Seriously; say, "that's OK mom and dad, I really feel like smoking some crack with my friends anyway".
As a dad, I think about all the stupid shit I used to do that could and sometimes did land me in the hospital, and I'm terrified that my kids are going to do the same or dumber things. Parents please spend a couple hundred bucks and a little of your time and help your kids build backyard setups. It's much better than either having your kids spend hours a day in front of a Playstation, or having them come up with other high adrenaline activities that could get them killed.
We used to skitch in Vail when there was snow on the roads. You'd hold onto the bumper of a car and slide behind it with slick shoes on. Then a kid in Summit County thought it would be fun to tie a rope to the bumper and get towed in one of those old saucer sleds. The car went around a corner and the kid swung out into oncoming traffic. Game over.
Don't take this the wrong way, but everyone on NS is like a gymnast from the planet Krypton. It's amazing to me that so many NSers barely in their teens can do so many cool non upright tricks. There were a handful of guys I knew in high school that could do flips on skis, and about the same that could spin more than a 3. In my 20's I was one of about 5 guys that skied Vail who could do a 7. Now there are 12 year olds throwing 9's and it is so cool to see. Air awareness is a great thing. Probably everyone on this site is going to have something stupid happen to them that has nothing to do with skiing. Your going to fall off a roof, or a ladder or get thrown off your bike. The awareness of where your body is in the air when that happens will probably be the difference between a broken leg and fractured neck.
There are so many good reasons to help your kids build a setup. Sorry folks but fuck the grass!!!!
