<p>So sad that the boys were fatally injured. It seems like there have been a lot of outdoor related injuries this summer. I love the outdoors but I also have one child who has been a risk taker from birth, it is how her brain is wired.( She is going backpacking this week with several female friends and I am a little anxious)</p>
<p>When my husband and I were at the locks yesterday, I was reminded of how as a baby, she would throw herself around to get at the boats going through, you could hardly hang on to her. That was just a taste of things to come and while some of them may make great stories now, it was scary as hell, and my fears are only tempered slightly now that she is an adult.</p>
<p>I know some of you may know some kids like this very well.
Give yourself a pat on the back for getting them this far.</p>
<p>We had one of ours on a leash, which is more common in Europe. She’d run into traffic without it. Got lots of nasty comments from passersby. To be clear, she was a toddler, not a teen. A toddler near here was killed running across a street a few days ago. </p>
<p>I learned to be careful the hard way as a young, utterly fearless child. Not good.</p>
<p>Yep- my son. I was happy that he made it this far (almost 26). A couple of weeks ago I got an email from him saying he had been hit by a car while he was riding his bike (triathlon training). All the fear and worry is back! He and the bike were fine, fortunately, but his iPhone didn’t survive. He is an extremely fast cyclist on a very light bicycle.</p>
<p>My D. was very very cautious, much more than others her age…, except for one thing - always trusted water, never was afraid. First time went from high dive at age 4, we were not there to take a picture, it was during day camp. They did not take tests at that time, however, she would have passed it as she went thru tryouts and was a swimmer on competitive team before she was 5 y o. Any way, it shows that they know somehow.
Surprizingly enough, my grandson did the same, went from high dive first time at 4 and he was not even swimming at this age. He was completely fine, but he is a daredevil and also currently swimming on competitive swim team and in all kind of other sports though.
I agree that to be fearless is pretty dangerous and most girls are pretty cautious in comparison to boys, which must be built in in thier hormone composition…or maybe they are naturally smarter and think harder about results of their actions…do not know, not a doc.</p>
<p>I have 2 risk takers. On the surface, S1 (24 yrs) is more cautious & calculating, but he is the one who chased bears & was stalked by a mountain lion while hiking in NM. He is also a cyclist who enjoys riding fast. He just returned from a solo trip to Africa, where he developed altitude sickness while climbing Mt Kenya. S2 (almost 21) is more of an adrenaline junkie - he is the one who had 3 concussions (soccer) + 1 dislocated shoulder (snowboarding) in his freshman year. Fortunately S2 seems to have lost interest in BMX biking since the dislocated shoulder and he now wears a helmet when snowboarding. Both boys seek out risk but are getting better at risk management. Ages 16-24yrs have been far more exciting than I would like.</p>
<p>^You might be aware, but in case you do not, there are “altitude” drugs. My D. was taking them before going to mountains, she did not have problem. Just for future reference, as your S1 probably will continure his adventures…as far as I know boys and 24 is very young to stop, it might kind of go down maybe in 30s.</p>
<p>S1 is the ultimate risk taker. He is a naval officer in one of the most dangerous jobs…Explosive Ordnance Disposal…in layman’s terms, the Bomb Squad. EOD’s motto is “Initial Success or Total Failure”. Intense would be a mild description.</p>
<p>If you saw “The Hurt Locker” then you know what EOD is…except in the Navy they do it on land AND underwater, jumping from helicoptors into the ocean (while holding a bomb) to render safe underwater mines.</p>
<p>My son both SCUBA dives and sky dives… but he’s also fanatic about safety. My daughter bicycled across the country… alone. </p>
<p>I think being comfortable with risk and learning how to minimize the dangers at the same time makes for successful entrepreneurs. When we met, my husband was starting his first company–and the risk didn’t faze him at all. (He was 24, and by the time our daughter was born, three years later, the company employed over 100 people.)</p>
<p>I come from a family of risk takers. My cousin is a professional stuntman, sister thought nothing of sky diving, etc. I’m less of a risk taker in that sense but I’ll think nothing of buying plane tickets abroad without a plan, backpacking through a foreign country, etc.</p>
<p>I find it fascinating that some ADHD hyperactive/impulsive kids are risk takers without medication, but the opposite, in fact cautious to the point of anxiety, ON meds.</p>
<p>Backpacking isn’t necessarily risk taking emerald! It’s just being active, and outdoorsy. </p>
<p>I say this as a mother to a 24 year old who spent two consecutive summers as a guide for wilderness adventures company that takes teenagers on some pretty wild trips. Daughter was in charge of groups of kids bike riding from Seattle to San Francisco, and camping along the way. Backpacking through Yosemite (and dealing with a persistent and assertive bear.) And hiking from sea level to the top of a 14,000+ foot mountain, the summit of which required crampons, ice picks, and safety roping of all the participants. </p>
<p>Frankly, her odds of being injured are probably higher while driving down the highway to work.</p>
<p>A good friend of ours got into this paquor fad his senior year. Brilliant kid, gifted athlete, had his choice of colleges. I happened upon a youtube video of him jumping from concrete post to concrete post in our downtown area. Took every ounce of self control to not tell his mother, a good friend of mine, about it. He’s gone to a different college from his paquor friends, but he still likes the thrill life. He and his then girlfriend took up parasailing one summer, which is mild compared to what he used to do. His career aspiration is to be an army medic that gets dropped into the combat zone to rescue and treat those trapped behind enemy lines. He’s a nut, but I love him! I have to think of him and how lucky I am next time I get mad at my son for spending too much on video games. At least mine puts himself in dangerous situations in the virtual world.</p>
<p>I was raised by two very risk adverse people & I know hiking isn’t that risky as long as you stay on the trail but I lean towards worrying regardless of what she is doing. :o
I get worried when she tells me she doesn’t bring her phone or any ID with her when she runs " because there are people around".
When seeing a charge for $50 on her bank statement for a skydiving outfit( I am on her acct), I sent her an article about an accident they had last year. ( by that point she had already jumped)
I was a nervous wreck the whole time she was in India when she was 18 because she doesn’t like to ask for help when she needs it even when the signs are in English.</p>
<p>All my worries are exacerbated because she has turned into a “Beer Aficionado”, trying out all the local microbrews, - which of course can affect your judgment even with one or two, and if that isn’t enough, I worry that she inherited alcoholism from her father.
But at least if they are going backpacking, they are unlikely to be carrying much beer!</p>
<p>I’m about as risk averse as they come, but my little brother was always climbing and getting into things as a child, even going so far as to scale a straight surface of drawers by the handles, landing him literally in hot water from a kettle on the stove. He was okay though!</p>
<p>He usually just plays sports and camps, but this year my mother got wind that he was planning to spend his entire year at college couch surfing, with no place to call home! My mom put an end to that plan promptly.</p>
<p>I agree that some people are born more open to risk than others. My brother was. Mild example - several years ago he was at the airport and saw a man grab an older lady’s purse and run. He tackled the guy and held him until security got there. Spent months nursing a hurt knee. I’d give more extreme examples but might make his identity traceable.
I’m pretty much the opposite. My parents are both extroverts ( though not big risk takers) and didn’t quite know how to deal with a shy kid.</p>
<p>But, a group backpacking trip is mild on the risk scale. She isn’t jumping out of helicopters into the ocean to disarm bombs! But I’m a nervous wreck when my girls are on bike camping trips, so I’m with you on that!</p>
<p>I have known several people with ADHD who have gone into the military ( usually Marines) & they really seem to do well. ( although
Am I right in thinking they have to manage
ADHD without meds?)</p>
<p>D stopped by to get equipment. Big tent, so they aren’t going backpacking. I also had a nice chat with the mom of one of her friends from high school, who graduated from Duke last spring.
We’ve always been a fairly outdoorsy family, our big family vacation since before D was born was spending a week in the Methow valley xcountry skiing every year, so it is natural D likes to be outside.
As opposed to some of her friends parents who think of spending a week without room service as “roughing it”. ( I am exaggerating ;))</p>
<p>Almost as soon as she left she called me for directions to the ferry. Its funny that she calls me instead of using the gps on her phone.</p>
<p>S2 is one and I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights. Started as soon as he could walk and hasn’t let up. He is calm and makes rational decisions, but he still loves the adrenalin rush. If ages 16-21 don’t kill these kids, it kills the parents I would say it’s getting better, but now he’s a police officer…</p>
I would say it’s getting better, but now he’s a police officer…</p>