thrills and spills

Although our concern is to ensure that what too often seems like a risky world is as safe and un-threatening as possible for young people, we also want to give them chances for adventure, for testing themselves and for having some thrills and spills without necessarily looking to sex to deliver these.

City drop-off

Often young people who live in large cities never get to see whole areas of where they live but confine themselves to their estate, their school or college. Or they may use the city or town centre as long as it does not feel too dangerous, provided there is no highway-robbery youth culture of ‘taxing’ which can put young people off venturing off their own turf. In a city drop-off, small groups (say three or four) young people are taken over to the far side of the city and have to make their own way back together – walking or taking the tram, by bus or by train. In one version of this, the youth worker patrols in a car or minibus and the young people have to hide and not be spotted – or they get taken back to the start again. Make sure young people are well-prepared (and have spare money for a phone call back to the centre, or a mobile phone) and are under instructions to stick together and keep each other in sight at all times and not to hitch or take lifts. These journeys can give a great sense of achievement – and no-one has been lost so far! In fact, they can serve to sharpen up young peoples’ street-wisdom and sense of being competent and capable off their own territory.

Moonlit walks, ghost walks and cemeteries

As the culture of teen horror movies attests, most young people love to be scared and have a good fright – but in contained and ‘safe’ ways. Do this by going on moonlit walks, perhaps through a local cemetery while telling ghost stories. You could even arrange for a friend or colleague to rear up dressed in a white sheet or rattling chains at an appropriate point. Or do a Halloween Haunting evening when the young people themselves dress up as ghoulies and ghosties and go bumping around other people’s nights

Roller Coaster Ups And Downs

Let young people have the controlled terror and adrenalin rush of a roller coaster ride – at a funfair or theme-park where they can thoroughly enjoy letting out blood-curdling shrieks and having tales of Nemesis – or whatever – to tell on their return.

Scavenger hunts and treasure trails

Divide the group up into 3s and 4s and send them out with a list of things to bring back and a time limit for doing this. Make up your own list (or get them to compose one) but it could include things such as – an empty milk bottle, a foreign coin, an old shoe, a yellow flower, a box of matches, a shell, a piece of string at least 3 feet long…. Or, on a treasure trail you go round beforehand leaving clues in hidden places with some ‘treasure’ – anything from a packet of wine gums to a gold bar – at the final point. Or you can give them a list of clues to places and leave tokens there that they have to collect and when they present back the full complement of tokens to you, they get rewarded with their ‘treasure’.

Camping out and sleeping under the stars

With parental or carer’s permission, this can give young people a taste of the great outdoors and a sense of adventure, while still in fact just in someone’s back garden. Cooking outdoors or a bonfire completes the experience. If young people show a real enjoyment of this, you might want to find out about your local Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, which would give them a purposeful way of extending their skills in making expeditions.

Cycle trails and nature trails

Many cycle trails and leisure parks now hire bikes if young people have not got their own – these trails also tend to be flat and make for easy riding. But it’s a great way of being in the outdoors and seeing new landscapes. Or if you have a country park or Urban Trail near by, try exploring that with them (there may even be a ranger who by appointment will go with you or talk to them about what to watch out for on their wanderings).

Abseiling, canoeing, skate-boarding, wind-surfing……

The list of adventurous sports is almost endless and obviously some skilled tuition or worker input will be necessary – but see what is available, for example through your leisure or recreation departments or via the Youth Service or Community Education resources.

 

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