Thursday, November 17, 2011

What kind of parent lets their kid...

Our daughter turned sixteen this past summer and like most kids who have survived that magical number of years, she obtained the right of passage known as her driver's license.  Unlike many sixteen year-olds, she also received her motorcycle license at the same time.  The gal's been ripping around in go-carts since she was five and tearing up dirtbikes since she was eight, yet the question from some who don't know us very well inevitably arises, "what kind of parent lets their kid...".


We're both in the education business and life-long learning is just a way of life for us and it's been instilled in our daughter.  She completed dirtbike safety school at the Honda corporate facility when she was nine years old, has traveled many off-road trails in the fields and through state and national parks, and completed the required Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider Course with flying colors before passing her test to get her motorcycle license.


Now, no amount of experience or education can compete head-on with a four-thousand pound SUV on the road so preparation, skills, practice, and continued learning are critical to calculate and minimize risks... just like with guns.

Someday far down the road, I'm sure someone will see our daughter's child enjoying motorcycles or firearms and say, "what kind of parent lets their kid..."

7 comments:

  1. Good for you! On Lance Criminal's 14th birthday, He and his friends lit a bonfire with flaming arrows. After dark they had a bb-gun war in the woods. I did insist they wear goggles. BH and I are "that kind of parents," and the young man turned out just fine.

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  2. Good, good points here. Continued learning throughout life is wise, especially applying properly is wiser.

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  3. The best kind of parents! Looks like you got a pretty independent gal on your hands. I think it's great! She reminds me of myself...I shoot guns and drive my own Harley! ;)

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  4. Independant adults are not born, they're created by loving and intelligent parents.

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  5. The average kid, wanting to drive something, or ride something, will do it WITHOUT parental approval. Better to go in experienced and trained with every tool available. She'll do well.

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  6. @Brigid: I'm sure if we had an airplane laying around here somewhere, she'd be...

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  7. I purchased my first motorcycle in 1964, plum wore that little yamaha 80 out all off road.
    Still riding, and attribute having all my body parts, to having learned to ride off road before taking to the street.
    Too many folk with more money than brains, go out and purchase a Harley as their first ride. Bad decision !! Learn to ride and crash on something small first.

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