I don't think worse of anyone that wants to teach their kids to enjoy the great outdoors. Like you said, as long as every precaution is taken and you use for judgement, that's the best we can do. I took my 7 year old out on the boat with us last year, he was 6 at the time. We wouldn't have done so if there were 5+ footers. There's acceptable risk, then there's flat out stupidity. Taking every precaution to insure safety and weighing that against the knowledge that some things, especially on Lake Erie, is all you can do.