“It's not even clear that all these risk-reducing measures keep us safer. The research shows that boys will be boys (the vast majority of sporting accidents involve young males). If they can't get their thrills from diving boards, they will find other risky activities.”

This leads to the question of where they will find these thrills -- other physical activities or drugs and illegal behavior? 

In the May 3, 2008 issue of “The Economist,” the article “The Speedy Decline” referenced the recent success of the “war against methamphetamines.” It noted a University of Michigan study that found “the proportion of 18-year-olds who report using methamphetamines in the past year has fallen by almost two thirds since 1999.”  This decline has been offset by “a rise in cocaine, heroin and Oxycontin, a painkiller that can be abused.” 

This data reinforces Moore’s suggestion that a decline in one risky behavior leads to an increase in a substitute, which also includes risky activity.  So, while we might be saving them from the diving board – are we pushing them to find thrills in other areas, such as methamphetamines, cocaine or the choking game?  “The Speedy Decline” states, “It’s as though teenagers have a fixed quota of worry, which merely moves from drug to drug.”  I would rather they worry about diving boards than drugs.

Maybe, instead of engaging in a war against drugs, or a crusade against diving boards, it’s time for us, like the British (how often do we say that?) to rise up and declare that we want some good old-fashioned American fun.

Wouldn’t it be better to simply let our children jump off the diving board – after we do our flip first?