Do your parents know?

[skywombat 0]

So, do your parents know you jump? Did you outright tell them, or did they discover it some other way? How did they find out? What was the reaction?

If my mother found out, I would be dead before I hit the ground, so I don't plan on coming out of the gear closet any time soon. What about you?

[agentsmith413 0]

HA! I told my parents I was gonna do it whether they liked it or not. My dad was completely cool with it and my mom didn't really want me to but once she saw my tandem video she was cool with it.

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, all used up, and loudly proclaiming: Wow, what a ride!

[broncoty 0]

They are going to find out sooner or later haha. Might as well tell them and if they love you they will accept that you like to throw yourself out of airplanes. (hopefully)

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."-William Arthur Ward

[Andy9o8 0]

I voted No for the "old me" that started jumping 30+ years ago when I was in college, which from your question I'm guessing is about your age range now. My dad (quietly) shit a brick; and I didn't tell my mom for years.

[Nicolai 0]

Well, they obviously knew, sine I had to get their consent.. Was only 17:-D

[IanHarrop 37]

Quote

So, do your parents know you jump? Did you outright tell them, or did they discover it some other way? How did they find out? What was the reaction?

If my mother found out, I would be dead before I hit the ground, so I don't plan on coming out of the gear closet any time soon. What about you?

I think you need to go to a special CAMP for those that need a little help talking to their mommy.

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[wildcard451 0]

Why wouldn't they? I made my first at 19, then the rest starting at 22. Why wouldn't you tell them?

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

Quote

So, do your parents know you jump? Did you outright tell them, or did they discover it some other way? How did they find out? What was the reaction?

If my mother found out, I would be dead before I hit the ground, so I don't plan on coming out of the gear closet any time soon. What about you?

I think you need to go to a special CAMP for those that need a little help talking to their mommy.

Very funny. My mom was the hysterical type. It was simply the path of least resistance.

[stratostar 5]

I told my mom the day I did my first jump, because she asked my if I had been drinking beer (she smelled it) I said yes I had a beer after my first jump today. (age 16) She was more pissed about the fact I had a beer then the fact I jumped out of a plane, it helps if you grow up on a dz, it's no big surprise, your expected too.

Yes I got in trouble for the beer grounded for a week, not for jumping.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[jimmytavino 16]

mostly i just said that i "had arranged for a ride in an airplane"....... my first...
afterwards,, when everything went just fine, i "mentioned the part about parachuting from it "...since then they've been surprisingly supportive of it... almost proud...
My father signed a permissiion letter a couple of times, so that i could file a NOTAM, and get the ok to do a demo, into the backyard for the annual 4th of July Picnic...once in 1980 and once in '96...
I did know a guy at the local Dz who was doing College Grad Work ... nearby...
he had about 800 jumps or so. His hometown was Philly,,, and when he was leaving.. I said...
"hey, how can get ahold of ya' if i'm ever there..." (This was waaaay before cell phones )
"should i just look up your parents # in the phone book?" i asked..

NO NO no...he said,,,
" don't do THAT ".
" they have no idea that i skydive AND that i've been using tuition money to buy lift tickets"!!! hahahahaha
I hope he's still jumping!!!!
jt...

[skybytch 259]

No. Not sure how I've managed to go 20 years without them figuring it out. It's really been hard to hide the rig and other paraphernalia from them. I thought for sure they'd cop to it when they saw me repeatedly coming home with that silly shit eating grin after yet another day of "going for a drive" but no. They didn't figure it out when looking through my videos either.

I think they may be getting wise to it though. Last time they visited they questioned why there are pictures of bird shit on the walls and rubber bands all over the place.

[BobbyR1990 0]

My dad used to skydive and he was an instructor in the 70's and 80's with almost 4000 jumps. Skydiving is actually how my parents met, so when i started it was really exciting and we had a few family trips to the DZ during my AFF

[airdvr 197]

My parents just asked that I tell them afterwards, not before. Worked out pretty well. They never knew when so they didn't have to worry about it.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[virgin-burner 1]

told my mom pretty early, she was just worried; dad, as expected, was kinda pissed for all the money wasted, as expected.. just shown him the vid of my AFF, he didnt recognize me, so i told him..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[wolfriverjoe 1,339]

Yes. They knew before I started.
I was in my mid-thirties, so it wasn't that big of an issue.
I made a deal with my mom that I'd always use an AAD and not BASE, and she wouldn't try to stop me from skydiving. She has been really supportive, buying or helping pay for my ProTrack, camera setup and Rigger course.

Dad only made it out to the DZ once before he died. One of our guys did 100 in one day for a fundraiser. They came out to see the end of it.
Dad also cringed noticably when watching videos of my early H&Ps. He never asked to see them again.

My mom has been out to the DZ when we weren't jumping for some time. After a big weekend, we'd leave a bunch of stuff to be done on Sunday because we were too tired to deal with it. I'd go up on Tues or Wed (club DZ, I have a key) to clean up and get stuff put away/organized for the coming weekend. Mom really liked the peacefulness of the airport on a nice, quiet weekday.

She finally watched me jump last summer (almost 8 years of jumping).
It started when I was flying because no other pilots were available. She came up knowing I wasn't going to be jumping, but wanted to see the other guys jump. She enjoyed it enough that a week or so later, she came out knowing I'd be jumping. It was a perfect day, with a thin, high overcast. The kind that sillouettes the plane and the jumpers really well. She could see us the entire time
I was videoing the jumps, so after we landed, I'd put the video up on the hangar TV while we packed.

She commented on the way home how much fun it was to see, and that she was rather surprised that it wasn't scary at all to see me falling through the air. She said she had been expecting that "pit of the stomach" fear and it just wasn't there.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[TiaDanger 0]

My mom is awesome. She and I did a tandem the day before I started AFF. She likes to come to the DZ on jump days, sit on the couches, read her book and watch the parachutes land
As for my dad...I haven't spoken to him over a decade, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he doesn't know!

And for the record: the appropriate ranking of cool modes of transportation is jet pack, hover board, transporter, Batmobile, and THEN giant ant.
D.S. #8.8

[hofstar 0]

My folks were mortified when I told them I was going on my first (tandem) jump. They told me to wait until they're dead. They even tried to bribe me out of doing it...

I showed them the video, and they saw how happy it made me by the look on my face the whole way down. But they were not sold yet...When I told my dad I decided to get my A license, and told him I needed 25 jumps to get it, he literally hung up on me .

Then they watched the video of my check dive, and they have completely 180'd from being terrified to proud. They're completely supportive and are thrilled that I found something I love so much. They brag to all their friends about me being a skydiver , and are even going to come watch me jump once it gets warm.

[likestojump 3]

Yes, my mom knows. I really didn't care what she would have told me about liking/disliking it, but I felt she should know. As an adult I should be allowed to make my own decisions. No, I did not make any deals with her or any other relatives about using AADs, not BASE jumping, not jumping at night, or anything else silly like that. If I cannot make my own educated decisions as a self-supporting adult then what good am I ? Also, why the hell should I cater into anyone else irrational and uneducated fears ?

Many people I met did not have even basic knowledge of modern skydiving, and their most common response had been "did you ever forget to pull your ring" or "did you ever have a malfunction" ? Oviously, such people have only seen the military round jumps, and have no data to make a valid judgment of modern skydiving.

To add to my point - I tell my mom about things I do, and I sometimes show her and her husband videos - but I don't think they get nearly as excited about them - not because they are uncomfortable, but simply because they are as passionate about nylon crack as I am.

And to add the the point - she has not invested a penny in me since I was 16, so I felt that she had a right to know about what I do, but had no right to stop me simply because it made her uncomfortable. Obviously if she would have a made a rational argument about anything I do, and based her discomfort on solid data and not silly emotional resposne, I would have most definitely listened. Caving into irrational fears, and society conditioned responses is plain silly and conformist.

[Rstanley0312 0]

Quote

So, do your parents know you jump? Did you outright tell them, or did they discover it some other way? How did they find out? What was the reaction?

If my mother found out, I would be dead before I hit the ground, so I don't plan on coming out of the gear closet any time soon. What about you?

Told them right away.... mom was very worried dad and grandpa wee military so they both just said "don't break something". They knew all about it and of course were thinking rounds so they were more concerned with landing.

Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it.
Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000
www.fundraiseadventure.com

[Guru312 0]

Quote

So, do your parents know you jump?... What was the reaction?

I first jumped out of an airplane in jump school with the 82nd Airborne Division in March, 1960.

On the weekend before our 'jump week' I called my mom to tell her I was going to be jumping five times the following week. She asked me to call her at the end of the week. I forgot to call. I didn't speak to her for 3 weeks. She was a nervous wreck for the entire time.

As I heard her tell friends and relatives for years afterward, it was the worst weeks of her life... except for this incident which stopped her from ever again watching me jump:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2584958;search_string=scary%20stories;#2584958

My daughter, Rebecca, will be 18 next year and she can't wait to jump. Needless to say, she has my total support and I hope I'm on the same load. Her mother...well, a totally different story. Dealing with her mom will take the next year to get her ready to accept it.

Guru312

I am not DB Cooper

[Dean358 0]

Nope! I'm 52 years old and my parents still don't know I skydive. They do, however, know about my other aviation hobbies. I've even taken my dad up in a glider and he wants me to take him for a helicopter ride. That's handy, because I can tell them with a straight face "I had a wonderful time flying today." I even told them about a fantastic ride I had in a B-17. I just, um, sort of, left out the part about stepping though the bomb bay doors :-)

www.wci.nyc

[InfiniteSky 0]

I told them before I went and made my first jump. I was 22 at the time and in the military, and if they had told me they didn't want me to do it I still would have. They've always known about my hobbies and I felt they deserved to know. Dad was totally cool, mom was more reserved, but they both now think it's great that I skydive and like watching videos of me.

Even if they weren't supportive I think it's only fair to let them know. They raised me, and if I were to die from this I'd hate for them to find out I jumped on the day I died. This way they know I'm happy and loving what I do, and if I die they'll know I died happy.

[linebckr83 3]

Quote

told my mom pretty early, she was just worried; dad, as expected, was kinda pissed for all the money wasted, as expected.. just shown him the vid of my AFF, he didnt recognize me, so i told him..

Damn I can relate to that! Talk about an identical story. He's still pissed about the money I spend on it. My mom is now pretty educated about it now since I ramble on about stuff alot, but occasionally she'll still drop the "what happens if plan B fails, no plan C?"

"Are you coming to the party?
Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!"
Flying Hellfish #828
Dudist #52

[Cueb 0]

My parents had gone to static line course ~18 years before I made my jump, just before I was born. So they really had no big arguments against it. :) My dad acctually got so excited he came with me and completed the course. We both still skydive today, 3 years after the course =)

So acctually my first jump was a static line tandem with my mom.. :)

[apt3studiodiver 0]

Both parents know I skydive. Dad used to jump in the seventies and quit shortly after he started. Neither of my parents care much, even if they did I'd still be jumping. I do like them to know since I have kids and such (third one due in July!), but not for any other reason as to where to get ahold of me if they absolutely need to. I grew up about 1/4 mile away from a drop zone as a kid and watched people skydive my whole life so it was only natural to want to take the next step. They've all (parents and kids) come out to watch not only me but others jump too, its a fun time. I was always pretty rebellious anyway and told my parents about all the crazy things I got into.

www.apt3studios.com
www.musicpromotiononline.com
www.internetcafegaming.com
D.S. # 4321