I let my 7 year old bungee jump

Today started out as a pretty mellow day.  My husband’s parents and brother are visiting, and we’ve had fun treking around Chiang Mai and giving them a healthy fear for motorbike riding in the rush hour traffic!

We didn’t get out of the house until noon today, and made a bee line for the Mae Sa road, which is home to adventure sports and crazy crocodile, snake, monkey, and even elephant shows.  We had lunch at Chiang Mai X-Center for Extreme Sports–a convenient stopping point to get some grub, let the kids play briefly on the trampoline, and get geared up for the rest of the drive up the beautiful winding Mae Sa road.

While eating, Jared’s father showed interest in bungee jumping (the main attraction at this place). I admitted that it had no appeal to me, and I had 0% interest in jumping. Suddenly, dares were going around the table among Jared, his father, and his brother…”I’ll pay for you if you go,” etc.

During our meal a young couple arrived to jump, and we all ran out from our dining table to watch them each fall 150 feet down towards the little pond under the giant jumping tower. After watching both of them jump and seeing the surface was made of 5g pitch, I can admit that my fear level went down. “That doesn’t look nearly as bad as I thought.” I’d always pictured necks jerked around, huge whiplash, and other discomforts. Their falls looked pretty easy going–and admittedly–fun!

Suddenly, 7 year old Ella piped up, “I want to do it!”

A few conversations later with staff, and we were told that she could do it, if she went tandem with an adult. Jared was the obvious volunteer, and not long after they were both strapped up and climbing the big tower on an open escalator to make their bungee jump.

I retrieved 2 year old Ethan from the sandbox and told him Ella and Daddy were going to jump from the tower. He happily ran over to see the event!  The couple who had just jumped exited the area for jumpers only, and asked “are you the family of Ella? Wow–that girl is so confident and brave!  I hope she never loses that!”

Indeed, so do I.

Ella admitted a tiny bit of fear/anticipation as Jared and her stepped on the bottom of the escalator to make their ascent. Jared was the supportive father, and assured her it would be great fun.  They reached the top, looked over the edge, waved at us, and dove 150 feet below–Ella’s arms wrapped around Jared to keep them from bouncing against each other–and one of Jared’s arms wrapped firmly around her. No yelps, no screams…just pure enjoyment!

I admit, I seriously questioned whether I should let my SEVEN YEAR OLD daughter do something as crazy as bungee jumping. It’s one of the few adventure activities that has always worried and scared me a bit. Should I tell her how dangerous it is, and that she shouldn’t do it?  Just because it’s a slight fear of mine…should I make it hers, too?  The bungee professionals are all looking over the situation and saying, “Yes–she can do it,” and “Yes, she’d be safe,” and of course I know people do it all the time.

I sat there contemplating the situation, and was reminded of a friend’s recent post about Changing the Fear Cycle for our Kids.  Why feed our children fear when we can instead feed them encouragement, love, and support? Why not let them test their own limits (within reason, of course), and let them decide for themselves what they are capable of accomplishing?

I have to admit I was a bit proud of myself for biting my tongue today, and simply nodding my head to the question, “Can I do it?!”

Why yes, Ella. You may only be 7 years old…but you can conquer the world. I believe you can. I know you can. And I hope I can always support you along the way!