A stream adventure with kids

A Stream adventureWhat is it about streams and kids? Without fail when we’re out on a walk if there’s a stream nearby then my twins Luce and Theo immediately are drawn to it. But it’s not just them. It’s the same when their friends have joined us. They all want to go on a stream adventure.  Perhaps it’s because children are natural explorers and love playing in water. A stream or a brook is often an ideal natural play area for kids.

Water is one of the most valuable play environments, and running water adds an extra dimension and challenge as anyone who has played in a stream or on the beach will know.” Nature play ideas by the Forestry Commission.

Strream adventure hills and woodsStrream adventure following water pathIn fact Luce and Theo insist we regularly go on walks where they just follow a stream – such as this past weekend and last week and too many other times to name. They love straying off the main paths and finding their route through a wood with just the stream acting as their guide.

You can find out which UK National Trust natural play areas have streams to splash in here.

Actually I also have to take on the ‘parent guide’ role. As they climb over brambles, clamber down hills to be close to the stream, you can hear my shouts echo through the woods – “that hill is too steep ” …“careful of the slippery mud”… “the water is too deep there” etc. , etc..  But whether it’s playing in streams or climbing a tree I know that it’s good for kids to assess and take risks.Strream adventure kids leaping

The best stream adventures include:

  • Following a stream
  • Throwing sticks and pebbles into the stream
  • Building a dam (then taking it apart)
  • Finding shallow areas to wade and splash in
  • Looking for wildlife, signs of wildlife, little critters and more in or next to a stream
  • Make boats from twigs and leaves to float in the stream
  • Crossing a gentle stream
  • If a stream is too deep then find a bridge to play ‘pooh sticks,’ the famous game from Winnie-the-Pooh where you drop sticks in the water and see which one moves faster downstream.

It doesn’t matter either if it’s winter, spring, summer or autumn.  Of course when it’s warm Luce and Theo tend to splash about in the water more! Last summer they also were convinced that they had found a beaver lodge in local Sussex woods. They ignored me when I told them there were no beavers in the English wild anymore – except for a couple places in UK where they have been reintroduced. (In Britain beavers were hunted to extinction by the 16th century). Luce and Theo wanted to imagine that beavers were sharing this stream with them. Stream adventure in woods summerSometimes my instinct as a parent is to get anxious that they’re going to hurt themselves or try to cross a stream where it’s too deep or too slippery. But Luce and Theo know they must not wander off where I can’t see them and must be careful around water. I sigh with relief when they play in an area of the stream that is very shallow, gentle and calm.Stream adventure throwing sticksStream adventure playing on bankAfter a recent stream adventure, I finally had a chance to relax at home. Lo and behold there was a Sunday Times article with the title “Children need danger, says safety chief.”  It was a report on how the outgoing head of the UK Health and Safety Executive Dame Judith Hackitt felt children needed to experience danger.

She said children should be encouraged to climb trees, play games where there might a be a risk of injury and go on field trips and other adventures…’Overprotective parents and risk-averse teachers who do not enable children to learn how to handle risk will lead to young adults who are poorly equipped to deal with the realities of the world around them, unable to discover real risk from trivia, not knowing who they can trust or believe.’” Sunday Times

Building a dam on a stream is also one of the “50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾” listed by the National Trust. I don’t have photos of their latest dam effort because I put my camera back into the bag when they were building it as I was trying not to slip in the mud! Luckily mud is good for us all.

Kids just love natural play areas – such as this favourite one of Luce and Theo at Sheffield Park – with or without a stream.

Luce and Theo are only 8 years old but I know as they get older they’re going to be even more adventurous by streams. Despite my worries I know they’ll be having a great time outdoors in nature and will be taking risks that help them later as adults. I have very fond memories of heading off to swim in a natural pool in a stream on hot June days when I was a young teen at school in the Dorset countryside.

Some kids don’t want to be organized all the time. They want to let their imaginations run; they want to see where a stream of water takes them.

Richard Louv ‘Last Child in the Woods’

Stream adventure with my kidsIdeas for a stream adventure with kids

Is there a stream your kids love to play in too? Any other stream adventure ideas you can add?

10 thoughts on “A stream adventure with kids”

  1. For this, you can always give us a shout as we are more than happy to join in. 🙂 Really is the best outdoor activity for kids. Again, I love your photos.:)

  2. What an inspiring post. I love all the bits of research and quotes in here. Luce and Theo are going to be stream experts. Living close by and learning to play safely by running water water opens up so many learning opportunities and fuels creative minds. My triplets still have that fascination with our river at age 12 and will undertake fun challenges together. They also know that while they can swim in the river in summer, during the winter storms they would be washed away. Careful respect for natural flowing water only comes from being allowed to safely investigate. Massive congratulations and very well deserved on your photo shortlist, I was hoping you would be there. Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids.

    1. Thank you about the Bibs! And yes I totally agree that children have fun in streams while learning to respect the water and safety. There were quite a few times over the winter that I told them they couldn’t play near the stream because the water was too fast and too deep after a storm. I love how your children are so often enjoying the water around Coombe Mill.

  3. My son loves streams, plopping pebbles into the water or getting in sploshing around in welly boots. My childhood home is opposite a park with a meandering brook and we spend many summers lazing by its side looking for sticklebacks or swinging across on a rope swing. So much to learn from the stream too, the ecology and the rate of flow – what I ended up doing at university so I wonder how my childhood had influenced that.

    Your children look so happy playing there.

    1. What beautiful memories and clearly it made a difference in what you wanted to study. Wonderful that you’re now passing on that passion, happiness and learning about streams to your son.

  4. This is a great read, I can’t wait to let my munchkin play in dreams when older (9months). When 5 months pregnant on a walking holiday, I sat by a stream watching my 33 year old partner building a dam. I think streams will be good source of entertainment for us soon ? #countrykids

  5. I can see why you’re up for a photography BiB award, they are beautiful. Love the post as well, great inspiration-I really want to be the sort of mother that lets her kids play in a stream and take risks. It’s not always easy but this post sums up the beauty of outdoor adventure brilliantly.

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