4 year old ziplining

[iluvcruises]

Our family is interested in doing the zipline while we are in Roatan. We have a very adventurous 4 year old and the tour says her age can do the zipline. Has anyone let their 4 year zipline (I think it is with the guide)? I think she will love it but want to know theh safety of this. Thanks for any info.

[jenonacruise]

All the zip-line tours off the ships that I have seen a child has to be 12 or older. I'm kind of shocked to see 4 year old is OK to zip-line. I have done a zip-line in Costa Rica and at 5'5" I could barely reach the platform when we were unhooked to hook up with the next line. I'm assuming if they allow a 4 year old it must be tandum. Just remember once you start out there is no turning back if your 4 year old gets scared.

 

You know your kid best so this is something I can't really answer.

[crusinmama06]

Hoping it's not the same Roatan zipline that someone plunged to their death on. :eek:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=660

 

So to answer your question - yes my 5 year old is very adventurous. No, there is no way I would allow her up in the tree tops. And I am not even talking about the lines breaking, I am sure that was a fluke. But all it would take would be one false step on those platforms. :eek: Yeahhhhh, no.

[Liz54]

Our son was 7 when we allowed him to do a zip line. He was harnessed in with his older brother. Afterwards his Dr. said she thought it was a bad idea as children that young can damage their brains more easily than adults whose brain is more tightly protected by the skull. I am describing this badly, but I think you get the idea. I would not recommend it although our son was fine.

[Mack2]

Was was recently @ Victor Bodden's for a zipline tour at Roatan.

 

My youngest daughter, age 5, did the zipline by herself.

 

Her cousin, age 4, was a little apprehensive... so the guide did take him, and he went with both the guide and his mom at time.

 

But the youngest kid on our tour was 3... She was amazing. From the first platform to the last... did it all by herself.

 

 

I felt the tour itself was very safe.... I mean, all the things you're NOT supposed to do... we probably did.

Victor Bodden had 4 guides leading us through the tour. Hooking us up, catching us. Victor eventually joined us.

We had two guides on the platform in front, and two on the launch platform.

 

Double pulleys, two carabiners (one as a backup), two ziplines.

I suppose there is some risk assigned, no helmets, no brakes... but the pitch of the lines isn't too too fast and the gear seems well maintained. The guides will hook you up, and of course, you sign a waiver of liability.

 

My 60 year old mother in law and 63 year old mom came with us on the tour... and had a blast.

 

 

edit:

In response to some of the previous posts that were made while I was facebooking the pictures...

 

The highest platform was probably 20 feet tall on a hillside... One child lost their shoe launching from a platform, and the guide climbed down a ladder to retrieve it.

I don't think we were ever more than 100ft off the ground at any given point.

After landing on a platform, one guide catches you, and the other guide locks you onto a safety wire at the platform to prevent you from falling off in case you take a header.

The gear they put you in is the same gear folks use for mountain climbing (or rockwall climbing).

 

I thought that maybe helmets would be a good idea for them at some point, but the risk of hitting your head seemed kinda low. Platform landing areas were padded... but still... we're thinking like American lawyers here, y'know?

[crusinmama06]

HOLY MOLY Mac! Your child is upsidedown on a zipline! :eek:

 

You must have a stomach of steel - cause just looking at that pic made my stomach do a flip flop. :)

[Mack2]

HOLY MOLY Mac! Your child is upsidedown on a zipline! :eek:

 

You must have a stomach of steel - cause just looking at that pic made my stomach do a flip flop. :)

 

Yeah... there were a lot of things they allowed which probably isn't the best idea... I understand the harnesses from belaying rock climbing walls, and there's no way he could "fall out" of the harness... but it's definitely something you really shouldn't do normally.

 

I did feel more secure that that particular tour used two active lines instead of 1 line and a passive backup...

 

 

According to Victor (because I really asked him thoroughly about the fatal accident), the company that had the accident is no longer in business... they used 1 active line, the lines were much higher off the ground, and he believed that the line was never changed (it was the first company to do zipline tours on Roatan).

[RENMama]

awesome pictures!! we considered going ziplining with the kids but decided against it for this trip. not because of fear, but more of a my kids can be intermittantly tentative and i didnt want to pay if they were going to chicken out.

[imsulin]

Next up will be "The Balloon Boy Adventure", which includes parental denial. It's an extra $500.00 pp lottery drawing for a reality show.