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What age for the kids' first Trancievers?

 Poster: A snowHead
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At the weekend there we went and had a look at the back corries at Nevis. As expected the kids didn't like the drop in and they just went down Warrens instead. But given the progress they've made the last few years it won't be too long before they'll be up for some proper off piste.

The problem is that something within me thinks putting a pieps on a sub teenager is a horribly bad idea. But on the other hand, taking them off piste without the necessary kit is an even worse idea.

What sort of age would you take weans 'proper' off piste?
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I took my son offpiste the first time when he was 10 or 11, always with a transceiver. If he's good enough to ski offpiste, I'd rather he does it first with the right gear. I spent a lot of time telling him that offpiste skiing is serious and he should treat it as such. He seems to have taken it to heart.
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If they are your only ski partner(s) off-piste, at the age when you are happy they they are mentally able to handle the pressure of potentially digging you out of an avalanche. Its not just you digging them out, it works both ways. You must trust them to follow your 'orders', and be happy being left by themselves (maybe hundreds of metres away) while you ski a line one at a time, then call them down.

Don't forget the backpack, with shovel and probe etc.
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When they are old enough to make the decision for themselves. Probably about 18.
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Here's the thing, Just as they need longer ski is Ffom year to year, they need more knowledge.

A logical, incremental approach will give them far more knowledge and competence years before some external expert says, "and now they need to ski off piste and before you do they need to be competent in ALL the rest !

Common sense says let them play with the kit, get used to it give them an all mountain education and at age 13 (say) they will be far more competent than most 25 year olds!
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If your taking them off-piste would you be happy to lose them in an avalanche?

I would suggest:
4 up to 12 they should where them
12 to 17 don't let them wear one as they will probably be annoying teenagers by then and losing then is a bonus
17 upwards let then wear them again

(I was joking about 12 to 17 - if they go off piste insist they wear one)
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I saw kids maybe 12-13 skiing fully equipped. I guess they were in a freeride program for children.
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Whenever they ski off-piste.........
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@Saint, totally agree with that philosophy !!

Interesting thread as I witnessed the whole decision process (right or wrong) with a mate of mine last week.

He was staying in Montgenevre with his three boys, 12, 16 and 18.

Said mate I met in LG in 97 and have pretty well skied with him every year, and like me he spends most of his skiing day well away from marked runs.

I hooked up with him and the boys (first time skiing with them) for a couple of days last week, one day in the Via Lattea and then a day here in Serre.

What was obvious was that all three were so gung ho and were not phased by anything - we were not skiing powder but spring snow, and risk on both days was only 2.

Between us we were able to kit most out with some gear, be it transceivers or air bags, bit OTT but all the time we were explaining to them the reason for our choice of route, why the snow was the way it was, and why we were doing long traverses etc etc education education.

Don't know how much info was sinking in, maybe more with the two elder boys than the younger one.

The last run was down to where I'd dropped the van off the day before and on the drive back Andy and I discussed transceivers for them, on the basis that they now are off piste skiers, the exchange rate is favourable, and I know deals are to be had as the shops this time of year need cash flow!

Once you start that conversation, you know you have to buy them, because God Forbid you don't and then something happens.

Obviously this time of year there are deals but no where in the same league as that you get on 2014 / 2015 skis but Andy got 25% off a couple of good (but not too complicated) ones.

His logic is that he would not expect all of his boys to use them well, not least the 12 year old probably not strong enough to shovel snow. They had "played" with Andy's couple back in the UK previously and all know the basics, but the main reason at this stage is should anything happen then they have a better chance of being found.

When I was skiing with them I led and Andy was the sweeper, so not too sure what he'd do if it was just him and the boys, though imagine he'd lead and the eldest (better mature skier) would be the sweeper.

These boys due to their father and how they ski etc will probably have more knowledge that most of their contempories, the eldest is already talking about doing a season.

And it's a totally different sceanario to my 25 yr old twins (one who has done three seasons) as they stay firmly on the piste rolling eyes

This was last Sat with two of the boys ripping quite a steep slope - eldest in black (more technique) youngest in blue just hacking Smile

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@TheGeneralist, why is it a horribly bad idea?

If they're old and mature enough to understand the whys and wherefores, and to be skiing off piste in situations where there is real avalanche danger, then they should at least be properly equipped and trained.

And if they're not old and mature enough, they shouldn't be there I'd have thought.
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@under a new name, you learn to read at a very young age but you might not be ready to read say a Salman Rushdie novel till maybe your mid teens.

The youngster above was certainly not mature enough to comprehend the gravitas of his surroundings but that will come with time.

I have friends who take their very young kids to ski La Grave !!!!!!!!!!!!

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I have supplied quite a few families with kit now, and its usually about the age of 12 from the customers I have had.

I think it all depends on the maturity of the kids using transceivers , and their physical ability to use a shovel!

The other thing now a days is most kids of that age have a smart phone, so a transceiver is pretty easy to operate for them.
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Just back from Paradiski last week. Our children aged 7 and 9 wore bleepers for the first time. We have been skiing off piste with them virtually since they started, at 3/4. Son lost a ski in powder when he was 6 iirc! Long story. At this stage it is largely for them to found, rather than for them to find me or the wife. It's also habit forming and educational. We do a lot of what we consider safe off piste. Not too much gnarly stuff, or stuff that goes a long way from a piste. We did an on piste bleeper test. We went to the bleeper training area in Les Arcs and found a couple of bodies. I don't believe they fully get it, especially the younger one. That will come with time. But they did understand the purpose of the search and the basics of carrying it out. Only me and the wife carry a shovel and probe at this point though we do have 4 shovels/probes. But what harm can it do them wearing a bleeper as standard and learning how to use it.
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@Weathercam, you misinterpret my post. Obviously (!) the kids will take up at kids pace. I don't see the issue with them having kit though.
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@Layne, couldn't agree more!
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This is a really interesting question about putting your children at risk. Many would be shocked by the idea of taking children off piste but then plenty will drive down to the Alps at way above the speed limit, with children in the back, whilst occasionally using the phone etc.

Practically, children are smaller and therefore more likely to get hypothermia if buried for a shorter time and probably harder to find with a pole.

I think the biggest issue on here is that of being trained how to use transceiver, pole and beep. That is too much responsibility for any child. No child should be put in the situation of feeling it is their responsibility to locate someone and save their life, let alone live with the emotional burden of trying to rescue somebody, possibly a parent and not managing it in time. For those reasons mine won't be doing it until they are about 18.
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I took my 9 year old for a off piste ski tour this week, only 15 minutes of up but opens up stacks of totally untracked. Very little obvious avi risk due to gentle slope angles and little above us. But of course in deep snow there's plenty of other risk, like tree wells, getting lost, streams, equipment breakage etc. We were a group so he was always in the middle. I gave him a transceiver - he was so chuffed & excited to be wearing one and interested in avalanches, rescue techniques etc. I did this to engage him, make him realize where we were going was proper off piste and needed respect and to have a great time. I didn't expect him to perform searches and made clear that would not be his responsibility, it was for us to find him. I do and did question whether I put him at too much risk but I consider busy piste far more risky.
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Interesting discussion.

@cameronphillips2000, when you say
Quote:
For those reasons mine won't be doing it until they are about 18

Do you mean they won't be skiing off piste, won't be trained in ava rescue or won't carry any ava gear?

As per some of the comments above I think an incremental increase in awareness and responsibility is the way to go. At 18 many leave the nest and lift a completely independent life. I'll be wanting to get my knowledge and influence in well before then. Within reason, I don't want to kill the innocence of childhood.


@waynos,
Quote:
I didn't expect him to perform searches and made clear that would not be his responsibility, it was for us to find him. I do and did question whether I put him at too much risk but I consider busy piste far more risky.

Agree with both of those statements.

And on the second point add to busy pistes sports like rugby, rock climbing and horse riding to name but three activities that carry severe physical risks.
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More risk skiing on a piste than playing rugby wink
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Some people buy dangerous breed dogs that live with their kids. But it's ok because the dig is trained and I've taught the child how to manage the risk....
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@flangesax,
Ben, I think that might just be you wink
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Quote:

The problem is that something within me thinks putting a pieps on a sub teenager is a horribly bad idea. But on the other hand, taking them off piste without the necessary kit is an even worse idea.
What sort of age would you take weans 'proper' off piste?



Great question and very interesting to see everyone's views.
I spent several days over Easter skiing on and off piste with my 12 year old son so I've been thinking about it a lot!

So far, I have concluded that it would be wrong to have him wear a transceiver and/or carry shovel and probe. Instead, it is my responsibility to keep out of situations where there is any significant risk of us being caught in an avalanche. Now I know that some people are very clear that the moment you go beyond the piste edge you are at significant avalanche risk and should be carrying the right gear AND know how to use it. Clearly I don't agree.

Why not give him the gear?
It's not cost. We have two sets of kit in our apartment. There are two issues:
a) I want to impose a very high bar on myself for whether the slope is safe to ski. Not having the kit is very effective at concentrating your mind. I ask myself the question "how could we possibly be at risk of avalanche here that we would not be on piste? If I come up with anything remotely material we are not skiing it.
b) I don't believe he is ready for the responsibility of using the kit to rescue me. I don't even want to ask him to think about that possibility yet. He is a bright, thoughtful and quite serious boy. Give him the kit and he will be thinking about it.

How can you reduce the avalanche risk to that extent?
Rules I was applying:
a) risk 2, not higher
b) 25 degrees max
c) no terrain traps
d) no overhanging slopes
e) terrain visible from piste, bounded by open pistes
f) slopes I know well
Also it was a only 20cm of fresh.

Clearly all of that doesn't guarantee that nothing will slide but it does make it extremely unlikely that anyone would be buried.

So when would I make him carry the kit? Don't know yet. We did talk quite a lot about which slopes I was happy to ski and which I was not and why. I also set up a transceiver easter egg hunt for him and his younger sister. We will get there but for now I'm just sticking to very low risk terrain.
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@jedster,
I think that is one of the most rational and best explained post on sensibly going off piste with families I have read here.
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T Bar wrote:
@jedster,
I think that is one of the most rational and best explained post on sensibly going off piste with families I have read here.




Seconded.
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Most "back country" cat / heli operators don't get many kids. In a lot of seasons I've only ridden with a handful. I'd not be happy riding with kids as I doubt they could dig me out.

If you want to ride with children, then I can see no reason not to train and equip them. I'd no more want to ride with kids than to climb with them, myself. When they're 16-18 it's a different deal, depending on the individual.

As far as the risk is concerned, as pointed out, assuming you're not stupid it's safer than riding horses. If bad things happen expect no mercy from the daily mail though.
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cameronphillips2000 wrote:
This is a really interesting question about putting your children at risk. Many would be shocked by the idea of taking children off piste but then plenty will drive down to the Alps at way above the speed limit, with children in the back, whilst occasionally using the phone etc.

Practically, children are smaller and therefore more likely to get hypothermia if buried for a shorter time and probably harder to find with a pole.

I think the biggest issue on here is that of being trained how to use transceiver, pole and beep. That is too much responsibility for any child. No child should be put in the situation of feeling it is their responsibility to locate someone and save their life, let alone live with the emotional burden of trying to rescue somebody, possibly a parent and not managing it in time. For those reasons mine won't be doing it until they are about 18.


By the time they're 18 they could well be off doing seasons without you, with a load of un-educated seasonairre wannabees egging them on, and you'd have missed your chance to educate them while you have control over the situation... Probably by the time they're 15 or so they'll also be doing at least some skiing alone - at least my friends and I were (offpiste, un-equipped). Remember, they can legally leave home and live alone at 16 (or off doing that season) - and even fly a plane solo! They can drive a car alone at 17, which is much more dangerous than the sort of offpiste you'd take them on...

I don't see any reason why kids can't learn how to use kit at a young age, and with the iPhone/iPad generation most will probably be able to use a transciever without instruction! Taking them into consequential terrain where there's a risk of putting that burden on them is an entirely other matter, but there are plenty of places where you can ski offpiste very very safely (a la Horizon, Layne and waynos) - trees, slopes under 25°, etc. Probably safer than busy pistes in many cases.
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Quote:

Most "back country" cat / heli operators don't get many kids. In a lot of seasons I've only ridden with a handful. I'd not be happy riding with kids as I doubt they could dig me out.

Yes - tend to agree. That is why I restrict myself to terrain/condition where I don't believe there is a material risk of anyone being buried. That said, in my experience guides have very low expectations of clients ability to rescue them - in my (limited) experience cat/heli operators take very minimal steps to ensure clients know much about rescue.

Quote:
If you want to ride with children, then I can see no reason not to train and equip them.

I gave my reason above - just don't think my (fairly mature) 12 year old is ready - physically or emotionally - to carry out avalanche rescue. He is able to ski off piste. Perhaps worth pointing out that his ski instructor has been taking his younger sister and he on similar terrain without avalanche kit for a couple of years now.

Quote:
I'd no more want to ride with kids than to climb with them, myself. When they're 16-18 it's a different deal, depending on the individual.


You are very black and white here - I started climbing before I was 16, including a little leading. Kids can start with bouldering then top-roping, then seconding on safe bolted single pitch routes when the leader is climbing well within their capabilities, etc etc. You don't need to go straight to climbing where the kid might realistically need to hold a leader fall, safely remove a belay never mind place protection. You build it up gradually. Just like I am trying to do off-piste.
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Yes, it's a personal thing; other people may well be happy changing their sporting goals because of their situation.

For cat/ heli it depends somewhat on where you're riding and with whom. For back country (not resort) stuff you'd not get away with less than a couple of hours training per week , even though you have a significant amount of trained support within a heli-lift's distance. People still die, but not usually because they don't know what to do when the chips are down. You can see why that has to be so.

Which reminds me that it's unsafe to assume that kids can deal with technology. I've seen plenty of inexperienced juves who think they can use a transceiver find it's a little more complicated in practice. That's why ya need training of course.
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As this is about personal views, I think kids are never to old to start playing with a transceiver. There is no harm in showing a young child how to search with a transceiver but treating it like a game (find the buried treasure type thing). My 5 year old can navigate my tablet better then me.

I totally agree I'd not put my kids in a situation where they would have to dig me out however I stick to the "go off piste ALWAYS wear a transceiver" .
Sure you can minimize risk but you can never be 100% sure so I'd rather my child wear a transceiver so I can find them.

When I feel they are old enough to take the back country seriously I'd hope that the playing and practicing with the transceiver means it's use is second nature.
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Quote:

When I feel they are old enough to take the back country seriously I'd hope that the playing and practicing with the transceiver means it's use is second nature.



That's a good point. My transceiver easter egg hunt was a bit of this.

Quote:

Sure you can minimize risk but you can never be 100% sure so I'd rather my child wear a transceiver so I can find them.


Makes perfect sense but who skis first? Presume you follow with the shovel and probes rather than lead? I was reading Bruce Tremper's book and he says that in his experience 90% of the time it is the skier going first that gets caught in a slide. Do you expose your child to that 90% so that you would be able to dig them out? Or do you go first knowing they would not be able to dig you out?
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I think parents who love ski are very keen to get their children skiing with them as soon as possible. A day on the mountains with you own children is fabulous. I think the problem with us middle class Brits is that we a bit emotionally retarded and will do things like giving our child a transceiver, shovel etc. train them how to use off we go. To be honest, it's the sort of thing I'd have done ten years ago but. thankfully, my wife is a great leveller to my sometimes blinkered brain and I can now see it's inappropriate. Other sports have levels of engagement for different ages and rightly so. Children do other risky activities that greatly enhance their lives such as show jumping and diving but the difference with off piste is the responsibility for others that comes with it. That said, there is off piste and off piste. Skiing some powder at the side of a 15% slope is not the same as a day at La Grave. My view is that if you're venturing into areas where rescue equipment is a good idea than you should not be taking children. I'm not even sure about teaching kids to use transceivers. It's only going to make them think they're ready for something they're not and they'll be putting pressure on their parents to take them off piste before they're ready rather than at an age where they are.
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The number of avalanche deaths and even incidents involving injury is very small but very mediatised. That said, if you are taking a beacon it is because you believe there may be avalanche risk, by definition that is not terrain for children who are unable to make their own informed decisions. Giving beacons to kids is giving them the wrong message, it says "don't worry about avalanches, judgement etc, this little baby will keep you safe". Remember if you are completely buried by a slide you only have a 50% chance of getting out alive, and it is probably a lot less for a small kid. Fortunately the number of incidents involving minors is very rare, because most parents don't ski with their children off piste.

There is lots of terrain where you can ski non-pisted snow with zero (0) avalanche risk. Again if you can't make that judgement you should not be taking minors off piste. Now it is true that for an naive skier there is no such thing as a little off piste, there have been plenty of accidents within meters of the piste markers.

If I ski with my son off piste I expressly don't take any avalanche rescue gear.
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Interesting replies, including some from people with a lot more knowledge than me, eg davidof. I'll think about them.

As my son doesn't live with me, I always felt I wouldn't be able to control the choices he will make and risks he will take as he grows up, in all areas of life, and hence I did my best to teach him to be aware of and assess these risks himself. To me, teaching him about offpiste safety and getting him to wear the equipment is part of that. But I do my best to go offpiste with him only at times and in places where I feel the risk of anything going wrong (not just avalanches) is very low.
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I find both @cameronphillips2000 and @davidof a little bit insulting. I am neither "emotionally retarded" nor do I think putting beacons on my children "will keep them safe".

The holier than attitude on Snowheads lives on.
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A very interesting thread, with lots of thoughtful contributions. I'm trying to relate it to my experience of sailing with kids. Falling overboard is really not good - not easy to find somebody, not easy to recover them. We did it though, and not normally with lifelines. Nobody fell overboard, thankfully.

As in choosing an off-piste location with minimal avalanche risk, you choose your weather, your route, your "state of the tide".

There are no straightforward answers but I still think that of all the "child safety" questions, the decision about when to let your child ride a bike on the road, or start using the roads as a pedestrian, alone, is one of the hardest - and one faced by all families.

The statistics of child road accidents are still pretty nasty.
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Layne wrote:
I find both @cameronphillips2000 and @davidof a little bit insulting. I am neither "emotionally retarded" nor do I think putting beacons on my children "will keep them safe".

The holier than attitude on Snowheads lives on.


People ask for an opinion so we give it. I think middle class British parents are often pushing their children into adult situations. I see it up on the Norfolk coast where we live. Watching some of the fathers sailing behind their children, barking orders at them like they're preparing for the Olympics is a bit like watching 'Competitive Dad' from the fast show. Other nations call us emotionally retarded and, at times I can see why.
I personally think that taking a child to an area where they may have to try and rescue a parent is not a risk worth taking. I would absolutely love a day skiing off piste with my daughter who'd be well up for it, but it's self indulgent and the consequences of long term emotional damage to her if something goes wrong are too high so I won't be doing it. I'm not meaning to insult anyone, just say it how it is. I've used to train people in child protection, child risk management and safeguarding. There were lots of prepared scenarios that would be discussed. If think that if an off piste day with children carrying rescue equipment was discussed most rational people, after a lot of thought, who agree it's putting children at unnecessary risk.

As keen skiers, many of us will be adrenaline junkies and risk takers. That's the way we live our lives and that's fine. Since becoming a parent, I've cut down on the risks I take in life so as to minimise the chances of leaving my children without me. I haven't really skied proper off piste since becoming a parent. Risk management is done by multiplying risk by consequence. Taking children off piste has some risk score but a consequence score, IMHO, too high to contemplate. I've thought long and hard about going on an off piste holiday this year and would probably do it, but with I feeling I was being a little selfish.
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Are there any statistics available about the age distribution of avalanche deaths? I'm guessing it would be probably heavily skewed around late teens through maybe 30s, then perhaps a second spike around "Rich Urban Biker" age. I doubt there many kids die that way - I'd guess NARSID could be more of an issue, in North America at least. But guessing is one thing... do these data exist, I wonder?

Translation: I expect even the parents who take their sprogs off piste take a fair amount of care about it, and they're unlikely to get the little mites into really serious stuff, so the chances are it's not as objectively dangerous as it is for many young adults.
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@philwig,

As I remember Bruce Tremper's book "Staying alive in avalanche terrain" does have some stats on who dies most - I think it is men 18-28. My copy is in the Alps but maybe someone has one at hand.
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@cameronphillips2000,
Quote:
I think middle class British parents are often pushing their children into adult situations.

Well, there is your first problem. Because nobody could possibly derive what is an "adult situation". I remember having a dilemma about letting me kids handle a kitchen knife. Surely kids shouldn't be allowed to chop vegetables in the kitchen? But then someone pointed out the way children learn that they are messing about with a potentially fateful implement by doing just that. Letting kids light fireworks or start a stove fire? Why don't we let them drive then. Good question. We do let them go kart though. Sex, drugs and rock and roll. Where does it all begin?

Quote:
Other nations call us emotionally retarded


Do they? Which ones?

Quote:
I personally think that taking a child to an area where they may have to try and rescue a parent is not a risk worth taking.


I understand that line of thinking and of course you are entitled to it. Having a different line of thinking does not make me "emotionally retarded". In my line of thinking I would like to gradually enable and empower my children. My eldest who will be 10 next month is allowed to play out by himself, he has been away on school trips, has been allowed to stay in the house by himself for short periods. All potential situations where he may have to figure out things for himself, where he may have to take emergency action, where he may have to help a friend in a disastrous situation. Now, I could prevent all of these situations occuring. I have had discussions with parents in the past who would not let their children play out alone at his age, parents who won't let their children walk alone to or from school at his age. I don't want to turn him into an adult. And like any parent I worry about him when he is not with me. I was given a lot of freedom as a child and young adult and believe I was better for it. There is no right answer or right age for these things. However, giving a child your full "protection" until a perceived age of adulthood at 18 also carries risks.

Is my 9/10yo capable of rescuing me. Possibly not but then I am not 100% sure about the wife either Embarassed But I expect as he gets older those odds will increase. Especially, if he is aware of the possibility and aware of what to do. Nothing is expected of him at this point. I don't even know when I will expect something of him. But I see no harm in beginning the process.

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If think that if an off piste day with children carrying rescue equipment was discussed most rational people, after a lot of thought, who agree it's putting children at unnecessary risk.

I must be irrational then as well as emotionally retarded.

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As keen skiers, many of us will be adrenaline junkies and risk takers. That's the way we live our lives and that's fine. Since becoming a parent, I've cut down on the risks I take in life so as to minimise the chances of leaving my children without me.

Quite sensible and rational at first pass. But "minimise" is the unknown. We can't really minimise the risk unless we give up driving and live like a monk. So yes, cut down but it's down to judgement just how much.
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Watching some of the fathers sailing behind their children, barking orders at them like they're preparing for the Olympics is a bit like watching 'Competitive Dad' from the fast show.

But that (undesirable as it is...) is a complete different matter, isn't it? Those kids are in no physical danger at all. Being out on an ocean passage as a family, with no competition, no barking, is more physically dangerous and more comparable with taking them off piste skiing. And the Swallows and Amazons sailed on their own, without grownups.

Far from being busy pushing their kids into adult situations I think many middle class parents are chronically risk-averse. I know 11 year olds who have never been allowed to cross (not terribly busy) roads and go to the local shops. And older kids who have never made a journey on their own, never had to cope with missing a bus, working out which platform, making sure there's time to buy a ticket.

I agree mobile phones can be very useful. But I suppose I'm just showing my age when I say I also think kids should go off without them, and sort themselves out, from time to time.
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