Teen may never go home after sailing round the world

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Dutch sailor Laura Dekker may not return home to the Netherlands after completing her voyage around the globe. Dekker, 16, wrote on her blog that she is on course to finish her journey Saturday, becoming the youngest person to accomplish the feat solo, but bad experiences with the Dutch government could keep her from returning to her mother country.

“The Dutch government was not kind to me,” Dekker writes. “I think that the nightmares will follow me for the rest of my life."

Dekker was 14 when she announced her intentions to sail around the world, and the government was not pleased. She writes in her blog that Youth Care and other government organizations dragged her through six court cases and asked a judge to take her away from her father.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46073697/ns/today-today_people/t/teen-may-never-go-home-after-sailing-round-world/#.TxuD05iLE5Q

[Vonne]

I really find this interesting.  Culturally, Holland is very different with regards to the importance of child-hood education, and it coming before other pursuits.  They simply do not culturally allow what regularly goes on in America's education system.

Additionally, I'm a bit perplexed with my thoughts on this wave of youngest to do such and such.  While if a parent allows their child to partake in a dangerous activity, is generally upon them.  I'm not sure how I feel about the media celebrating a lot of this stuff.  Especially, since it's in essence, more about their families wealth and pursuits than them.  Granted, most activities of similar nature, are often more about wealth than skill.  The fact that in multiple interviews, this girl has come across as a spoiled brat, doesn't help. 

That many of the agencies like Guinness, are no longer recognizing these activities is a good thing.