Great post story from the real world. My kids are still too young for something like that, but I have the same feeling when trying to balance safety and adventures.
I'll let you know when they are a bit older and we can start doing some "real" hiking :)
I started my kid pretty young. She did her first 5km when she was 2...we just never let her know anything different. Safety and adventure the same thing all parents face I guess...I can only imagine what my parents went though....eep