Branching Out: Italian Town Plans to Fine Tree Climbers
"To climb a tree is for a child to discover a new world," Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten, is believed to have said.
Tree climbing is one of those things that many of us may remember enjoying when we were children: the freedom and that little bit of danger.
But in one Italian town, children aren't just risking bruises, they're risking some quite big fines.
That's right, in the town of Oderzo, anyone seen climbing trees may have to pay between $27 and $540.
This is not actually a new rule but it made the news after councilors were asked to approve these fines.
Some have criticized the rule, at a time when children are spending more and more time on smartphones or playing video games inside.
However, the town's mayor Maria Scardellato, said that Oderzo isn't the only town with rules like these. "I have never seen a city where people climb trees," she wrote on Facebook, adding that of course people may climb trees in their gardens or in the countryside.
She said that the rule was there to protect the trees and to keep people safe, and she added that there are a number of other places for children to play in the town.
Scardellato wasn't very happy with people criticizing the rule. She said that people complain that children can't play in areas where the grass is too long — but now they want them to be able to climb trees!
Others said that climbing trees is not always safe but it's a good way for children to learn about their limits.
