Is It Wrong to Let Children Do Extreme Sports?

nytimes.com/2015/05/17/maga…

http://www.nytimes.com/video/magazine/100000003641583/i-like-being-afraid.html

You mean like football or hockey?

(yes, I actually read the article)

Some people are reasonable.
Some are unreasonable, overbearing or overprotective.
And the world remains dangerous.

City of Rocks NM

My actual two cents (as a parent) is that allowing an 8 year old to skate the mega ramp with multiple concussions under his belt is just as bad as allowing your 8 year old to free solo (anything) or to play tackle football. Kids have a looooong life ahead of them. You shouldn't allow people with undeveloped brains to risk permanent neurological injury just because they feel like it.

I get the feeling that some of these parents look at their kids as a meal ticket (he's the next Shaun White!).

if my kid actually wanted to free solo, and i knew it was within his ability, i would let him. why do people allow alex honnold to free solo but then get their panties in a bunch when a kid does it?

10 concussions, 5 seizures, 6 broken bones and he's punctured his spleen twice, at age 13. I understand letting kids take risks, and I understand that sometimes getting knocked around a little is part of growing up, but this is just bad parenting skills. Even if he never gets injured again, what's life going to be like for a kid with that medical history when he grows up (if he lives to grow up)?

eli poss wrote:if my kid actually wanted to free solo, and i knew it was within his ability, i would let him. why do people allow alex honnold to free solo but then get their panties in a bunch when a kid does it?

Because he is an adult?

why does your age justify your ability to climb rock without a rope? obviously, as i am not a parent, my views are skewed but, given it is in somebody's ability, why does age matter?

eli poss wrote:why does your age justify your ability to climb rock without a rope?

Insert "drive a car", "drink alcohol", "operate heavy machinery", or "join the military" in place of "climb rock without a rope" and you will have the answer to your question.

Ian G. wrote: Insert "drive a car", "drink alcohol", "operate heavy machinery", or "join the military" in place of "climb rock without a rope" and you will have the answer to your question.

Haha, exactly.

Are you serious Eli?

Ian G. wrote: Insert "drive a car", "drink alcohol", "operate heavy machinery", or "join the military" in place of "climb rock without a rope" and you will have the answer to your question.

well i've seen 14 yr olds who drive better than many adults. as for alcohol i agree with. for machinery, they can easily hurt somebody if they fuck up. for the military, they probably don't really understand the risks and just want the glory. if my kid just to be like alex honnold i wouldn't let him because that isn't a valid justification for free soloing. if (s)he wanted to do it for the right reason, and i knew it was in their ability, i would let my kid do it.

eli poss wrote: well i've seen 14 yr olds who drive better than many adults. as for alcohol i agree with. for machinery, they can easily hurt somebody if they fuck up. for the military, they probably don't really understand the risks and just want the glory. if my kid just to be like alex honnold i wouldn't let him because that isn't a valid justification for free soloing. if (s)he wanted to do it for the right reason, and i knew it was in their ability, i would let my kid do it.

Eli,

It's about judgment, not ability. Teenagers don't have the ability to weigh, or understand, the risks as well as adults do. If the parent decides it's OK, that's one thing - but just leaving it up to the kid is no bueno.

eli poss wrote:why does your age justify your ability to climb rock without a rope? obviously, as i am not a parent, my views are skewed but, given it is in somebody's ability, why does age matter?

Because hopefully with more age you have gained some wisdom and experience, so have a little better understanding of the fragility of life and a broader sense of possibilities to way against the rush of fear.

eli poss wrote: i knew it was in their ability

this was meant to imply that i, as a hypothetical parent, have weighed the risk against the reward. sorry, i'm not great at getting across my message across with text rather than speaking. then again i'm only 18 and i really enjoy free soloing so my views are likely skewed by immaturity

eli poss wrote: if (s)he wanted to do it for the right reason, and i knew it was in their ability, i would let my kid do it.

I don't have kids either, but even from being around my friends kids, if you did have children I doubt you would feel the same. (Maybe if you had too many of them...) It is kind of amazing how quickly the paternal instinct comes into play in most people.

your probably right. that's why i don't tell my parents. but that feeling of being all alone on the rock, doing something amazing is way better than delicious food, weed, and sex combined. and, at least for me, it's not the fear. i've done a couple sketchy trad routes and that is a completely different feeling. after i do a sketchy trad route, i feel like a bad ass. after i free solo, i just get this burst of happiness, the kind that makes you cry tears of joy

No doubt, but it is good to remember that a blast of hormones is a big part of that feeling.

The adolescent brain has an unusual take on evaluating risk, as-in, the teenage brain doesn't evaluate risk. That's where adults come into the picture.

Don't worry Eli, sex will get better with age.

eli poss wrote:but that feeling of being all alone on the rock, doing something amazing is way better than delicious food, weed, and sex combined.

No!!!!!! Although I have ate some food, smoked some weed and loved many a woman that was subpar. If all you have under your belt is a quarter pounder w/ cheese, Mexican piss weed and a large girl who was on the color guard team, then yes I will agree with you. Free soloing is better than that. It does get better, trust me.

for those of you who are telling me that there are better feelings, have you ever free soloed before (because you wanted to, not because you needed to)? what did you feel? for me, it's not just the rush of fear, it is much more than that. i'm sure i will look back later and think that it was all so stupid but as of now, the amazing feeling is more than worth the risks. i don't take significant risks, though, as i don't free solo anything harder than 5.7 and only things i know i can do without falling and that i can downclimb.