5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do

I've always loved how the element of danger makes life interesting. Without adventure I get bored and so I've always had my inner "curious george" get me into some sort of trouble. Danger, adventure, curiosity in my life have led to growth - it seems to have the best way for me to learn new ways of thinking, experiencing, & living. Whether its been in sport, in love, in education - the element of some risk makes the challenge of living life all the more rewarding.

Growing up beside a river meant adventuring was just a step outside my house, a small forest is the buffer between my parents' property and the slow winding river - a perfect place for bike trails, tree houses, forts, and the thrill of exploration. I have stories filled with adventures that helped develop who I am today - whether it has been my many journeys overseas to exotic locales like Paraguay, Israel, Ethiopia or trips spent engaging the elements like ice-climbing in the Adirondacks, whitewater kayaking the Ottawa River, Scuba-diving off the coast of Bonaire, or mountain biking down a volcano in Costa Rica, all of these journeys of risk have taught me something about life - it is meant to be lived to the fullest!

I love to read and many of my books have adventure inserted into their title or fit neatly in the category. A classic book of adventure is Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne - a tale of shipwrecked adventurers who learn to survive and even thrive on some pacific island. My love of archeology was largely inspired from the exploits of Indiana Jones and yes, I'm looking forward to the fourth installment this coming May. (I should note I've traveled to a few of the locations used in Indy movies in the past and it looks like this one is using Brazil's Iguazu Falls which I visited in the early 90s).

I want to pass on my love of adventure to my kids and so I have collected the complete set of Enid Blyton's Book of Adventure series with titles such as The Valley of Adventure, The Mountain of Adventure, etc. - all books that inspired me as a young boy to seek out challenges & become a part of my own legendary stories. And so when I came across The Dangerous Book For Boys & The Daring Book for Girls - I knew I had to add them to our family collection of books.

The following TED video by Gever Tulley illustrates the need for danger in our kids' lives - enjoy!