Hi, all!
I've never skydived before, but joined because I'm interested in doing so.
Unfortunately, my parents have some preconceived notions about the sport. (I have a feeling that they think that it's the most dangerous and life-threatening thing one could possibly do second to attempting suicide ). I've been doing some reading on the web, and, upon finding out that it's not nearly as risky and lethal as uninformed people think, have been thinking about the best way to convince my parents of this.
I'm afraid if I Just tell my parents "I want to skydive" without instantly flooding them with reassurance, they will instantly close their minds to any enlightening facts about it.
I'm aware of the (if controversial) statistic that you have a higher chance of dying driving a car than skydiving. Does anyone have any more facts like this one?
Also, they know I ski, and I have a feeling that skiing has a higher injury/fatality rate than skydiving. Can anyone confirm this?
But I also want a firmer case than that. I intend to show them the website of the drop zone closest to where I live and all it does in regards to lessons and safety gear.
So my point of this post is to ask if anyone has a general strategy/rule of thumb for convincing slightly overprotective parents. I do realize that all parents and relationships with them differ widely so maybe this isn't even worth asking, but I thought I'd give it a shot.
(Sorry if you get this question a lot on these boards...)