with the bottom of coke bottles and a BB gun. (Not recommended. The edges are razor sharp.) Melted glass bottles in campfires, carried a sheath knife and machete most of the time when exploring the woods around my home and ate wild raspberries, fox grapes, swamp cabbage and Palmetto hearts.

Became intimately acquainted with Sandspurs, Spanish Bayonet Cactus points, assorted thorned vines and long, sharp spikes on Wild Orange Trees.

Dug foxholes. Learned to tell the difference (real fast) between a snapping turtle and a regular one. Played with assorted non-poisonous snakes. (Especially the cool Green Snake.) Made friends with Bullfrogs. Didn't make friends with alligators and chose to observe them from a distance. Had a lot of encounters with sticky pine tree sap. Had acres and acres of undeveloped land to run through and found hidden meadows to lay in the tall grasses, enjoying the sweet, fresh scent as I stared up at the sky.

I also saw the wild grasses bloom in all their pastel, cottony colors and great clouds of colorful Dragonflies, which were my friends.

(Sigh.)

It was great being a kid.

Eddie Adams from Torrance		2012-04-16 12:55:52 PM

1 votes:

It's a Sunshine Day!: As a mother, I find this list horrifying.

1. Climb a tree. He might fall and hurt himself....

MOMMMMM! Please stop Farking and bring me another glass of milk. I don't want to go into the kitchen... there's too many sharp things in there!

cowtipn		2012-04-16 12:12:07 PM

1 votes:

Tear the wings off a butterfly

Melt an ant with a magnifying glass

Plug a frog with an M-80

Make your little brother eat a tadpole

Shoot a squirrel with a BB-gun

Because People in power are Stupid		2012-04-16 11:48:15 AM

1 votes:

nanim		2012-04-16 11:10:27 AM

1 votes:

44. Light a fire without matches

zombiehunters.org

/you've got to have one for your zombie kit, anyway.
//have an outdoorsy older bro - finished all 50 before 12 except 'waterfall' & 'conkers'

zez		2012-04-16 10:05:30 AM

1 votes:

Andromeda: WTF are conkers?

I completely approve of #49- find a geocache. Been doing it for 2 years and it's really one of the most enjoyable hobbies I've ever had, my theoretical future kids and I will be doing a lot of it.

I've been thinking about doing this with my 8 year old. Will the GPS on a phone work or do you need special equipment?

Build and launch a model rocket should be on the list too

Honest Bender		2012-04-16 09:58:38 AM

1 votes:

They could have just shortened the list to:

1. Be in the BSA.

Seriously. I think I did damn near every one of those as a boy scout.

Harry Freakstorm		2012-04-16 09:53:21 AM

1 votes:

BurnShrike: 14. Dam a stream

I dammed a stream once. I dammed it to Hell.

It took my sweet little Susie away. Never got a chance to build a cage with her bones.

BurnShrike		2012-04-16 09:43:21 AM

1 votes:

14. Dam a stream

This one also bothers me. There are now 7 billion of us on this planet. I don't know how many children that includes, but it's a lot. If every child went and dammed a stream, we'd fark things right up mighty quickly.

16. Bury someone in the sand

Why? Is it practice for later in life when you need to dispose of the hooker's body?

35. Discover what's in a pond

Water. Do they mean discover what lives in a pond?

36. Call an owl

Hey baby, you free tonight?

41. Plant it, grow it, eat it

After age 12 this becomes "Plant it, grow it, smoke it"

roblarky		2012-04-16 09:36:50 AM

1 votes:

Bucket list for ages 13-16:

1. Bang a teacher

BurnShrike		2012-04-16 09:35:40 AM

1 votes:

Andromeda: nekom: Frederick: Get behind a waterfall -seriously how many geographical locations can support this?

I can think of at least half a dozen places around here where you can do that, just off the top of my head.

I live in Holland, and before that I lived in Ohio. Ohio you might have a chance, but I'm pretty sure there are no waterfalls within a hundred miles of my current location.

/I miss hills

I live in flatlands as well (Southern Ontario is sedimentary, for the most part). There are still a few small waterfalls around though. You just have to know where to find them.

Most of the things on that list seem reasonable, except for a couple that I picked out.

Rolling down a hill is definitely not on my list. I get dizzy and nauseous easily if I spin around. Rolling down a big hill would make me throw up. Not fun.

Secondly, flying a kite has to be one of the most over-hyped boring activities I can think of. There's a reason "go fly a kite" is another way of telling someone to fark off.

nekom		2012-04-16 09:30:13 AM

1 votes:

alkhemy: CSB I did most of this list before I was 12, and all of it before I was 16.

I've probably done all but one by the time I was 12. Geocaching didn't exist in 1992.

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