Children's writing competition; can you think of a good theme?

How about old fashioned children's' pastimes rather than the digital stuff most modern kids are obsessed with? I'm reduced to tears trying to get my kids interested in anything I used to enjoy when I was their age.

bernard shaw Why not try Fairy Tales or perhaps tales of wild animal this leaves much to the imagination and the children could really live out some exciting stories in their writing. I too hate all of these small things where one has to push buttons instead of using one's brain. Lots of luck With you theme Bern

How about 'something that means something to you'.

What about a story written from an insect's perspective. I wrote one about Mary the earwig which was not aimed at children but with some adjustment could have been. Although I realize it's the children who are going to do the writing but a child doesn't have to have a pet for this.

I think you need something vague enough to allow for a multitude of different interpretations. Friends? Heroes? The Best (or worst) day of my life? Journeys? You've got me thinking now!

I can only speak from personal experience (a lot of folk I've spoken to can't remember much of what they did when they were kids), but maybe it would still work, because even kids with young parents have older relatives to give advice about bygone pastimes. I celebrated my fiftieth birthday in July, so when I was a kid we had a black and white TV with just three channels. Because of the lack of suitable TV entertainment we really looked forward to going to the Saturday morning matinee at the local cinema, which comprised of a couple of films and loads of cartoons. I spent most of my spare time in my younger days in the garden and on patches of wasteland catching bugs and identifying them from library books, and when I was a bit older and I was allowed to travel further afield we went on frog, toad and newt hunting expeditions. We also loved making dens out of rusty old corrugated tins and, before the dangers were well known, corrugated asbestos sheets, and when I was about fourteen I built a huge two storey shed and a tree house. There was a row of prefabricated houses being demolished at the end of my street at the time, and I asked the builders if I could have some timber. One of them looked knowingly at his mates and pointed to a pile of floor sections, which were perhaps twenty feet wide and thirty odd feet long, the floorboards nailed to sturdy six by fours. "If you can carry those sections on your own you can have the lot," he said, and the men were amazed when I somehow managed to carry every one half balanced on my back and half dragged along the road. When my mum could spare a few sausages, a bit of bacon, eggs and bread we used to light cooking fires, and kids would appear from all directions to share our feast. This is about the only thing I did as a child that my kids genuinely enjoy, but they can't wait to get back to civilisation and, sadly, bloody Facebook.

Great ideas---here are mine: Cracks on the Sidewalk---Chasing the Wind---New Friends---Fun with Cats---Clouds in the Sky. Good luck. Richard LP

bernard shaw Nicknames As A child I had two prominent front teeth, One day while eating some lettuce salad the Foster Mother in the orphanage loudly said, "That I not only look like a rabbit but I eat like one." From that day on I was called Bunny. This nickname stuck with me until I was fourteen and released from the control of the orphanage. Needless to say I hated the nickname. Bern

How about overcoming some sort of disability or impairment? Quite a few children's books include something of the sort, and it ties in well with the Paralympics starting on Wednesday.

bernard shaw I have made a note of the title and will try to get the book here in Austria. Thanks a lot Bern

I've read 'Wonder'. Fantastic book!

So...did you decide on a theme or not? :)

Cool all the best!