Bear Grylls tells kids to put their tablets away and explore outdoors

It is a time-honoured rite of passage for generations of children – trying to find something to do during those seemingly endless summer holidays.

But far from being a time of boredom, school holidays should be seized on as an opportunity for them to discover a whole new world of adventure.

So says the Chief Scout, Bear Grylls, who is on Sunday launching a manifesto for children to encourage them to learn new skills, take part in exciting activities and create their own adventures.

In the hope that they will put down their computer games and tablets and explore the world around them, the adventurer and television presenter is urging children to test their initiative with something as simple as building a den or spending a night outdoors.

^{Grylls with sons Jesse and Marmaduke (Alan Davidson)}

He said: “The summer holidays are a massive opportunity for fun, challenge and adventure. It’s a time when kids can get outdoors, build dens, learn skills, make friends and have the freedom to discover who they are. That’s why I’m challenging every child to accept my kids’ summer manifesto.

“None of my challenges need to cost a penny, so there’s no excuse to spend the next six weeks on the couch.”

Grylls is known to practise what he preaches with his own children, Jesse, 11, Marmaduke, 9, and Huckleberry, 6, by encouraging them to learn to light fires without matches, tie knots in the dark and put up tents in a gale. Jesse rescued a little girl from a river when he was seven and the three boys once made him a cup of Father’s Day tea from muddy stream water.

But he admits their teachers have sometimes expressed concern that they focus too much on the outdoors and not enough on their studies.

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Bear Grylls’s Summer Manifesto is being launched as part of a helicopter tour of Scout summer camps in Shropshire, Derbyshire and the Lake District. Accompanied by Megan Hine, the British adventurer and presenter, Grylls will meet nearly 8,000 young people during Sunday’s tour.

Grylls said: “Every child has the right to adventure. Nature is the world’s best adventure playground and it’s open to all. I want girls and boys to be able to enjoy that freedom and develop a spirit of optimism, practicality and hope for the future. That’s why I want this summer to be known as the summer of adventure. One of my main objectives is to encourage young people to get active and more adults to volunteer with the Scouts.”

Ms Hine, who has presented extreme survival television shows on ITV and Channel 4, said: “Scouting is all about encouraging more young people to get outdoors, giving them everyday adventure and keeping them fit and active.”

In Grylls’s latest show for NBC, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, celebrities such as Kate Hudson, Channing Tatum and Kate Winslet are challenged to spend 48 hours with him in some of the world’s wildest, most remote places. To survive, they must display the practical skills, determination and sense of adventure Grylls expects in the Scouts.

The Scouts, which organise activities from canoeing and abseiling to art and community projects, say these encourage children to develop independence, resilience and life skills.

Bear Grylls’ Summer Manifesto for Children:

1. Spend a night under the stars – this can be in your own back garden or as part of a massive camp

2. Learn a new skill – whether it’s learning to ride a unicycle, play the ukulele or how to canoe

3. Do something for someone else – help a neighbour, your parents, siblings or relatives

4. Get fit – get into training for an adventure with some jogging, climbing or cycling

5. Build something - a den, a tree house, a go kart, a boat, you name it

6. Go on a wild adventure – on foot, on your bike, on the water or in the air!