With personal safety aside, my wife at first was really against taking our kids when they were real young!We all have seen or know those a**holes out there that get drunk do and say stupid things and somehow( and sometimes to much delight) hurt themselves or worse somebody else! We have a great group of friends but not everybody understands what's cool and not cool around kids! I didn't realize it either till I had my own! So just to keep them out of certain environments we waited till they could understand what's right, wrong ,safe and unsafe at least enough for young kid! They love the boat and being on the water and I think I've nagged enough for her to understand its a part of life...may not be what the original question was about but that was our reason we waited...