Activities

51 Things Your Child Should Do Before Growing Up

I feel like I can write this list with authority now that I have almost grown kids. Most of these things my children have done, except for my oldest who still has not mastered the cartwheel. It is something that makes me laugh every time he attempts it.

Here is a list of 51 things to get started:

1. Camp out in a tent

2. Wear a costume as clothing
3. Climb a tree
4. Catch fireflies
5. Fly a kite
6. Plant a garden and eat what grows
7. Go fishing
8. Take care of a pet

9. Build something out of a gigantic cardboard box
10. Ride on a ferris wheel
11. Roast food over a campfire
12. Have dessert for dinner
13. Build a snowman
14. Get a library card
15. Go on a hayride
16. Get lost in a corn maze
17. Pick the perfect horse on the carousel
18. Run through the sprinkler
19. Make a slingshot
20. Carve a jack o’lantern
21. Make mud pies
22. Run a lemonade stand
23. Play on a sports team
24. Swing on a rope swing
25. Build a sandcastle and stay at the beach until the tide washes it away
26. Roll down a big grassy hill
27. Build a gingerbread house
28. Hatch a monarch butterfly from a cocoon
29. Make homemade ice cream
30. Blow bubbles
31. Play kickball outside with neighbors
32. Go on a family car trip
33. Fly on an airplane
34. Paint a painting

35. Have a water balloon fight
36. Play miniature golf
37. Make a tie dye t-shirt
38. Eat lunch in a blanket fort
39. Play in the rain
40. Go to a county fair
41. Ride a horse
42. Identify the constellations in the night sky
43. Play jump rope
44. Learn to play a musical instrument
45. Put on a puppet show
46. Have a picnic
47. Learn to ice skate
48. Learn to juggle
49. Do a cartwheel
50. Catch tadpoles and watch them change
51. Rake and jump in a giant leaf pile

What would you add to this childhood bucket list? Have you done most of these things? Your child(ren)?

Photo source: Brand X Pictures/ Thinkstock

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Danielle

11 years ago

I did all but three of these things as a kid. And for quite a few of the ones I did, I have Girl Scouts to thank for providing those experiences, because I never would have had the opportunity otherwise.

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Isabel Kallman

Reply to Danielle

It’s true. Organizations, like Girl Scouts, can really provide opportunities that may not be available for so many reasons like circumstance or parents not having time because they are working on weekends, etc.

Hi, I'm Natalie.

My 3 year old has done 29 of those, I’ve done 47.

Reply to Hi, I'm Natalie.

That’s pretty awesome!

I have done 49 of these. I never caught fireflies because we didn’t have them in my part of the country, but I did catch plenty of grasshoppers and dragonflies. And I never got lost in a corn maze. I’m not even sure where there would have been a corn maze near where I grew up. My 4 year old has done 30 so far. I was just telling my dh that I dislike couches these days. The cushions don’t come off like they used to. We don’t have much to make a fort with! I have been trying to… Read more »

Aimee Giese | Greeblemonkey

Love this list!

Liz

Shoot a bb gun or arrow, have a slumber party, walk through a creek, build a snow or tree fort, go to a baseball game…

I love these ideas! (and I love lists! this is great!) Read for hours — at night with a flashlight, in the yard, on a hammock… Play with a parachute Ask millions of questions (you get older and people don’t like it!) Swing on a barn swing (similar to rope swing) Ride bikes with your friends Learn to blow a bubble with chewing gum Go on the BIG slide at the waterpark Fingerpaint Draw with chalk all over your driveway Have someone trace your body on a big piece of paper Write a story and “publish” it in your own… Read more »

Susan:)

I’ve done 44 of those, not all when I was a kid!

Oh and Girl Scouts was also responsible for quite a few of those experiences!

Whitney

Great list! I would separate the camping thing though. Camping out in the woods or by the lake is great, but a kid should also camp out in the backyard once or twice 🙂 I think my parents lost a tent or two because of us! And, like a couple of others, Girl Scouts taught me a lot, although most of this I did with my family too.

51 Things Your Child Should Do Before Growing Up

Here is a list of 51 things to get started:

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