wanting to take my 13 yr old son on his dream come true skydiving adventure...mission impossible??

[angelwings02 0]

On Jan 13, 2013 my son will turn 13...Golden birthday. For many years I have wanted him to find a sport, instrument or some kind of motivation to feel a burning from deep within...but he continues to love the video games even if I take them away for months at a time. He wants to be in the military and so I asked what he thought of skydiving because this could become a life long passion for him and I want those walls to be broke down and let my son see himself in a different way...that real life is waiting out there for him...but from the research i've done...it looks like there is no place to take him unless its out of country. is this true?

[skytribe 16]

In the states there is a legal age at which you can sign your rights away. Even as a parent you cannot sign your son's legal rights away.

The USPA and manufacturers positions are clear. Outside of the US the USPA and manufacturers don't control certifying instructors and local rules or lack of rules apply.

It sounds more as though your doing it for your own reasons than your son. Let him come to you if he really wants to do it.

[peek 20]

Although he is too young to skydive in the US, there are other forms of aviation available to him.

Check with your local small airport for introductory airplane flights, or depending where you are, introductory glider flights may be available.

The instructors will let him do some of the flying and he will learn a lot.

There are careers in that flying stuff too...

[padraigbrowne 0]

Have you thought about wind tunnel flying ?
He can legally fly solo in the tunnel , and will be a natural flyer when he starts jumping at 16 .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DlBvgixmxFY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y761ATx8DwQ

[PhreeZone 15]

There is nothing wrong with video games if played responsibly.

Wind tunnel flying might be a better alternative due to the lower age requirements, the lower costs and the lower risk factors. It really sounds like you are wanting him to do this for you and it is not his own idea.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[excaza 1]

Quote

Although he is too young to skydive in the US, there are other forms of aviation available to him.

Check with your local small airport for introductory airplane flights, or depending where you are, introductory glider flights may be available.

The instructors will let him do some of the flying and he will learn a lot.

There are careers in that flying stuff too...

Adding to this, check if your local EAA chapter participates in the Young Eagles program.

[wasatchrider 0]

he could probably go on a tandem base those dang guys dont have any rules

BASE 1519

[DougH 270]

Quote

On Jan 13, 2013 my son will turn 13...Golden birthday. For many years I have wanted him to find a sport, instrument or some kind of motivation to feel a burning from deep within...but he continues to love the video games even if I take them away for months at a time. He wants to be in the military and so I asked what he thought of skydiving because this could become a life long passion for him and I want those walls to be broke down and let my son see himself in a different way...that real life is waiting out there for him...but from the research i've done...it looks like there is no place to take him unless its out of country. is this true?

Please don't take this personally but I opened this thread expecting to find a story about a critically ill youngster that had a dream to skydive, kind of make a wish foundation ala USPA.

Instead you appear to be about a parent in search of some hobby that would give their unmotivated child something to be passionate about.

Your child is 13, plenty of children that are his age are unmotivated human sloths. It sounds like your son is pretty average.

You can't give some one a passion for something, and honestly even if you could preemptively signing your underage son up for a skydive well ahead of the normal age to skydive in the US seems to be the wrong approach.

This teaches your son way more about instant gratification, than it does about passion for an activity.

Take up outdoor activities with your son. Family hiking and backpacking trips. Take him to a climbing gym, take him on a rock climbing course. Hell even the flying lesson seems like a great idea.

These are all activities that you need to work for, and build up your effort and knowledge.

Just showing up for a tandem doesn't teach have that element of earning the experience.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[skytribe 16]

Couldn't agree more. How about getting your kid involved in something which he could create his own games.

I know there are classes that do this. This may make his love of video games into something which he could enjoy and be creative with.

[peregrinerose 0]

You might also want to look into Civil Air Patrol, although I am not sure what the age requirements are. It was a life changer for my little brother.

The other thing is kids copy their parents. If you are very active, have hobbies, are out doing things, and he gets incorporated into those activities, he will inherently be doing more. As skydiving instructors, we got our son involved in the dropzone as soon as we adopted him (he was 15 and a foster kid when we got him). It was good for him to watch us, learn from us and other adults. He was never a slug playing video games, because we didn't even own video games. We were always out living and doing.. hiking, travelling, going out with friends, going to the dropzone, and he did a majority of those things with us.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Andy9o8 1]

Everyone here has good ideas along a similar vein. But so far it's all been about bringing your son around. What about bringing you around, too? He might be more inclined to take up your offers of outdoor activities if you make it part of a deal, rather than a mandate.

From what you describe, he already does sound passionate about something: video games. Teenage kids respond to various motivators, and one of those is to be taken seriously by adults for what they are and what they're into. Don't try to simply change his world; take the world he has and enjoys and add to it. How about making him a deal: you join him in learning and playing video games with him (and show an interested and respectful attitude when you do), in exchange for which he joins you in some out-of-house activities that you can both enjoy together? Or even if it's an outdoor activity that you can't participate in, how about, say, 1 hour of him engaging in a mutually-agreeable outdoor activity for every 1 hour of gaming....etc.

[obelixtim 136]

Well in the US it appears it is way too difficult. Mainly for litigation reasons rather than anything else. But then again you could prolly buy him an AK 47 quite legally in some parts.

Doesn't mean its not a good idea....and I'm sure it would be a life changing experience for him. I'd say go for it.

If you can afford to go offshore, I'm sure you can find somewhere that will cater for him. You might even be able to buy him a Kinder Surprise.

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[BigMikeH77 0]

Oh God, now I want a Kinder Egg!

[RickH 0]

www.skydivearuba.com

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Skydive El Sol in Cabo San Lucas.

[DvK 2]

Sounds a bit like you're doing it for the wrong reasons. When I was 13 I was hooked on games. I was what you'd call a nerd. Now I'm jumping and in the military, doing stuff I like..... Don't be to eager to let your kid discover all this stuff, even if it's for all the right reasons

[JohnMitchell 16]

Quote

On Jan 13, 2013 my son will turn 13...Golden birthday. For many years I have wanted him to find a sport, instrument or some kind of motivation to feel a burning from deep within...but he continues to love the video games even if I take them away for months at a time.

Sounds like a battle of the wills over video games. Our son gamed a lot, but did a lot of everything else.

Do you both have baseball gloves and a ball? Go huck that around. Buy a football and have some fun at the park. Hiking, biking, fishing, lots of activities for 12-13 year olds that we did with our 4 kids.

People would ask us "How did you get your kids interested in insert activity here?"
We would reply that we didn't.
We gave them wide exposure to many things. Then they told us what they wanted to do and we helped them achieve it.

Does he really dream of skydiving or is that something you came up with? Out of our 4, only 3 made tandems, one made 16 jumps before going off to college and another finally started and got licensed. But we always waited for them to ask to do it. We didn't drag them to it.

I can understand your parental frustration. Just keep the lines of communication open and try to do more activities with them. It really doesn't have to be fancy. As a dad, hiking in the woods was a great time for my kids to open up and tell me all kinds of things many parents never get to hear. I'm glad I was there to hear it.
BTW, are you an experienced jumper already or just looking into this for him? Skydving has a lot of risks. It's not to be entered into lightly.

[davelepka 4]

Quote

On Jan 13, 2013 my son will turn 13...Golden birthday. For many years I have wanted him to find a sport, instrument or some kind of motivation to feel a burning from deep within..

Ok reality check. Your kid turned 13 yesterday, but you've been hoping for years that he would find some motivation burning from deep within himself? Did you expect a 10 or 11 year old kid to find a life-long passion?

Get real. He's a kid and he likes kid stuff. When you were 13, there were things you liked, and they were the popular kid things of that time. Just because video games weren't an option for you as a kid doesn't mean they're not a valid 'kid thing' for a kid to do.

Trying to push hinm into a situation where his life will be at risk because you think it's a good idea, or because you have some hang-up with the way he spends his time is ill advised at best.

For the record, I have a 14 year old son myself. He likes video games, and a variety of other things that I'm not a fan of, but those are his choices and I let him live his life the way he wants. If he's doing well in school, not breaking any laws, or is not a danger to himself or others, it's his life and I let him take where he wants.

How about this, have you ever taken an interest in his video games? Ever played one with him?

[nigel99 288]

I don't know if you jump, but I have really mixed feelings about kids doing tandems.

Here the minimum age is 12 and this weekend I helped with the briefing of a boy doing a tandem for his 13th birthday. Honestly I don't think that children have the maturity to deal with the potential risks.

As others have suggested the wind tunnel is FANTASTIC for kids. The risk is almost nil, and they truly fly. My kids have been in the tunnel and loved it, one of them wants to do a tandem for his 13th (4 months away), but I would rather he waits for 16.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[Andy9o8 1]

Quote

I don't know if you jump, but I have really mixed feelings about kids doing tandems.

Here the minimum age is 12 and this weekend I helped with the briefing of a boy doing a tandem for his 13th birthday. Honestly I don't think that children have the maturity to deal with the potential risks.

As others have suggested the wind tunnel is FANTASTIC for kids. The risk is almost nil, and they truly fly. My kids have been in the tunnel and loved it, one of them wants to do a tandem for his 13th (4 months away), but I would rather he waits for 16.

Usually when I express this opinion I'm tarred and feathered.

[JohnMitchell 16]

Quote

How about this, have you ever taken an interest in his video games? Ever played one with him?

Yeah, I kept getting my a$$ kicked.

BTW, my kid played video games and real sports, a good mix. He did a tandem when he was 14 and it didn't really thrill him that much.

[NWFlyer 2]

Anyone notice the OP hasn't logged back in since posting this thread? Y'all are talking to yourselves and he's moved on to the next shiny thing. Hmm... perhaps this apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Andy9o8 1]

Hm?

[Ron 10]

Quote

Mainly for litigation reasons rather than anything else. But then again you could prolly buy him an AK 47 quite legally in some parts.

Nope, Federal law says 18 for that as well.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[michaelmullins 79]

Quote

Quote

Mainly for litigation reasons rather than anything else. But then again you could prolly buy him an AK 47 quite legally in some parts.

Nope, Federal law says 18 for that as well.

Nope, no Federal Minimum age for an unlicensed seller to sell or give a long gun to another person. That is, any person that is not a licensed gun dealer can sell, or give, any other person, regardless of age, a long gun (such as an AK-47 in semi-automatic). In TN, there is no minimum age for possession of a long gun.