Ben Fogle and wife Marina gifted children knives and taught them how to start fires

express.co.uk:

Countryfile star insisted.In a claim that would bring terror to the hearts of many parents, he added: "My son loves playing with snakes - it's definitely something we encourage."Ben believes that by stigmatising so-called dangerous activities and warning against them, a child could become all the more determined to try them.Instead they let son Ludo and daughter Iona try things out for themselves."One of the reasons we are all so obsessed with fire is that when we are children, we're told to 'stay clear of fire, don't take that match, fire is dangerous,'" he suggested."We have this slight fascination with it...

then suddenly later in life, when you can start playing with fire, that's when all sorts of disasters happen," he declared to the Daily Mail.He taught both of his children how to start a fire by rubbing wood together, or using a match and a magnifying glass, in the hope that the practice might "lose its mystery" when they reach adulthood.It's an unconventional approach, but Ben swears by his unusual parenting techniques.Before his daughter learnt to walk, he allowed her to tumble downstairs by crawling, without intervening.He and wife Marina hope that she will learn from experience never to repeat risky moves.However the dad-of-two has attracted criticism from some for his approach.Ben has also confessed that his youngsters, who are five and seven, have owned sharp-bladed knives "for years now".He claims that they need a strong blade to be able to whittle wood.The TV star, who has also attracted criticism for his wish to take his children out of school during term time, has support in the form of fellow adventurer Bear Grylls.Bear has echoed Ben's views, suggesting that "mega-sharp penknives" make great gifts for.