Can you climb a tree?

Can you still climb a tree?

Sounds like a simple answer to a simple question but recently I heard a podcast where the guest said, do you remember how to climb a tree and it got me thinking.

Initially I thought, yes or course!

But then the brain got hooked on it. A few weeks back, we were out on a bike ride and came across a fallen tree so we stopped to investigate. At first, my daughter wasn’t sure about climbing on it so, as a self proclaimed Adventure Dad, I thought this is my time to inspire (even if it is only a small step). 

Confidently, I climbed on and started to walk across it, about half way, my adult mind took over. If you fall now, you’ll have to be off work, how will you get you both back home? You’ll look a right plonker to that other family walking past!

A few steps further down the tree, I snapped out of it and the child in me took over. When I was a child, I’d never dream of the consequences or risk of my actions. This ultimately lead me to falling head first into a thorn bush and numerous crashes on my bike of which 95% had no lasting impact on my life 

Since that day on the tree, it got me thinking, why do we lose that naivety. Is it a side effect of parenthood and the need to protect our children from danger?

Mind games aside, physically I was having to work much harder than I remember to walk across this not so narrow fallen tree 5 feet of the ground. Now I’m no psychologist but I do have a understanding of how the body moves and the phrase “if you don’t use it, you lose it” fits perfectly to movement and motor skills.

Take computer games for example, in my younger days, there were not many who could beat me in a game of FIFA or Rugby on a PlayStation but recently, on picking up a controller to play a game with a friend, the movement of my fingers and thumbs was exactly the same speed I’d regularly mock adults when they challenged me in my youth! 

Although the analogy is a little distant from climbing a tree, it’s the same principle. How many times a week does your balance get tested? How often do you need to land from a height so you don’t sustain injury to your knees or back? 

So if your to day life revolves around walking on flat pavements, sitting at comfy desks or minding the gap as you get off the train, then your agility, balance and coordination will suffer. There’s a reason why these are knows as the ABC skills, they are your basic movement skills to protect you and enable you to survive.

So my plea to all budding Adventure Dads or Adventure Mums, is when you see your little ones getting excited about climbing a fallen tree, have a go yourself and don’t lose those fundamental skills of movement that the modern world is taking from us.

Trust me, you’ll look less of a plonker than if you do fall off!