A couple of years ago, we had two young kids (13) go out in a canoe in February on a large reservoir. The water was 40 degrees. They capsized (so it is theorized) and being 1,000 feet from shore, hypothermia got them pretty quickly. The search for the bodies was heart-wrenching to watch. Kids just don’t think about things like cold water and ‘what if’ something happens ... I’m sure these kids on the river didn’t either. They got really, really lucky.
Yes, they did, and maybe they'll learn something. I'm sure we'll never know, but if the parents approved this canoeing outing for such young children, that's really something. I know my 16-year-old would be in a world of hurt if he put his little brothers in harm's way like that. He's supposed to know better!
You are certainly right about kids not thinking, “what if something happens?”.
It seems like I’m always telling my kids stories or giving them warnings to think “what if the car breaks down, what if I slipped, what if they don’t show up, etc”.
Many adults also fail to just contemplate the what ifs, going for long scenic drives along untravelled roads, or relying on a precarious piece of equipment to not fail.
A while ago (over a year) there was a posting by a FRper capsized hypothermia survivor. As I recall someone saved him as he was going under. Wish I would have saved it.