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[patsylabrador]

I can't imagine a child being bored on a beach. If nothing else they can dig a giant hole which was something that my kids enjoyed. My garden was riddled with holes when they were little. ES hated school and would come home, go out in the garden and dig deeper. I'm not sure wehere he was heading.

His age group was called the playstation generation and I remember people questioning whether they would make decent soldiers at the beginning of Iraq. They did ok.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That's great Chickencam, fingers crossed for him .

[Grandmashazzie]

As said before it really the start they get.Like you DM I am totally believer in outside play,very little T V and no computer stuff.I have at present 2 foster children 8 and 4 The youngest hates outside even though I have swings,slides,sand scooters etc,etcHe really does not know how to react.He would sit all day on sofa,preferably with TV on but happy with it off rather than go out.Thankfully after 5 months we are making progress.Lots of small kids seem to have iPads etc and it is given in the same spirit as a dummy,to keep them quiet and no hassle.

[craftyhunnypie]

My niece & nephew love nothing more than playing on the beach. Making sand castles, digging, messing in puddles left by the sea, looking for good pebbles, pouring water over Aunty Em's feet etc etc. They would spend every day there if they could. I still love the beach. I love paddling, looking for pebbles, shells & sea glass, walking along the sand barefoot, wandering in the caves & playing my flute to the sea. Love it!

Emma.x

[The Dogmother]

Don't even get me started on the parents who give their children iPads at the table to 'occupy' them... what's the problem with them learning to hold a conversation, and how to interact with each other?

[lillybettybabs]

No one seems to make mud pies anymore.

[The Dogmother]

I DO!!!!! *jumps up and down*

[lillybettybabs]

And perfume!

Pull all flower heads off and mix into water, expecting a lovely flowery perfume when you just go

pond smelling flower mush.

[The Dogmother]

did you also keep caterpillars or stick insects in a big jar with a few leaves?

[Lavenders_Blue]

I did! We had an old spaghetti jar with stick insects in. One day we thought they had died, so my mum took the lid off the jar intending to clean it all out later on. When later on came, we found a kitchen covered in baby stick insects

[Charlottechicken]

I had a jar of stick insects which all escaped, with babies

 

I also used to try and make perfume. My mother was so not impressed when she discovered all the flowers from the roses missing, and a nasty soup of water and mush in a saucepan

 

I used to purposely maroon ants on an island of dirt in a puddle and watch them for hours too

[lillybettybabs]

did you also keep caterpillars or stick insects in a big jar with a few leaves?

So yes! I am proud to say my nephew follows in his mad aunts love of stuff like that.

[chickencam]

We spent a very happy couple of hours on West Kirby beach with our two nephews 5 and nearly 3 yesterday morning, as part of a flying visit to see family. We made sand castles, drew pictures on the sand and flew kites. The youngest who some of you may remember wasn't expected to survive when he was born with a serious heart condition is a real adventurer and he was off on the rocks climbing around happily for ages mostly on all fours with a look of intense concentration on his little face. you wouldn't know that there was a thing wrong with him, he lives a very normal life with check ups every few months to monitor his oxygen saturation and general health. The only time he struggles is in extreme cold.

[bluekarin]

My kids used to make 'soup' using various greenery from the garden. Namely sage leaves They used to hold snail hospitals, though how many snails managed to escape, I am not sure

 

As for the beach, I used to love it when I was a kid. Who am I kidding! I still love it now, just haven't been for an age My kids also loved the beach and would spend hours digging and filling holes with water, or finding shells, or making moats to the sea from their forts. They didn't like 'sand'wiches though

[Grandmashazzie]

Flower perfume that brings back memories,my sister and I used to go to seaside cottage for the month of August.Dear help the next renters there would have been no flowers left!Another favourite pastime was bringing buckets of sand from beach for our bakery.We would fill plastic tops with sand and decorate with pebbles or flowers for buns and ' bake ' in sun.I used to spend hours roaming around cliffs on my own, loving it when the waves were crashing around me.Having visited cliffs recently I don't know that I would have let my lot wander about on their own.

[Valkyrie]

One year number one son went on an evening walk with FIL while we were staying in a farmhouse in Cornwall - just up the lane. He came back with lots of those yellow and black/brown stripey snails. He put them in the porch and by morning they were all up the walls and trailing out the door and some into the kitchen. MIL shrieked when she saw them. Oh dear harrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

[Chortle Chook]

I'm going to speak up for that young lad - not everyone likes the beach. It might not just be an urge to use modern technology. I've never liked it no matter whether it is a beach in this country (memories of cold, horribly salty wind, dribbling rain and grey skyes reflected in the equally grey water) or a beach in Greece or Italy (much more beautiful but I still couldn't wait to go into the various towns or go for a walk). Some people are just not sea babies.

[Snowy]

We've just had a 'non electric' week camping in Norfolk. The best days were the beach days - digging, swimming, body boarding, crabbing. But the boys favourite day was the day spent at Blakeney Quay. Who says kids don't like mud? They want to go back again as soon as possible!

 

They certainly didn't miss their electronic gadgets!

[Claireabella]

Love those pictures!

[Lavenders_Blue]

Great pics!

[patsylabrador]

Those children look very happy-and muddy.

 

We used to put up a small tent in the garden in the summer and the kids would make that their base. One year they made a wigwam which stayed up all summer. It got a bit raggedy but they didn't seem to mind. We had a couple of trangia cookers and some army surplus tins and I allowed a small fire pit and they cooked for themselves quite a lot. It seemed to consist of mainly sausages and bread though.

I was lucky, the internet was only just taking off in homes so I didn't face the same challenges as parents do today.

 

I agree with Chortlechook, I was another child who didn't enjoy days at the beach. I love walking along one in the winter but to spend the day- ugh!

[The Dogmother]

Snowy... what have you done with those tiny boys??!! I love that area - spent much of my childhood in Norfolk, not too far from Blakeney, and I love it to bits; we'd muck around on boats, go fishing, walk to the beach and spend the day there...

[Snowy]

I know DM, they are fast turning into strapping lads! How anyone mistakes them for girls I don't know, but their long hair certainly seems to confuse some people!

I'm just so pleased that they do still enjoy the simple things, even though they love their gadgets! That mud slide at Blakeney was superb - hubby and I dozed on camp chairs by the car while they spent 3 hours playing in mud. For the princely sum of £3 for the car park

The mud was a pain to get out though - they needed a good soak in the bath followed by a shower when they got home. Good job it was on our last day - the campsite showers weren't up to that!

 

And Patsylabrador - I like that idea! They often garden camp, but I hadn't thought of making them cook as well, bet they'd enjoy that!

[The Dogmother]

We had an old scout tent in the back garden - ridge tent, was 40 years old at the time; we camped out in it, rolled up the sides, made up our bedrolls for 'inspection', Blissful days!