Adventures made me... I want my kids to have them
GABRIELLE FAGAN catches up with TV presenter Ben Fogle to discover why the great outdoors is more important than school, when it comes to parenting his kids
TV PRESENTER Ben Fogle travels the world for his adventures and physical challenges, but when he gets home, he’s not looking for a bit of peace and quiet. Instead, he wants his children to go wild.
“I know the virtues of travel, the outdoors and animals,” says the TV presenter of Channel 5’s series New Lives In The Wild, who has two children, Ludo, 10, and Iona, eight, with his wife Marina.
“Adventure is what has made me and I want them to love it, and the wilderness too. I don’t want them to see it as a dangerous, frightening place,” says the 45-year-old who’s determined to pass on the skills for coping in a natural, outdoor environment to the youngsters.
“For me, the most important place to learn is not the classroom, but the outdoors and nature. If they’re open to life, new experiences, new people and happy
in the world, and have a spirit of adventure, that to me is more important than academic achievements,” explains Ben.
“We’ve been teaching them basic bush craft skills – like foraging for food, making a fire and how to put it out safely – since they were young. They’ve had whittling knives for working with wood for a long time. Of course, they get cuts and bruises, get stung by bees, or whatever but that’s all about experiencing and learning.”
Ben, who found fame in 2000 living on the uninhabited Outer Hebridean island of Taransay, for the BBC reality show Castaway, has gone on to conquer an impressive list of challenges, including reaching the summit of Everest, trekking the Sahara, crossing the Antarctic, and rowing across the Atlantic.
“I’ve learnt so much from the things I’ve done and want the children to learn about life and how to live it,” he enthuses.
What sort of father are you?
I LIKE to think I’m as good a dad as I can be. I’m hands-on, quite fun, and never lose my temper. It’s acknowledged there’s an increase in ‘helicopter’ parenting these days, with people hovering over their children and almost trying to control them and wrap them in cotton wool.
I don’t believe in that. We need to loosen our grip, let them grow, adapt and learn. I encourage our
Both Marina and I want them to be exposed to life and live it to the full. I can’t wait to go on a big adventure with them... maybe the North Pole.