Fifty Dangerous Things

by Gever Tulley, Julie Spiegler

Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) is the first book from the people who created Tinkering School. With projects, activities, experiences, and skills ranging from "Superglue Your Fingers Together" to "Play with Fire," along with 48 other great ideas, the book is a manifesto for kids and parents alike to reclaim childhood. Easy to follow instructions, fun facts, and challenging undertakings that will engage and inspire whole households.

Why Fifty Dangerous Things? First off, Five Dangerous Things just weren't enough (although the audience at TED thought it was a good starting point). More importantly, there are many "dangerous" things that are interesting, eye-opening, enlightening or just plain fun! And while there are aspects of danger in virtually everything we do, the trick is to learn how mastery actually minimizes danger. Most of us learn how to walk without toppling over at a very young age, so that walking is no longer dangerous. Next we learn to negotiate stairs. Why stop there? Why not practice and become proficient at walking on the roof or walking on a tightrope? These are just a few of the Fifty Dangerous Things that we invite you to try.

Take a peek and step into a world of danger and discovery.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Childrens, Science, Education, Reference, Family

130 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published December 11, 2009

Reviews

[Jak Krumholtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

In which I learn my wife never licked a battery growing up and I assure our children have.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book from our Bookmobile. It is full of "dangerous" things that every kid should experience. I really enjoyed reading it. Lots of the things I have done(put my arm outside a moving car, burn things with a magnifying glass, lick a 9-volt battery) I find myself telling my own kids not to do. It was a good reminder to let kids experience life. This book also does a good job of talking the read through being safe while being a little crazy. I think I will buy this book for our kids for Christmas. Lots of great family activities here. Besides, it talks you through how to do a good somersault, which is something I have never been able to do but always wanted too. :)

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

my new year's resolution is to do them all. Thanks, dad!

[Alistair Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting concept for a book. I like the author's intention for children to explore and experiment. But being a primary school teacher myself, for most of the exercises I could see them being stopped due to health and safety issues. Maybe they could be done with secondary school pupils. Or they would have to be significantly modified. I did like the idea though of thinking outside the box and trying not to dismiss activities straight away for being unsuitable for children.

[Jason Dreier · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an educator, this book should be in the hands of every student. Part field manual, part science textbook, and all fun. This book aims to get kids thinking, drawing, and writing in ways that allow them to think like scientists. If you have kids, GET THIS BOOK.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well. This is a fun book. We've already made our first slingshot. I think there are some design flaws and we need some practice but here we go!

[Erin Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course everyone wants to protect children from harm and make their world as safe as possible, but there are no absolutes or guarantees in life and overprotected children lack the competence necessary in assessing and handling risk to explore safely and make good choices on their own. This book is a workbook for measured, supervised risk exposure. It guides you in teaching children to explore safely and sets them on the path to exploring safely on their own. In doing so, it helps to create competent thinkers and doers who will be more ably equipped to approach and work on challenging problems encountered in the real world.

I think the true strength of this book is in its hands-on approach to learning. A hands-on approach is very powerful in terms of cognitive development, but is not very prevalent in traditional academic teaching. For example, learning to start a campfire by reading about it is a very different experience than learning by actually starting one at a campsite deep in the woods.

Examples of the 50 dangerous things are: "drive a nail", "burn things with a magnifying glass", "walk home from school", "build a slingshot", "put strange stuff in the microwave", and "play with fire".

This book is set up as a workbook where each activity covers a two-page spread. On the left is an instructional page with step-by-step how-to instructions, materials required, duration/difficulty/potential danger ratings, and a sidebar with interesting supplementary data. The opposing page is a field notes page with writing/drawing space for observations, improvements & new ideas.

The best part is a little section at the bottom of the field notes where your child can concretely acknowledge their accomplishment by listing the date completed and ticking a box labeled "I did it!".

[Tanya Hart]

I think this is a great book because although I haven't read it, may even never read it, it has opened up a whole world of fun in the types of activities I try out with my 4-nearly-5 year old son.

- I've watched the TED talk and read the website and several reviews.

My focus has changed from keeping him safe to teaching him how to be safe/ finding ways to be safe while doing dangerous things.

I'm very industrious about reading books on babies and childhood development, but I hadn't realised how repressed I had become about my responsibility not to ever let him get hurt. [It all starts when you have a baby and get the sheet on 'how to baby-proof your home', realise how deadly your home is, full of electricity, poisons, sharp corners and things that topple, and then it's down-hill from there. Or maybe it starts when you get pregnant and read the listSSSS of things you shouldn't eat and learn the hideous word 'teratogen']. The TED talk just triggered an 'oh RIGHT' for me and turned me back into a normal person.

[Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book addresses the double-whammy of inadequate public education and the Free Range Kids movement, so it's right up my alley. While a lot of the 'dangerous' things seemed like filler (really, sticking your hand out the window of the car?), the book redeems itself with its encouragements to get kids whittling, breaking glass, disassembling appliances, navigating public transportation, and even driving! This will certainly be a gift for my friends with kids, once they're old enough to play with dry ice and go dumpster diving. Best activity: microwave a CD for 3 seconds. Do yourself a favor, take 1 minute out of your day to try this and watch the awesomeness.

[Gord · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recommend this highly enough. We're bringing up a generation of kids that have been protected from every possible danger, no matter how remote. Kids need to be allowed to try and fail; fall down and get hurt; climb trees; everything that we did as kids. We turned out just fine, so what are we doing keeping them wrapped up in bubble wrap, afraid to go to the park.

Gever lays out a very simple list of things that we should do with our kids. None of it's really dangerous and it's all a lot of fun and educational at the same time.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for anyone with children around Caleb's age or older! Love it!

[Alexandra Marinescu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Walk home from school?! Really?! :))

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely accurate title.

Ive had a recent cause to want to learn more about raising and engaging with small humans, so this book jumped from an idle curiosity to top of the list for me. And it didnt disappoint, it has 49 experiments of 'dangerous' things to try (such as lick a 9v battery to use a knotted rope to climb a tree and make a temporary swing) which are basically just excuses to inflict science and curiosity on a small human. And honestly.. a lot of them really are kinda fun to do as a kid in their own right.

Its a brilliant little premise but one problem with the book is that its extremely inconsistent who its audience is. Its written as if its talking to the child, but the expected age of the child shifts a fair bit. Some lessons are obviously intended for 4-5 year olds and others are absolutely in the range of 10-12 or more. The range of 'children' is very broad here, I suppose is what im getting at.

Past all of that there is a sidebar of material that is useless for the child the book is intended for, but one that also isnt particularly useful for some parents/supervisors either (in that this is something we probably know out of highschool). Teaching a 5-7 year old how to responsibly burn something with a magnifying glass is one thing, but also talking about the speed of light or sun spots may perhaps be unnecessary at that point in their practical education.

Still, lots of good ideas for fun backyard science here. And ill happily nerd out if I get a chance to do some of them with a tiny human.

[Brook · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are plenty of cool science books out there designed to get children, or specifically smaller subgroups like girls or minorities interested in the Sciences. I've yet to come across a popular one of these that was not of good to very good quality. This book is no exception.

While nothing in the book as proscribed and directed is truly dangerous to children, there are situations in there that, if materials were swapped, could lead to seriously dangerous situations. I think this is good. For example, putting certain things in the microwave, like CDs, is moderately amusing. A cup of gasoline, or thermite with a .22 cartridge, would not be as amusing to parents.

I gave this book 5 Stars because it does an excellent job of allowing parents to control risk to a very specific level. Although it is not described in the book, more science-minded parents could definitely manager risk and add a bit more danger if they wanted.

This is in some ways a safer guided version of the really, really dangerous crap we did as kids. For those science-minded parents were also willing to risk their kid getting a cut or burn, this is a great book.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this! There are a lot of neat ideas in here, ranging from mildly to very dangerous, but all with very good warnings about what the dangers are and how to protect yourself against them reasonably well.

I especially appreciate how the introduction points out that the difficulty levels labeled are approximate and different for everyone, and briefly explains how to asses your own skill levels and what you're capable of. The book is very nicely laid out for an older child to find and attempt projects on their own, but could also work well for a younger child with help from an adult in selecting appropriate projects and reading the instructions.

Other than the obvious, that this book suggests dangerous activities for children, there's very little in the way of concerning content. The book does mention evolutionary theory a couple of times, and also gets into some relationship related issues (how to air kiss as greeting is one of the projects, as well as how to trick your friends into eating salty cookies), and also discusses a couple of possibly illegal activities, so there's lots of room for discussion if going through some of the projects with a younger child.

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super fun way to interact with your kids while letting them do dangerous things. Tulley also includes the "why" to let your kids get on the roof, take public transportation, build a fire, wrestle an angry wolverine, etc. I loved it because I'm naturally on the side of parents that probably lets my kids do stuff. I think every parent should read this one, even if it's just to see what the other side is up to.

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read! A great way to teach kids how to be curious, adventurous, brave and exercise deductive thinking from an early age.

[Kevin Driskill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining and thought provoking. Life is full of danger embrace it and make the best or hide and leave the living to everyone else.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun way to help the kids chart some new, 'dangerous', territory.

[Michael Tome · Rating 5 out of 5]

super fun

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things my kids have already done:
3. Master the perfect somersault
6. Drive a nail
11. Throw rocks
19. Stand on the roof
28. Climb a tree
31. Go underground
45. Play with fire

Things for my kids to try:
1. Lick a 9-volt battery
2. Play in a hailstorm (bucket on head)
7. Drive a car
8. Throw a spear
9. Make a bomb in a bag
17. Burn things with a magnifying glass
18. Walk home from school
27. Make a slingshot
30. Dam up a creek
32. Change a tire
33. Dive in a dumpster
34. Deconstruct an appliance
35. Go to the dump
38. Learn tightrope walking
41. Cross town on public transit
43. Whittle
49. Sleep in the wild

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great ideas and only one rule, "Don't hurt yourself or anyone else." Some are simple (lick a battery), some you may have done in science class (make a bomb in a bag), some take a different kind of courage (perform on the street), and some are definitely dangerous (play with fire), but a little controlled risk helps kids develop their own judgment. It certainly isn't appropriate for every age or every child, but I there are a number of activities I have enjoyed with my seven-year-old (make a slingshot, drive a nail) and my ten-year-old can do most of these, though I do supervise and provide reminders about the "rule". I also appreciate the Warnings in each section that offer some specific reminders. For example, my kids can't wait until the next time it hails so they can run out in it with their bike helmets on - but not unless there is no lightning and the hail pellets are no larger than a pea as the Warning section recommends. Definitely not just one to borrow from the library - this one I'd like to keep on my bookshelf so we can keep our own field notes.

[Caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting. Most of these things I've never done and some I didn't do (like driving) until I was old enough etc. I would definitely like to try all of these and introduce them to my kids. Some will have to wait for the younger one but this will be like an adventure into childhood for all of us. This was written well and I understood everything. Some of the things I wasn't clear about were explained further in the book. Did I say I wanted to try this stuff yet. I liked the explanation from the author about the difference between protecting and overprotecting and hope that my youngsters will appreciate the lessons introduced here and learn the difference between respecting the dangers and not just running full speed without thought. Can't wait to try them out and hoping for the best. Enjoy!

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book of activities for parents and children to tackle together. It teaches that the best way to keep children safe is to do "dangerous" activities together and teach child both skills and the sense of what they can handle on their own or what they should seek help for. I'd like to pick it up again when Davey and Gordon are old enough to do more of the activities. It might make a great summer to do list!

"If you never let them climb a tree, they will eventually do it anyway, possibly in the most unsafe manner possible. Or they may never do it at all, which might be the greater tragedy." -Gever Tulley.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book too late for my own kids (now 15 & 18). As a neurotic, cautious person parenting children with a risk-taking, anti-establishment type, it would have helped me enormously reduce conflict with my partner if I had had this book. It's great for setting boundaries based on reason & probability rather than fear & doubt. I recommend it to parents of 3- to 5-year-olds -- to keep at home for ideas of things to do with kids. Many of them are science-based. The adventurousness will probably be sapped from your kids' experiences, however, since half the joy in discovering these activities is derived from knowing you "shouldn't" do them...

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out from the library mainly to see what important experiences I omitted from my (now adult) children's growing-up experiences. Luckily, there weren't a lot, but unfortunately, they skewed along gender lines. My tinkerer son has deconstructed an appliance (#34) and whenever I have something that "needs" destroying, I usually call on him. I think most of these things lean boy-ish in the traditional sense, but they should be things every kid does! My daughter enjoyed her visit to the city transfer station, the closest thing to a dump we have. This is a book summer camp leaders should have!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book. It is interesting to see what the author considers dangerous and why, and many of the experiments are educational or at least enlightening.

I'm not going to have my kids try all of them, but I'm happy to say they've done more than half, and will try more. They're kids and get to be kids -- they climb trees, lick batteries, explore caves and play with fire (while supervised). Someday soon I may encourage them to superglue their fingers together, climb on the roof, or put an egg in the microwave. Sometimes you just gotta take risks.

[Dan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully self-explanatory book, and a reminder that we live in such an amazingly safe environment which carries its own subtle dangers of insulation from risk. Some tasks don't seem all that interesting, such as baking something with unusual ingredients, but that can't detract front he generally fascinating nature of the good ones - climb on to a roof, drive a car, throw a spear, spend an hour blindfold, superglue fingers to thumbs, boil a paper cup on a hob.

I look forward to doing this stuff with my kids in years to come, or perhaps just letting them get on with it themselves.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most activities were not nearly as interesting and controversial as I thought. Safety is stressed in every step of every activity. I thought it odd that a section detailing why each activity was considered dangerous was in the back, rather than the one sentence for each activity just being included with the activity. All in all, good ideas to teach your kid to be competent and responsible, but I would probably have opted for the Dangerous Book For Boys or another more fun version of the same concept.