Kids and skydiving

[gthomas101 0]

I jumped for several years before my daughter was born , stoped when she was 2 because I felt guilty jumping , fast forward shes now eight and Ive just started jumping again but still feel the same way, but I love the sport to much to give it up again, anybody else delt with this? I might add shes loves watching me on video and loves bragging to her friends that her daddy jumps from planes but im not sure she really understands the dangers, I have yet to take her to the DZ. any help?

gthomasphoto.com

[towerrat 0]

It's a very personal decision. Only you know if you should keep jumping. I have two kids, I still jump.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[lawrocket 3]

I don't know if I'll be jumping again for 18 years...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[cocheese 0]

I think if skydiving makes you happy , resulting in being a better Dad, then keep jumping.
If you can explain to her why you do it, then she will understand and be ready for the "realities of dangerous sports" talk.
I don't know Jack BTW.

[Thanatos340 1]

I can completely understand.
I made my first couple Jumps in 1992 right before my Daughter was born. After she was born, I quit and didn’t jump again until several years later and that was just a tandem for my 30th B-Day. I felt guilty about that and didn’t jump again for a couple more years after that. I talked about skydiving with my daughter allot before I finally made the decision to keep going.
My Daughter is 12 now and understands that Skydiving is what makes me happy and is supportive but I still feel selfish sometimes.

I do take her with me to the DZ occasionally, But I do not jump while she is there (For several reasons, 1. I don’t want to leave her alone as the DZ is not really a child Friendly place and 2. If I did have an accident, I wouldn’t want her to see it.)

You have a very personal decision to make, Just make sure that you include your daughter in your decision making process.

[JVig 0]

I have four children and I jump.........they kinda like the idea that i do. They come with me to DZ's, some functions and know my jump buddies.
They figure if Mom is happy then we are all happy.
Last year they wanted to send me to the Eloy Boogie, because they knew I'd love it....but certain things kept me home.
You need to be happy yourself before you can be happy with them and believe me, you are not going to pull the wool over your kids eyes. They are smarter than you think.

--------------------------------------------------
Just remember.....if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.

[SkyDolphin 0]

My daughter, now almost 13, has pretty much grown up on DZs since she was 4. She has seen lot's of injuries (including my own) and 2 fatalities. She was pretty scared the first time she saw Life Flight fly in but we talked about it a lot. She knows the risks but she also knows that Skydiving is a big part of our lives. She says she wants to jump someday, although her horse has taken us away from the DZ most of the time, and she loves to fly on observation rides when she can.

Everyone has to do what they think is best for themselves and their kids but be honest about what you want and why. It will all work out.

Rhonda

[white_falcon 0]

My wife and I just started 2 months ago (both getting ready for Level IV and V IAF this weekend) and we have 2 kids. We talked about it, and the concession we have made is that we will NOT jump together.

We both understand the risks, and the odds of something happening to both on th same jump, but we figured if we are gonna do this, that that is the responsible thing. One of us will ALWAYS have feet on the ground.

Other than that, the kids LOVE the DZ and all associated with it, and I THINK the folks age getting more comfortabel w/ them.

Scott

[Tonto 1]

I had 1600 dives when my daughter was born, and I just kept going. She's 10 now, and has climbed with me, and I've done 2 Tandems with her, the 1st when she was 8.

I'm divorced. Every weekend I'm at the DZ. Every 2nd weekend I'm at the DZ with my girls. To do anything else would be a lie.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Faber 0]

personaly dession,im a BASE jumper and dad to 2 kids (3 and 4 years).

I do it becours i wouldnt be me if i didnt do as i like...

I know many people that thinks im a nut for this,perhaps i am but atleast i and my kids dont feel like that...

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[Tonto 1]

Quote

the concession we have made is that we will NOT jump together.

So I guess you don't live together or ever share the same car, just to be safe, right?

You're missing out on the very best kind of sharing a pair of lovers can have outside of sex. That's my thinking, anyway...

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[JohnMitchell 14]

My wife and I started jumping jumping before having children. When the first of 4 children came into the world, we just kept jumping. All the children have pretty much grown up at the DZ. We're lucky, though, to have a DZ run by parents themselves. It's always been one of the best DZ's for chlidren. Our first just turned 16 and has made four jumps, with more planned this weekend, and is loving it.

Life is full of risks and bad things that can happen. One of the worst things that can happen is to let your life slip away without doing what is important to you. You can't have it all in this world, but if you try hard enough, you can have alot.

[Douva 0]

I don't even have kids, but I think about this all the time. I just don't know what I'll do when I have kids someday. My personal opinion is that when people have kids, their lives should stop being about themselves and start being about their kids. The first issue is obviously safety. I feel like a parent owes it to his or her children to do everything he or she can to be around for the long haul, but how far does this duty of self preservation extend? I've known several people who sold their motorcycles when their kids were born. There's also the question of time. I feel like young children deserve the bulk of a parent's free time. Would it be fare to spend every weekend, or even part of every weekend, at the drop zone, rather than spending that time with my children? I love my drop zone family, but it has kind of a barroom mentality--is that really the environment I want my kids growing up in?

On the other hand, I have friends that grew up at the DZ and are now happy members of the skydiving community. I know skydivers whose kids absolutely love hanging out at the DZ and playing with the other kids there. In a lot of ways, being around a large extended family and playing outdoors with a lot of other kids seems far superior to sitting in their bedrooms all weekend playing video games. In the end, I guess it's a personal decision that can only be made by evaluating the risk factor, the values you want to teach your children, and the alternatives (what you and your kids would be doing if not at the drop zone).

Personally, I don't think I'll give up skydiving completely if I have kids, but I also won't let it dominate my life the way it currently does. At that point, it'll be my kids' job to dominate my life, and skydiving will have to take a back-seat.

Blue skies,

Douva

I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

[white_falcon 0]

You have a very good point, and it is something we have discussed. In the future, with experience, we may modify that decision, but we just felt it was the best one for now.

[skycop 0]

I've got three kids. Two teenagers and a 10 month old. I've taken a break until the little one is a little older. It is a very personal decision. My kids have seen me get hurt, have malfunctions, but mainly they seen me enjoy and challenge myself. They have enjoyed ground crewing at airshows and being around several aspects of aviation.
So for me the return is worth the risks. Jumping has made my kids better rounded. They get to meet a wide variety of people that they would never meet otherwise.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck and blue skies

"Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

[JohnMitchell 14]