How young is too young?

[Yellow Yota]

So, at what point is a kid old enough to be a boater? I haven't looked into PFD's for little ones yet, so I thought I'd ask here first. Our newest "bobber" is a little over 8 months old right now, so we're looking at an 10 to 11 month old when we get ready to start up.
I'm just looking for info to help us decide if we should get a sitter for her first summer.
I know it matters, so let me state that I have a Rinker RX-1. 21 foot bow rider.

Thanks,
Chad

 

[ajgraz]

Re: How young is too young?

Just make sure the 8-month old is wearing a PFD when piloting the boat

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: How young is too young?

So, at what point is a kid old enough to be a boater?

Now !!, That little duffer will sleep 99% of the time when she/him is on the boat.
Are you on a lake or ocean ??

 

[QC]

Re: How young is too young?

Yeah, we've had them on as early as 3 months.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: How young is too young?

lots of baby sunscreen, and shade. nothing worse than a sunburnt baby at 2 am.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: How young is too young?

I don't personally remember this but my parents tell me that I was boating at 2 weeks old on my Dad's little plywood boat and outboard. After that I was a regular. Make sure you are not alone on board with the little one so that you can attend to navigating etc while the little one is being cared for. All safety equipment goes without saying. That's precious cargo you have.
Enjoy.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: How young is too young?

Our little munchkin is goin fishin with daddy as soon as the weather warms up enough that I don't have to worry about her getting too cold. So I put that at about 2 months of age. In Ontario pfd's are not required for infants under 20lbs. In fact, I have been unable to find anything small enough for her, the ones labled for infants are about 3x bigger then our baby. We decided that we would put mommy in her pfd and strap baby to mommy with one of them baby bjorn carriers that firmly hold baby in place. There won't be any deep water excursions (shoreline fishing) or high speeds (cruising) until baby is big enough for her own pfd. Also top up, and sunscreen on...

Ian

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: How young is too young?

Our 4 y.o. has been boating since before he was born. He loves it.

When he was a baby we would bring him in his car seat and the motion would rock him to sleep.

 

[Shamus O'toole]

Re: How young is too young?

/\/\same here....I was literally born next to the water...the hospital I was born at in 1969 over looked Port Jefferson in NY. Parents had me on the water in a month.

 

[Rumley]

Re: How young is too young?

You can get life jackets for infants. Fuzion makes one rated to 30lbs may not be small enough that is around 25 bucks. I heard at the store today that baby store in Sudbury has them for weight 10-20 lbs but they are around 100 bucks. Not sure on that brand because we don't sell them.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: How young is too young?

You can get life jackets for infants. Fuzion makes one rated to 30lbs may not be small enough that is around 25 bucks. I heard at the store today that baby store in Sudbury has them for weight 10-20 lbs but they are around 100 bucks. Not sure on that brand because we don't sell them.

Our little girl just hit 9lbs. Heh..course is snowed today..so maybe she'll be closer to 20lbs by the time I actually get to spend some time on the water.


Ian

 

[badbowtie]

Re: How young is too young?

My son was boating last year once it warmed up and he was only 1 month old and boated all summer last year and loved it. Just get the right pfd and lots of sunscreen. I have a cuddy which helped for shade allot.

 

[JimMH]

Re: How young is too young?

Had my son on the lake at six months daughter same age.

 

[arks]

Re: How young is too young?

my daughter was about 6 or 8 weeks old when we introduced her to the boat.
She'll be turning 21 in a few weeks. Time sure does fly......

 

[redone4x4]

Re: How young is too young?

6 months for my daughter.....now she is turning 7 and boating is her favorite family activity. I think its the best way when its all that they know and grow up with.

 

[backwater dawg]

Re: How young is too young?

My little girl was born on Aug 6th, and we spent my birthday--Aug 9th--and the next week going from Prescott Wi--down the Mississippi to La Cross Wi--about 120 miles--when she was 3 days old--she sleep like a babe--80 degrees--perfect

 

[TBTOsterman]

Re: How young is too young?

Now !!, That little duffer will sleep 99% of the time when she/him is on the boat.
Are you on a lake or ocean ??

This is true. At this age, your little one will sleep most of the time. We have raised two babies on the water. My boys are now ten and seven. Each started on the water when they were eight and six months old.

The hardest part is when they are old enough to crawl or walk and dont want to sit still while you are anchored or under way. We had an inflatable raft that we partially filled with water and let our son(s) play in when they were toddlers. You could put the raft on the swim deck or let it float in the water and have an adult nearby. This allows you and baby to play and swim in the water too.

I would also live to give you a heads up about the PFD's. They generally seem uncormfortable to the little ones because of all the foam up front and around their necks. Make sure your toddler is used to the vest to insure it can and will be worn while on the boat.

We always have one of the 12 volt clip fans on board too. It works well for pets and kids as well.

All in all, the babies / toddlers are fun on the boat. I would suggest you have a back-up plan for a few good adult days on the water too!

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: How young is too young?

My dad told me to stay away from any girl under 18

 

[Bumpus7]

Re: How young is too young?

.
You know how most females are and some can be very picky.

She may not like the water or the boat activity.

So don't be disappointed at her response.

Oh by the way Dad ...
Did you ask how she felt about the whole idea ?

No skiing at this time.
.

 

[bhammer]

Re: How young is too young?

My wife had a c-section for our last one. As soon as her belly felt fine we were on the lake putzing around. I think our daughter was about 2 weeks old at that time. They make infant life jackets that keep them face up on their back. She turns 6 next month and is truly a lake babe.