Parenting Advice: Children and Kite Flying

Vim Vocifero
24 July 2014
Public domain image, available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cerf_volant_rouge1.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Cerf_volant_rouge1.JPG.

Summer is the time for flying kites.

Kite flying is a healthy form of aerobic exercise, and we have some essential tips that can help you make the most of your kite flying experience.

But first, here are some essential safety precautions to observe:

    • Don’t fly a kite while cleaning out your refrigerator. Otherwise, you might accidentally get butter on your kite, which would adversely affect its aerodynamic properties.
    • Don’t let your kite eat too much before flying. Stomach cramps are even more dangerous in the air than in in the swimming pool.
    • Make sure to keep your kite hydrated. Give it a drink of water now and then. You might attach a long straw so that your kite can drink while it’s up in the air.

So, observing these safety tips, what are some interesting ways to fly a kite?

Carl Spitzweg "Drachensteigen." Public domain image, available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carl_Spitzweg_Drachensteigen.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Carl_Spitzweg_Drachensteigen.jpg.One fun way to fly a kite is to buy a kite powered carriage (or charvolant), and zoom around your neighborhood. This is guaranteed to impress all of your friends.1

By possibly Thomas Butterworth junior. Public domain, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACharvolants2.jpg. Another exciting way to fly a kite is to use a fighting kite to cut things down. Typically, fighting kites are small, maneuverable, and lightweight: good for skirmishing, but not much good for cutting anything heavier than another kite’s string. But if you get a really big kite with a really strong, sharp string—an artillery kite, if you will—you can cut down telephone wires,2 television antennas, and even small trees.

So follow our tips, and have a great time with your kite. And if you have any kite flying tips of your own, feel free to send them to us.

Kite: “Cerf Volant Rouge Toulon (France) Avril 2007,” public domain image, available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cerf_volant_rouge1.JPG.

Carl Spitzweg “Drachensteigen / Flying kites,” c. 1880–1885 Oil on cardboard, Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin. Public domain image, available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carl_Spitzweg_Drachensteigen.jpg#file.

“Charvolants travelling in various directions with the same Wind,” 1827, possibly by Thomas Butterworth junior. Public domain, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACharvolants2.jpg.

  1. See George Pocock, The Aeropleustic Art or Navigation in the Air by the use of Kites, or Buoyant Sails. ↩
  2. But only if adequate insulation and grounding are used. Also, be careful of power wires, which carry higher voltages and might damage your kite. ↩

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