Yeah, I got to do all of that. And shoot, and study "applied chemistry" *coughs*. Heck, my MOTHER taught me to throw knives!

Kids are being turned into jello.

Tell the young man to get his heels down

I'm guilty of having done one through five before I was a teen and though I never drove a car until I got my learner's permit, I had a go cart... And man she was fast...

Things I learned from these experiences:

1. Dripping, melting plastic makes a cool noise, and when it touches skin, it sticks, burns and scars.

2. Cut away from yourself, because a sharp knife can cut down to bone.

3. Throwing a spear is fun. Catching a spear is painful.

4. I took apart a lot of broken appliances, and even managed to fix a few. If it isn't broken, don't open it up.

I have a lot of scars from childhood.

When I was this guys age the classic prone firing position using a Lee Enfield No 4 was used.

'LEGS The legs should spread loosely and without tension. The left leg will be straight but the right leg will be bent and drawn up 45 degree in order to ease the pressure on the stomach and stabilize the position. The inside of the right knee will lay upon or against the mat.

FEET The position of the feet is determined by the position of the body. The left foot should turned inward. The right foot should rest with the instep pressing lightly against the floor.'

Firing a BREN LMG was slightly different though and required both legs to be straight with the toes dug into the ground. The BREN had a habit of jumping forward when being fired and the toes dug into ground helped stop that from happening.

The weird thing is though, I reckon I could still disassemble and reassemble a BREN in the pitch dark 25 years later. Maybe not, after thinking about it.

Good one Blast!

Our girls have started learning how to use a knife beginning at about age two. When we go camping, the kids get to make, maintain, monitor and put out their own fire. They have to do it collaboratively so that we don't have fires everywhere. An adult is always monitoring and scolding, er, I mean teaching.

We have even had ax safety and usage "classes" for the kids at camp. I think the youngest kid to chop some would was about three. The big thing is to make them stop before they actually get tired. They think they can still go on, but attention and safety will start to slip if they don't stop.

I think sometimes the kids are safer than some adults. Last time at camp, one of the moms asked me to borrow my knife. It happened to be a Falkniven F1. I handed it to her handle first. When she was done, she called me over and said she was done and shoved it back to me...blade first. She almost stabbed my hand. So I had to scold, er, teach her safe handling of knives. Her husband would only nod and smile. He was smart enough to keep his mouth shut otherwise she probably would have let him have it.

Many parents don't even let their kids play and I think that is a shame. I call my girls my monkey princesses, not just because they will climb anything, but because my wife called me the monkey king. Not because of my looks or prehensile body parts, but after the monkey king in Chinese folklore. For some reason, my wife thinks I was (and still am) mischievous.

Very good point!

-Blast

My son and I actually cut and made spears last weekend (he is 15). Had a blast throwing them and getting them to stick.

Bill

I bought the same book for me.

Bill

There is a lot to be said for:

-Climbing really tall trees
-Digging deep holes
-Chopping down trees way out in the woods without your parents knowing
-Building forts
-Riding mini-bikes and go-carts
-Using flammable model glue to create a realistic battle scene with the little green army men
-Spearing frogs
-Avoiding serious injury during an acorn fight
-Running from lit fire crackers
-Making a torch out of a stick and toilet paper
-Damming up a creek to make an impromptu swimming hole
-Hikes with your friends when the only survival stuff you have is a canteen, a pocket knife, and a sandwich

Who needs video games?

Great post Blast.

"1. Play with fire (my personal favorite)"

Ya don't say??