Stand a Little Closer to the Edge Kids

Sometimes you have to stand a little closer to the edge to really see what is out there. If that is how you want to live your life as an adult, then that is your choice. But how far would you allow your children to go to experience first-hand what you got to experience when you were a kid?

We are not very liberal with our kids in terms of letting them take risks. At 13 my daughter has only recently been allowed to walk to school even though school is less than 300 meters down the street. After all, she has to walk past a park in which a pedophile may be lurking. She has to cross a road down which hooligans race at ridiculous speeds. She would walk the same way at the same time every day making her a prime candidate for some kerb-crawling rock spider.

Besides all of that, my kids injure themselves enough during dancing, so we do not need to voluntarily contribute to hospital emergency waiting times by letting them ride on any form of petrol powered device. 

For the term of their natural lives to date, they have never been allowed to own a quad, a dirt bike or a buggy. In fact, they are not even allowed to ride on/in them; a decision my wife made based on the number of injuries I have sustained on these mobile meat grinders.

As recently as only 4 weeks ago I jumped up and down in the kitchen like a three year old having a ‘tanty’, arguing with my wife about the safety features of dune buggies (i.e. they have a roll cage and a 5 point harness). I was adamant my 11 year old daughter should be able to step out of her comfort zone and into the cockpit. Less than 2 hours later I had rolled the buggy and crushed my arm under that roll cage. A long stint at hospital and painful recovery ensued.

But I am afraid I may have to re-contest the constraints we have placed on our kids on the use of all-terrain vehicles, because I have just enjoyed a most amazing tour with Flinders Island Quad Bike Tours. And now I want to take my family!

The first question that will be asked by my beautiful and loving wife will be: “Why can't we do the tour in the comfort and safety of a 4WD vehicle?”. Well, in fact we can; but why would we?

If I were to take the family in a car, the kids would not enjoy the scents of the rich diversity of trees and flowers.

They will not feel the icy cold, crystal waters nip against their feet, ankles and shins as we negotiate the many creek crossings.

Because of the roof above their heads, they would not get to see the sky vanish in mere seconds when it is eclipsed by a cloak of towering eucalypts.

They could not be teased by the briefest of glimpses of the most electric blue and turquoise water captured through impenetrable undergrowth.

And just as their frustration builds to crescendo and they are about to give up all hope of seeing the wild southern ocean, it will explode in front of their very eyes as they round that one last bend in the track.

Are quads dangerous? Yes they can be.

Could one roll over and crush either of my darling children? It is a possibility.

What if we get snagged on a rock or a log on the track? What will we do? How would our tour guide contend with such a stranding, as likely to happen in a car as on a quad? Who cares? Based on what I have witnessed, I am sure Justin can deal with it.

Is it worth my wife and I letting our kids take a measured, calculated and considered risk to enjoy what I enjoyed. Yes – most definitely.