Gever Tulley: 5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

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Transcriber: Mohand Habchi Reviewer: Sofia Zaleeva

I don't have a lot of time.

I prepared 18 minutes of presentation;

we are going to do in eight. So get ready.

First off, I want to talk about danger,

and I'm going to need a volunteer.

Okay, I'm kidding. But... (Laughter)

Here's the thing.

My wife and I wrote this book,

"Fifty Dangerous Things".

And if the slide guy backstage can get my speaker notes up here,

because there are a couple of numbers that I need to refer to later

and I've already forgotten them.

We wrote this book, and...

A child psychologist in Australia said

that the book was actively encouraging children

to participate in activities

that could scar, maim, and kill. (Laughter)

And this is without ever having seeing the book—

never read it—

he completely missed the point

that the book is actually about safety.

let's look at topic number one

in this book of scar, maming, and killing.

Take something like: (Laughter)

"Lick a 9V battery".

Now, raise your hand

if you have licked a 9V battery.

Okay, this is a good crowd.

Okay, raise your hands if you are going to lick one tonight.

We chose this as the first topic in the book,

because we thought that everybody would have done it.

that ideas about the risk of licking a 9V battery

include things like:

death by electrocution, (Laughter)

burn your tongue off, (Laughter)

permanent loss of sense of taste.

And the actual risk:

According to the Centers for Disease Control,

who track these kinds of household accidents,

there has never been not one single recorded incident

of anyone being injured by licking a 9V battery.

So where did these kinds of

mythic false perceptions come from?

And I think it's pretty easy

to see where they come from these days.

I don't have to tell you

how much the media loves the story

about a child in peril.

People in Kazakhstan

were watching this story unfold

at 3AM their time.

Is it any wonder

that children in our society are over-protected?

This kind of inundation of stories

about children in peril and danger

creates the illusion

that children are actually in danger.

And our perceptions of risk

are based more on hearsay —

a news media confabulation, really —

than any rational analysis.

And to talk about this —

and this is for you, Eryn —

I've coined a new term.

I want you to remember this term.

This is based on the word carnism, which was coined by Melanie Joy

in her book, "Why We Eat Pigs, Ride Horses and... Pet Dogs".

I've screwed that up. Sorry, Melanie.

But it turns out

that our family histories and our cultural context,

and our personal experiences in childhood and so forth

have more to do with how we perceive danger

than the actual measurable risks involved.

And like our phobias and our choices

about which animals to eat,

there may be no rational basis for this,

and this has gotten to the point

where our fears are so tainted

by this exposure to the media,

that the top five things parents are worried about

in regards to their children —

and you'll notice ninjas aren't on here —

do not overlap at all

with the five things that children in America

are actually dying of.

And what is so criminal about this

is that the thousands of hours we spend talking to children

about stranger danger

would be so much better spent

encouraging them to get outside,

doing family interventions,

teaching them how to swim.

None of these things make for glamorous news stories.

So to combat this avalanche of unfounded fears

and equip children to better handle

the real risks of the real world,

I present for you:

"Five More Dangerous Things you should let your children do."

We can counter this rampant fear-mongering

by deliberately creating opportunities for children

to learn to recognize and mitigate risk.

And here they come.

Number one: walk to school.

are the number one cause of death for children in the United States.

And you can reduce that risk greatly

simply by reducing the amount of time spent in cars.

The number one fear of parents in this country

Kidnapping by a non family member

doesn't even make the top five thousand things

that harm children,

but study showed that children who walk to school

are better judges of character,

have better situational awareness,

and so are therefore less likely to be victimized.

And the habit of walking pays dividends over a lifetime:

improved memory, consistent exercise habits,

independence, and a long-lasting sense of well-being.

Number two: climb trees.

When children engage with natural play structures,

they exhibit greater cognitive engagement —

this is a classic study out of Germany —

more attention is paid to the activity.

And unlike a jungle gym,

the tree requires you to figure out

how to climb each moment of it.

Each spot in a tree is unique

and presents a unique set of challenges.

The child must also take and demonstrate

responsibility for themselves

as they ascend up there,

out of reach of their parents.

And there's this unique sense of freedom

that comes from being up in the top of a tree.

Number three: burn things with a magnifying glass.

Children learn early

that the sun is the source of power

for almost all life on Earth.

We get that in grammar school.

But until they have a chance to harness and direct it,

it's really difficult to build an intuitive sense

of just how much power there is in sunlight.

It's also a great self-directed way

for them new explore —

discover what burns and what doesn't —

and if you're worried about fire,

give them a water bottle.

Refraction is less intuitive than reflection,

and playing with the lens

helps children integrate that concept.

Number four: make a bomb in a bag.

We are composed of chemical compounds,

surrounded by chemical compounds,

and consuming chemical compounds.

But we don't often have the chance to play with chemistry

just for the sake of exploration.

A simple chemical reaction

that we can experiment with

provides the conceptual foundation

for deeper understanding

of the elemental nature of our world.

Home chemistry sets have all but disappeared,

and schools right now are banning

the baking soda vinegar volcano,

so you have to create this opportunity for your children at home.

Making a small explosion

for kids to get a handle on the concepts of chemistry,

and messing with the proportions is a great way

to experience the scientific method.

And last but not least,

number five: super-glue your fingers together.

A temporary disability

can help us better appreciate

our physical condition.

Necessity is the mother of invention,

and having to figure out

how to open a jar of peanut butter

without your thumb (Laughter)

forces us to be creative.

Done for an hour or more,

your brain actually

builds a new kinesthetic map of your abilities

to accommodate this limitation.

And when the glue comes off,

there will be this moment

where their usual abilities seem unusual to the child.

The most effective way to keep children safe

is to give them a little taste of danger.

Thank you so much. (Applause)