Is she off her rocker? Anger at mum rock-climbing with toddler strapped to her back The Sun: January 2012 A SINGLE mum with a love of outdoor sports has sparked outrage — by rock-climbing with her toddler daughter strapped to her back Menna Pritchard, 26, who says she believes that "life is about taking risks" has defended her decision to scale sheer rock faces while carrying two-year-old Ffion The full-time student said: "Some people would say I'm taking more risks than are necessary But I am very conscious of safety and I would never anything with Ffion that I thought would put her in danger." However, despite her claims to respect safety, Menna has been forced to defend a photograph she posted on her blog taken as she climbed a limestone rock face at Three Cliffs Bay in South Wales with Ffion strapped to her back While the mum and her climbing partner wear safety helmets in the photo, Ffion's head is bare Health and safety officials criticised her actions saying that she was being irresponsible and placing her child’s life at risk But Menna said: "I can appreciate if you didn't realise how safe the environment I was in, it could be worrying, but I was top-roping which means if you fall you don't fall any further than where you came off It is the safest form of climbing you can I was also in a beach environment surrounded by experienced climbers Health and safety legislation and the “sue and blame” culture mean so many people are nervous and afraid of getting into trouble, and taking small risks Life is all about risks, whether that's something as simple as getting in your car every day or climbing up a rock face." Menna split with Ffion's dad when she was three months pregnant and moved to Wales to live with her parents She is studying for a degree in outdoor education at University of Wales, Trinity St David in Carmarthen and works part-time as an outdoor instructor while juggling her job and education with her love of adventure sports Ffion was just four-months-old when Menna carried her up Pen y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales "She slept through the whole thing," she said "She was in a front carrier at that time and it really was incredibly safe Safety is always paramount." Menna has since walked or climbed with Ffion in The Gower, a coastal beauty spot near Swansea, on the Pembrokeshire coast, and in North Wales She added: "Rock climbing, kayaking and canoeing are all fairly new to me in the last two years but I feel I am in my element The idea is that's it's fun and exciting for Ffion too and hopefully I am inspiring her and giving her access to the outdoors Ever since Ffion was born I have been either trying to mountain climbing with her or forest walking or doing beach trips It just felt so good, not only for my physical well-being but also for my state of mind." Is she off her rocker? Vocabulary list linking exercise Connect the words on the left with the correct definitions on the right a) Bare 1) A child between the ages of and b) Paramount 2) Uncovered c) Scale 3) Secured by ropes or strong cords d) Split 4) Provoke anger e) Sue 5) To be crazy/mad f) Blame 6) Climb g) Juggling 7) Separate h) Strapped 8) Take legal action i) Sheer 9) managing, balancing j) Toddler 10) Hold guilty, condemn, accuse k) Spark outrage 11) Very important l) Off one’s rocker 12) Vertical You are a social worker in a social services meeting with several other colleagues and have just read this article relating to one of the cases you are reviewing today A complaint has been made to the social services department relating to this article and as to whether the child is in danger You need to make a decision on the complaint Start a debate with your fellow team members on this issue Your options for the moment are the following: Take further action in regards to ensuring the child’s safety Take no further action regarding the child’s safety Publicly condemn the newspaper for sexism in its condemnation of a single mother Issue a warning to the mother that she should more to ensure her child’s safety in future Recommend immediate legislation to the council making it illegal to allow children under the age of 10 to participate in “high risk” sports such as rock climbing After reading the article and doing the word linking exercise, tell your students that they are going to a small role-play Cut out the personality cards and then hand them out to the students and tell them that these cards are a summary of their personalities Give the students a couple of minutes to read the cards and field any questions on the vocabulary Chose a student to read out the situation for the social services role-play located under the vocabulary list linking exercise Students should then start the meeting with you as chair to help with any language problems The meeting should have a time limit of no longer than 20 minutes with each student taking it in turns to give their opinions After all students have said their piece, the groups should then take a vote on what action, if any, should be taken After the exercise is finished, get the students to debate what they really think about the article You are a very traditional and conservative person with strict religious views You think that women with children should be educating them at home on family responsibilities You think that a woman should fill a traditional role in the family and that a single mother is a very bad example of the modern world and all that is wrong with it You think single parents are irresponsible You have liberal religious views on life and believe very strongly in forgiveness and compassion You are very uncomfortable with condemning people for being different You are also very health conscious and think that children spend too much time indoors and that today’s children lead a sedentary life that isn’t good for them You also think safety is paramount You are a family orientated person You think anything done as a family is a good thing When you were a child your parents died and you were raised by an aunt and an uncle that didn’t care for you very much You have a partner and children and you everything with them You also work as a marriage guidance counsellor and think that couples should stay together You are a very cautious but open minded person You think that people in general take too many risks in life You think that if a person endangers the life of another through being irresponsible then they should go to prison However, you also believe that intervention in family affairs is a last resort You think that families should be made to take responsibility for their actions but the final decision should be theirs You are a traditional and conservative person and don’t think that today’s youth is very impressive You think young people today are soft When you were a child you had to work and contribute to the family’s weekly income You were also a keen athlete when you were a child and think that children today don’t get enough exercise You think safety is a personal affair and is the responsibility of the individual You are a very safety conscious person and think that people don’t take enough precautions You had a car accident when you were young because a friend was being careless and as a result you partially lost the use of three fingers on your left hand This has always bothered you because you were a talented musician before the accident You think people that take risks are totally irresponsible As a child you were left on your own a lot and had many accidents as a result Your parents were very irresponsible and selfish and were always hitting you You think that children are generally not treated very well and you are always suspicious that they are being abused in some way You would rather take the children into care than see them left at risk As a child you were raised in a Social Services children’s care facility and have bad memories of the experience You became a social worker to try and improve the service as a result of your experiences at the facility You think that protection of children is paramount but you also think that a child should only be separated from its parent as a last resort and only in cases of extreme abuse You think single parents are brave