Sixteen-year-old Abby Sunderland captivated the world when her attempts to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe solo went awry in the Indian Ocean last week. She was lost at sea for two days before her rescue, during which time her plight made international headlines. That bodes well for the reality-television show that her father, Laurence Sunderland, tried to sell, if not exactly for his responsibility as a parent. According to the New York Post, Laurence Sunderland is broke and sold the show Adventures in Sunderland weeks after Abby departed in January. On Monday, Sunderland's mother denied the family was trying to capitalize on Abby's journey, arguing that the deal had been pegged to her brother's voyage and was dead before the girl set sail.
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A man who needs no introduction, Richard Heene recently spent 90 days in prison for orchestrating the “Balloon Boy” hoax in October 2009. For one afternoon, cable viewers were riveted by footage of the odd silver balloon drifting over Colorado—a balloon that Heene and his wife told authorities contained their 6-year-old son, Falcon. The world breathed a collective sigh of relief when Falcon was “discovered” hiding in the garage. However, the gig was up one day later, when Falcon himself accidentally did them in: “You guys said that we did this for the show,” he said to his parents when Wolf Blitzer asked him why he hid. Apparently, the Heenes were hoping the stunt would help them sign a reality-television show deal. Richard Heene later pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to influence a public servant.
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Jordan Romero has gone higher than any 13-year-old before him: In March, he became the youngest person ever to climb Mount Everest. He accomplished the feat alongside his father, Paul, but would he have been better off at home with his Wii? Some 220 climbers have died while trying to scale Everest, and, according to ABC News, it seems Jordan’s father took unnecessary risks: He did not bring a Western guide along and they hiked up the north side of the mountain, which has had twice as many fatalities as the better-traveled south side.
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Alfie Patten became famous in 2009 as the baby-faced British boy with a baby: The 12-year-old claimed to have fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend, Chantelle Steadman, and the story set off a bidding war among tabloids and television companies for photographs and video of the infant. However, it soon turned out that Chantelle had slept with several other boys—some of whom appear to have spent the night with her parents’ blessing. A friend of the Steadman’s told the Mirror that Chantelle’s mother “told Chantelle to keep quiet about other boys because they wouldn't get any money. They know that Alfie being the dad makes a better story. I think there's a big scam going on here."
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Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff died in 1996 while attempting to become the youngest person to fly across the United States. Twenty-four hours after taking off, her plane crashed in Wyoming, killing her, her father, and her flight instructor; an investigation later found that the fatal error was the flight instructor’s. Congress quickly passed legislation outlawing unlicensed pilots from operating the controls of an aircraft, but Jessica’s mother apparently did not learn any lessons: She arranged to have Jessica’s 9-year-old brother Joshua fly over the funeral service. (Those plans were thankfully canceled the day of the funeral due to poor weather.)
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On the final day of 2009, 17-year-old Katie Walter trekked 112 miles to become the youngest person to reach the South Pole. She had originally signed up to take part in an expedition to the North Pole—but all the other participants dropped out. So she changed hemispheres and signed up with a professional explorer for her journey, which would begin at the point where Ernest Shackleton had to turn back 100 years earlier. Walter says that her parents were “concerned.” “I think they were quite worried,” she told the Times of London. “My dad would go quiet around me, and that would tell me he was worried.”
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The competition to be the youngest person to sail around the globe is, apparently, an intense one: The record that Abby Sunderland was trying to break was just set in May by Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old from Australia. Asked about the perils of his daughter’s trip in October 2009, her father Roger said, “It would be devastating if we lost her… but I think it would be worse to say ‘no you can’t go’ because of that risk, because of what she’s put into it.” And, shortly before she set sail, her boat collided with a Chinese vessel—an accident that was largely her fault. “Our authorities have officially cautioned her and her parents and they’ve sat down with them to talk about Jessica’s plans,” said Deputy Premier of Queensland Paul Lucas. “I’ll be honest. On this evidence, I don’t think she’s ready to do this.”
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Before Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail around the world in May, that title was held by 16-year-old Zac Sunderland, Abby’s older brother. After completing his journey, his parents signed him up with an agent who would sign him for commercials and endorsements. “I don’t know if he’s set to be on the Wheaties box yet,” his mother said. He also appeared on David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel.
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Earlier this year, 15-year-old Parker Liautaud attempted to become one of the youngest people to ski to the North Pole. Whereas younger people had reached the pole before, Liautaud wanted to be the first to do so without his parents. Because of warming temperatures and melting, Liautaud had to quit his quest early: A helicopter rescued him and his guide. His father Bernard, who started and sold Business Objects for $6.8 billion, isn’t the only one who encouraged Parker to take the risk: His trip was sponsored by GE.
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