That is WSL Big Wave World Champion Billy Kemper. His kids have been in the ocean their whole lives. Billy had his kids wearing life jackets when it made sense for their level of swimming strength.
You're not a party pooper. I was thinking that the entire time. Little kid loses his grip and tumbles into a wave that rolls him, or dad wipes out and it has the same effect. Small children can drown much more easily than adults.
Kid probably swims extremely well in surf and it probably a lot safer without a life jacket, if he knows how to dive under waves; meanwhile in the water with a life jacket on, he can’t dive under, can’t control his position and he is more likely to be tumbled by the waves badly and get a broken neck on a sand bar.
The safest alternative is staying out of the water, next is learning proper water skills and he is doing it with plenty of people around, yes they may not see an incident, but same in a busy pool, kids can quietly drown, but probably not this kid.
Little nippers programme in Australia has groups of kids swimming, paddling etc in surf all the time, and they are lifejacket free
Ah yes, in your very likely scenario I’d say it plays out like this: Kid swims to the surface, rescues dad by putting him back on the board and brings him to shore, becomes head lifeguard at age 18, then wins Hawaiian triple crown of surfing 10 years in a row.
I love how willfully ignorant people like you are. Experienced skydiver jumped to his death by forgetting his parachute. Plenty of surfers have been knocked unconscious. But go on with your “it can happen to anyone but me” attitude.
It sorta depends on how competent a swimmer the kid is, life jackets can be kind of a pain when dealing with surf because you can’t submerge and go under the breaking waves causing you to get caught and rolled.
But yeah I’m generally with you on the life jacket thing.
Meh, I don't think they are fine in this scenario, kid is with a group of actual professionals surfers and likely can swim better than most adults. It's a calculated risk but the experience level of the people around would make drowning very unlikely.
There's also lots of harmful effects in living life and growing up avoiding all risks and dangers. There needs to be a balance.
There's also lots of harmful effects in living life and growing up avoiding all risks and dangers. There needs to be a balance.
Wearing a safety device is not "avoiding all risks and dangers". When I went skydiving, I had a backup chute, just in case. I didn't avoid the activity...I just took precautions. A kid that young should not be excluded from the activity but should probably wear some kind of life jacket, just in case.
Guess we should ban kids from pools then too, and ban kids from playing sports, and ban kids from being in cars, or from
Eating solid food, or drinking water. Let's put them in a bubble and feed them by feeding tube.
The thing is, this kid is probably safer doing this than the average family going to the beach with their kids wearing life vests. Guess you think families should be banned from beaches. He's in familiar waters, surrounded by a group of professional surfers, and surfing with his professional surfer dad.
If it's a beach break and the kid is a competent swimmer, it's probably absolutely fine. That dad looks like he knows what he is doing. They are probably closer to the shore than it looks like.
This video is sweet and cool, but this was my exact thought. My father-in-law drowned in a kayaking accident. He was very experienced. He was with the grandkids.
He hit his head and went down.
Be smart, people. And even if you’re a pro, your kids aren’t, and you might get separated. The waves don’t care how much experience you have.
This is all I was thinking the entire time and especially while people are praising this guy. Smh It’s reckless and child endangerment—period! Potentially beautiful moment ruined by cockiness and stupidity. 🙄
It's dangerous to surf with a life jacket on. If you wipe out while wearing one the wave is going to be dragging you with your face potentially under water.
Maybe but the kid likely knows how to swim and has been around water his whole life + a father that can surf that well is only going to wipe out for 5 seconds max in 2-3 foot surf. The danger is pretty low
I grew up by Biscayne Bay, before I could form a memory, I was a very competent swimmer. My absolute earliest memory was swimming in the ocean probably 50 feet out, as the sun was setting and the sky was this phantasmagoric red and pink and marveling at how big and yellow the rising moon looked that day and wondering why it was so huge. I remember hanging on to Mugsy, my dog's tail as she pulled me around in the surf. I was not yet 4. My mom was on the beach talking to her friend. I get out and tug on her shirt demanding to know why the moon was so huge. She had no idea what tf I was talking about.
Yeah, it was a little bit unsafe, but if you think about it, most of our safety concerns are for populations. It is not acceptable to have cars without a seat belt. But it is not always that someone gets into an accident where a seatbelt is useful. We just demand it because the number of people driving cars is enormous and if we didn't, most accidents would be more fatal.
Here the dad clearly has the kid's best interest. It is not entirely safe, but the chances are low. And there are a significant smaller amount of dads riding their kids on surfboards than people in cars.
The joy of it and the fact that everything was OK should clear these worries from your mind.
You think that kid can't swim or have never been under water before? The kid got a professional surfer as a father, I bet he spends most of the day in the water.
Yes, I grew up and live on the ocean. Spent my childhood in the water. I'm not saying it's impossible to drown. But more tourists drown where I live than locals who know the waters and grew up in it.
A random family visiting a beach with their kids wearing vests are probably in more danger than this kid who is with his professional surfer dad.
Those waves very rapidly will separate the two by 10-30ft if he loses grip. The wave also forces you underwater which very often confuses even fully grown adults and they end up swimming downwards.
He's also a fuckin small kid, who 2000% will panic.
They are moving in the same direction in the same water. Unless dad is unaware and doesn't notice the kid falling off then they are unlikely to separate by 10-30ft rapidly.
Idk, I live and grew up in the ocean, I also grew up swimming in a river with a strong current and 50ft waterfall that we used to jump from/into. I've done lots of questionable things in the water and never have I experience or seen anyone lose track of up and down in the water, atleast not for long enough that it made any impact. I'm sure it can happen if you're completely unfamiliar with being in water but I doubt that's this kids experience. The guys kids were surfing from before they were 3. (In more controlled settings), at the time the video was posted this kid would be 7 or 8. 7-8 years old who've been actively and regularly swimming for 5-6 years are probably going to be pretty comfortable in the water and unlikely to panick 2000%. I assume you're someone who didn't grow up in the water.
dog I grew up in California. Arguably the most water and beachfront oriented culture in the US lmfao.
You using anecdotes, saying you've never seen something that has been documented happening very often, and theorizing about this kids childhood doesn't change anything about the safety.
The dad is moving forward. If the kid drops straight down, the dad has his own,much higher, speed/momentum from surfing the board and the wave itself forcing the kid down to separate the two of them.
A little ass kid getting forced underwater by a wave is absolutely going to be disoriented and panic, drastically increasing his chance of drowning. The kid also is a lot weaker than an adult and will not be able to fight any of the water
dog I grew up in California. Arguably the most water and beachfront oriented culture in the US lmfao.
Congrats dog. The world isn't just the USA, you're not the only place that has oceans.
You using anecdotes, saying you've never seen something that has been documented happening very often, and theorizing about this kids childhood doesn't change anything about the safety.
Curious if you have the documentation since youre referencing it but not citing it? And it's not hard to theorize about a kid who's has a famous dad and is in the spotlight, you can find many videos of him surfing with his children.
The dad is moving forward. If the kid drops straight down, the dad has his own,much higher, speed/momentum from surfing the board and the wave itself forcing the kid down to separate the two of them.
That's not how physics work. If kid lets go he doesn't just drop straight down. He's going the same speed as the dad and will fall with the same forward momentum. If you're on a train and drop a gold ball, it doesn't just fly backwards at the speed of the train. It continues moving forward with the train.
A little ass kid getting forced underwater by a wave is absolutely going to be disoriented and panic, drastically increasing his chance of drowning. The kid also is a lot weaker than an adult and will not be able to fight any of the water
This Kid's been surfing for years, there's other videos, you think he never went under water before? Im not saying there's no danger, just that it's a calculated risk and you can't live life with 0 risk, there's real harm by not allowing your kids to take risk, learn and develop. I think the pros outweigh the dangers in this case; factoring who the people are in the video. I wouldn't recommend it for your average joe.
You want me to cite the fact that you get disoriented underwater? Lmfao
You're right. There's places other than the USA. I'll amend my comment: "Dog I am from California. Arguably the, or one of the, most water and beachfront oriented culture in the first world."
It is how it works because the father is able to retain his momentum far better than the kid. Kids not going to keep or gain speed the way his dad will. Even if it's 3/4 of a second, that'll be about 10 ft the dad's moved a different direction than the kid.
Going under water and being forced underwater by a wave are two drastically different things. I've tripped and fallen out of a car before. That doesn't prepare me for jumping out of a moving one.
Unless his father is aquaman, he is not going to be able to reliably save his kid. With the kid having been pushed underwater (and absolutely will panic and not be strong enough to fight downward pressure or tide. Saying otherwise is just you lying), and them getting separated. Absolute best case scenario is they fall off together and the kid swallows some water.
You can help the kid develop and take risks but that doesn't really justify doing it in a way that endanger your kid. Letting your kid ride a bike without training wheels is one thing, this is another. You guys act like this isnt dangerous when it's incredibly so.
The one time I almost drowned was when I too made that judgement. (It was at Bondi Beach and later I discovered my mother had also gotten into trouble at that same spot 40 years earlier!)
Ok, glad you survived but should every single kid not swim now because you nearly drowned as a kid? Life vests are dangerous when surfing anyways. So the alternative is to just leave your kid home.
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u/Unusual_Committee676 14d ago
I feel like such a party pooper, but shouldn’t the kid have a life jacket in case they wipe out?