did you stop doing dangerous sports or activities after you had kids?

[brainhulk]

Sometimes I feel like I don't want to grow up...maybe I'll just go semi-extreme, quasi-extreme, a diet sort of extreme...

 

[NuclearNed]

I don't have kids, but if I did I would continue my passion (mountain climbing) and get them involved when they got old enough. I know several climbers who have done this...

 

[manimal]

I stopped riding Motorcycles for the most part. I kept a dual sport for getting to to my fave trails and back home. I stopped racing not because I had kids or because it was dangerous but because I didnt have the time or the money anymore to do it right. I still go the drag strip and take one of my five cars to the the local autocross and track days though. I still do all the things I used to love just do them less.


Surprise triplets will do that you.

 

[_Rick_]

I never did dangerous stuff for leisure, because there's no point in tempting Darwin.

Well, not very dangerous at least.

Not sure there's much I'd give up, short of being short on time, because that's a much more present risk with children.

 

[Dirigible]

Sold my motorcycle.

Still mountain bike, but take the less-dangerous lines. Doesn't seem to help. I still break helmets and injure myself at the same rate.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

MMA. I actually started after having kids. I've been hurt a couple of times and had to have surgery due to an injury. It is rare to actually die in the sport so I don't know if I consider it a dangerous activity.

 

[crashtestdummy]

I still plan on sport climbing and doing some basic mountaineering, but with a kid on the way, I've decided to hang up my trad rack. So yes, I have definitely moved the line of what I consider "acceptable risk".

 

[Eug]

I stopped with my motorcycle after only 1 year, and long before I had kids. Too dangerous, even just driving on regular speeds on regular roads. What really struck me is even if I had moved off just a bit to one side on the highway on-ramp, people in cars would try to pass me. On the frickin' single-lane on-ramp, even though I was going at the proper speed.

Plus, I only liked motorbiking in the late spring, early fall or on cool summer days. In the summer it was usually too hot to wear thick protective clothing, and early spring and late fall it's too cold. However, during those motorbiking friendly periods is also when I liked to cycle. Motorcycling lost out to bicycling.

I don't have kids, but if I did I would continue my passion (mountain climbing) and get them involved when they got old enough. I know several climbers who have done this...

I only do indoor climbing now. However, the main reason is the time factor. It's a lot easier to spend the time outdoor at the cliff when you have no kids. Also, I was never a big outdoor climber to begin with. Just did top-rope stuff outdoors. Kind of was a PITA to have to go there at 6 am to secure a few good runs and set up all the top ropes.

I may get my kid(s) involved when they get older though.

P.S. It should be noted that often times disability insurance will be more expensive if you do a lot of motorcycling or outdoor climbing.

MMA. I actually started after having kids. I've been hurt a couple of times and had to have surgery due to an injury. It is rare to actually die in the sport so I don't know if I consider it a dangerous activity.

You don't have to have a high risk of death for a sport to be considered dangerous IMO. I would most definitely classify MMA as a dangerous sport. Lots of potential for some disabilities. For example, I wouldn't recommend a surgeon take up this sport. Losing eyesight in one eye or getting a bad wrist fracture are both potentially career ending injuries. I suspect if you were a surgeon applying for disability insurance and told them you were an MMA fighter, they'd simply just exclude coverage for any injury sustained in that sport.

 

[blackdogdeek]

I stopped riding motorcycles.

 

[NetWareHead]

I still intend to downhill ski if I ever have kids.

 

[Jaskalas]

Never started...

 

[Atomic Playboy]

What's the point of a baby harness if not to allow your infant to experience the wonders of skydiving?

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

You don't have to have a high risk of death for a sport to be considered dangerous IMO. I would most definitely classify MMA as a dangerous sport. Lots of potential for some disabilities. For example, I wouldn't recommend a surgeon take up this sport. Losing eyesight in one eye or getting a bad wrist fracture are both potentially career ending injuries. I suspect if you were a surgeon applying for disability insurance and told them you were an MMA fighter, they'd simply just exclude coverage for any injury sustained in that sport.

True enough. A friend of mine is a surgeon and quite taking Karate when he was in medical school.

 

[_Rick_]

I still intend to downhill ski if I ever have kids.

Skiing isn't that dangerous though, unless you're more of an hors-piste kind of guy, that doesn't care what the avalanche warning says. Hell, if you're a regular, safe skier, it's probably less dangerous than many "safe" sports.
It can still get you, à la Schumacher, and there are definitely mistakes you will not walk away from, but not more so than cycling up a mountain and then riding it back down again - at least the technical complexity of a ski-binding is much lower than a bike wheel/tire/brake system.

edit: around here the pregnant women take a break from skiing at some point.
But many take their children onto the piste before age 5/6.

 

[highland145]

I just added tile work to my "do not do" list.

 

[lxskllr]

I stopped whitewater paddling after my daughter was born, but that was so I could spend more time with her, not through any perception of danger. Being gone all day, or all weekend cut into time I could spend with her, and it wasn't worth it to me. Now I'm too decrepit, and would be afraid of my back going out in the middle of nowhere, and I'd be lucky to get my body out, much less my equipment.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

The idea of weighing risk differently because you have kids is odd to me. That's what insurance is for.

 

[Red Storm]

Don't have kids yet, but I will probably stop skydiving once I do.

 

[darkxshade]

It all evens out cause you start doing dangerous things when you get married.

 

[twinrider1]

Yes, but not because it was dangerous. My interest just shifted. I'd rather spend my free time with the kids than out riding a motorcycle.

 

[WackyDan]

When my wife got pregnant everyone asked me if I was selling my bike. My answer was always why?

When the baby came they asked the same question. My answer was always "why?".

Seem people think you should give up living or things you enjoy once you have children. This happens automatically by default just due to new time and financial constraints.

Giving up riding was a non-starter for me. It is what makes me happy in my own self absorbed way. It gives me time to myself and something to enjoy with friends outside my immediate family. Do I do anything risky while riding anymore? No... I'm far more tame.

My answer to them has always been... That's what the life insurance policy is for. May seem selfish, but I'm going to continue to live a little because it is healthy for body and mind to do so now and then. It is also important to do it now as I have no idea when I'll drop dead, get a bum leg/knee/back/mind etc and not be able to enjoy life to the fullest.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

^ what he said

 

[brainhulk]

Do I do anything risky while riding anymore? No... I'm far more tame.

This is the part that sometimes gets lost with me when I'm doing stuff. The adrenaline starts pumping, you feel like you are Neo in the matrix, and suddenly I forget i have a family to support and go balls to the wall. What do they call it? The red mist or something (I need to go faster or beat the person next to me)...yeah I get that. If I stop myself from pushing it, it doesn't feel the same sort of fun. I'm so stupid sometimes

 

[Ryland]

I actually took up white water rafting and mountain biking AFTER having a kid and before putting him through college.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

38 and still do what I used to, just a lot less often as kids take up a lot of time.