50 Things to do Before you’re 12 – Research from the National Trust

The unfortunate reality is that our children are leading very different childhoods to our own. The days of care free playing in fields and swimming in lakes have been replaced by computer games and television.

The National Trust have combined a list of 50 things to do before you’re 12 years old, which makes interesting reading and may give the parents among us a few ideas of items to add to our bucket lists.

One of the purposes of this research is to help children connect to nature and explore their environment, with research showing that fewer than one in ten children have played in a wild place; very different to our generation.

Below are the 50 activities collated by the National Trust, so why not try and few with your children and enjoy. For more information on the National Trust please click here.

 

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 whats in a pond

36, Call an owl

37, Check out the 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 a compass

46, Try rock climbing

47, Cook on a campfire

48, Try abseiling

49, Play geocache

50, Canoe down a river