Where can my child be 'unruly'?

Ooh, I'll check it out! Thanks xx

Just looked, nearest one 8 miles but meet at 15.30 so couldn't get there in time after school, next one 20 miles away

Does sound good though!

I know! I'm finding it so sad.

I don't even mean allowing ds to be unruly really....I'm not advocating bad behaviour, just ....oh I don't know.... Freedom!

(I'll be painting blue stripes across my face before long!)

PGL camps?

Not quite what your looking for, but our local soft play centre does sessions for those kids with additional needs. Maybe suit Kipper?

Think it's vitally important that kids can be kids away from adults.

Little Minnow goes to a relaxed gymnastics club three times a week where the kids work in their own groups and have to be responsible for each other. Still too formal for what you need Sooz. I have also, just this week, let Little Minnow (10) go across the road to football field, out of sight, with his football. There's been no one else there as yet but we've been practicing responses to good and bad scenarios in a non scary way.

By 10 I was playing chicken on the local railway line and floating dingies up the canal. All strictly forbidden but it was what all the local kids did.

LM wasn't ready for cubs as he would have been unable to cope with the possible lack of guidance (I used to take Big Fish and as a teacher used to shudder at the lack of structure) but now reckon he could cope with it. And he was on the street himself 'till 4 years of age so has good road sense.

Perhaps that's a new business venture, unguided rough play areas?

I happened to read an article in Guardian a few days ago about unstructured play areas, a few do exist, and I found myself wondering if Adventure Play areas still exist, they were all the rage a few years back, and city farms.

If no Woodcraft Folk local, or not suitable try cubs. Packs do vary,, especially City ones, but if you can find one with good grounds, or who are active outside a lot, then great, but packs tend to be pretty active regardless. They do generally have a bit of structure though, but the scout ethos is learn by adventurous fun and teaching them to manage risk not avoid it and learn by own mistakes.

On a less formal note, find a pond or stream or canal and just sit there at a nice spot and let them explore ( fish net for tadpoles, or gather sticks to make their own toy boat to test) Or take a bus or train or the car out to the countryside and go a walk in the woods. We take our boys hillwalking and rambling, the wilder the better, and they get to be as muddy as they want! At first they said they were bored and were glued to their iPods but then they got engrossed looking at a frog and .......

Ignore the critics,

You are right serrakunda, a food part of the main scout section programme (10 -14.5yrs) and explorers(14+) is outdoorsy, camping, hikes,fires, wood whittling, wide games, etc.

We took ours to the beach last night (we are fortunate where we stay is on a river estuary) to light fires and cook sausages, and marshmallows and have a game of rounders, other leader was not impressed when the boy who was asked to bring the bat from the hall, had brought a soft one the beavers use, instead of the usual hard one!
Games are definitely tougher ( ever heard of parachute.....) the week before that, they built an emergency shelter in nearby woodland. Camps are particularly fun and freedom, a good scout can get through an entire weekend without washing .....

My DS2 used to whine at the least little upset, but scouts has toughening him up a bit!

Omg I have a 7yr old who would think all her Christmases had come at once!

Throw in some climbable trees and she would be in seventh heaven! (Though my little tomboy would probably do the whole thing in a dress and sandals - tomboy in spirit but girly in dress!)

Yes esty...if she builds it, we will come!

It doesn't need to be much -

Just a field to camp in, access to water and electricity to charge things important like iPhones sorry I mean feed pumps ;-) and just space to run around.

Running water like a stream or broke an added bonus!