Just in time for Christmas

[BobbyMike]

Hi guys. I just published an instructable on making wooden swords for kids.

If you're wondering what to make for a kid you'd like to see playing outside more, take a gander.

[Gordon Maney]

Neat.... I always liked that kind of thing as a kid. How about wooden shields?

[Sickcall]

Face Mask? My kids would have killed themselves!

[Gordon Maney]

It is amazing to consider all the stuff we did as kids and survived. We regularly had rock fights [the streets in our neighborhood were gravel], and we would take the suction cups off of the arrows and shoot them at each other. On occasion we would sharpen the wooden arrow, but even then we concluded that was a little too extreme.

Another fun thing was filling empty caulking tubes about a third full of dirt and hurling them like darts.

It is amazing that we were not all killed.

[BobbyMike]

I have made a few shields, out of plywood (cabinet grade of course). I'm not as happy with them. The kids do like them.

As to the "danger" issue - we're on our third year now with no major injuries. The worse one is Charlotte, she really tends to smack on her brothers pretty hard. A couple of skinned knuckles in the beginning, not much more.

I'm a firm believer in only stepping in if it really gets dangerous (as in life threatening). My kids know gun safety and the law of gravity. As soon as they're tall enough to reach the lower branches I let them climb as high as they feel comfortable onto our 50' pine. The oldest two have gone all the way to the top. The eight year old will do it soon. All my boys own (sharp) pocket knives.

They also now know that the clothesline isn't strong enough to support an eight year old (also that stacks slate shingles aren't nice to fall on).

[Gordon Maney]

I have made a few shields, out of plywood (cabinet grade of course). I'm not as happy with them. The kids do like them.

As to the "danger" issue - we're on our third year now with no major injuries. The worse one is Charlotte, she really tends to smack on her brothers pretty hard. A couple of skinned knuckles in the beginning, not much more.

I'm a firm believer in only stepping in if it really gets dangerous (as in life threatening). My kids know gun safety and the law of gravity. As soon as they're tall enough to reach the lower branches I let them climb as high as they feel comfortable onto our 50' pine. The oldest two have gone all the way to the top. The eight year old will do it soon. All my boys own (sharp) pocket knives.

They also now know that the clothesline isn't strong enough to support an eight year old (also that stacks slate shingles aren't nice to fall on).

Good for you. I like it.

[Ron in Indiana]

When we were kids we did many of the same things, played "Army", had the swords, built forts etc. My brother and I built a tree house AROUND a large oak tree on stilts about 8 ft off the ground. We even had a catwalk on two sides with a railing, it had a tin roof and a window with real glass.

We also got a length of 3/4" hemp rope which we ran from above the catwalk to a tree about 50ft away. We put an old wooden pulley with a T handle on the rope which made for a very interesting zip line ride. We never had a real injury since you always had a death grip in the handle and it sagged so you touched the ground before you got to the other tree.

I think that's what's wrong with kids today, no imagination. If it's not on a computer or a TV then it's not fun.

We bought a set of Lincoln Logs for the grandsons to play with when they come over. Last night two of them played with them again and had fun plus they don't need batteries! I think we need to get another set so WE can build bigger things and yes I've played with them to show them how to build things.

As they get older I think we'll move up to Erector Sets, man did we play with those when I was kid.

[Julz]

Boy, Ron, there were some great erector sets back in the day. The ones today take half of the imagination out of it. We used to build with a set that had been my father's when he was a kid. My parents still have our Lincoln Logs, Pickup Sticks, wooden blocks and cowboy gear. Now my kids play with them. Just watching them play revives memories for me.