You might roll your eyes but I think there is a real qualitative difference in risk between walking in the park and swimming in the ocean. People walk through t

You might roll your eyes but I think there is a real qualitative difference in risk between walking in the park and swimming in the ocean. People walk through the park all the time, so if a tree branch does fall on your head there is a good chance someone might happen upon you before you are dead. And while you are waiting there, unconscious and hemorrhaging blood into your cranial cavity, at least you will be breathing in air instead of brackish seawater. I have lived 15 minutes from the ocean my entire life and I have never gone swimming in it alone. I'm not an absolutist either, each situation has to be assessed on its own merits. If the kids are all strong swimmers and they want to go to the pool without an adult, that's fine with me. I might even let them go together into the sea depending on which beach they're headed to. But if they're taking the 3-year-old in water wings out to the open ocean I'm going to be tagging along. Likewise, if you want to walk alone in the park I think you'll probably be all right, but if you're hiking 10 miles out into the wilderness I'm going to strongly suggest you bring a buddy, whatever your age.