http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/ Questions, experiences, adventures and issues with children on blue water cruising en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:46:31 GMT vBulletin 60 http://cdn.cruisersforum.com/forums/../ugala/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/that-guardrail-netting-33315.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:45:50 GMT So very excited becuase our time afloat is getting ever nearer. My boyfriend (and kids father) is setting off on the ARC race today and I will be... So very excited becuase our time afloat is getting ever nearer. My boyfriend (and kids father) is setting off on the ARC race today and I will be flying to St lucia on the 16th of December to start our extended sailing with him and the kids,

I am trying to buy some guardrail netting and was wondering if anyone knows much about it... are there different types? I have seen some online that ranges in price from £3.00 per metre to £1.75 per metre and so I am guessing that they must vary in some way but I can't work out how. Anyone got any advice as to which brand/type?

c ]]> Cruising with Children Clairek http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/that-guardrail-netting-33315.html http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/infant-advise-cruising-vanuatu-and-papua-new-guinea-33314.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:31:53 GMT We plan - to take our 2 1/2 month old daughter with us cruising to Vanuatu, Solomons, Bougainville, and Papua New Guinea over a two year period. At... We plan - to take our 2 1/2 month old daughter with us cruising to Vanuatu, Solomons, Bougainville, and Papua New Guinea over a two year period. At departure time she will be 9 months old. We live aboard in New Zealand and have had our boat offshore once to Tonga. I am mainly concerned about methods of coping with tropical diseases(I believe vaccination is not recommended for babies under 1 year old). If anyone could share there experiences on this or any other safety issues relating to infants in a tropical environment it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Corey ]]> Cruising with Children iwi http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/infant-advise-cruising-vanuatu-and-papua-new-guinea-33314.html http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/cruising-with-kids-a-cure-for-a-disturbing-trend-33177.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:41:34 GMT There has been a steady change in the behavior of children over the past 20 years that I personally find disturbing and has been a driver for us in... There has been a steady change in the behavior of children over the past 20 years that I personally find disturbing and has been a driver for us in making the decision to go cruising.

What has been occurring is that children are becoming increasingly peer orientated at earlier ages. What this means from a parenting perspective is that our children are tending to be looking to there peers for their cues on how to be in the world at quite young ages.

Marketers have picked up on the trend and have descended like a hungry pack of vultures. If you look at advertising that is aimed at pre-adolescents you will see a disturbing trend of sexualization, fashion obsession and even dieting!!

This trend is having horrendous effects on our youth with troubling statistics of increased rates of suicide, eating disorders and early drug and alcohol abuse.

The solution is clear as day and is simply that young children benefit from being with there parents. My belief that the greatest gift a parent can offer a child is his/her time and attention.

There have been many wonderful studies and books written about parent-child attachment that delve into the troubling trend in our society to abandon our children and the effects this abandonment is having.

A study by Patricia Adler and Peter Adler : "Peer Power: Culture and Identity," state that boys gain the positive attention and status from their peers through “Toughness , troublemaking, domination, coolness, and interpersonal bragging and sparring skills." Girls derive status from "success at grooming, clothes, and other appearance-related variables;” and further they argue that romantic success as measured through popularity and going with boys; affluence and its correlates of material possessions and leisure pursuits."

Although the antidote to the loss of parental control and increasing peer control as a result of parents being absent and disconnected from their children’s lives could be accomplished in a number of ways.

It seems to me that cruising as a family is possibly the best solution to the situation of increasing peer attachment and decreasing parental influence and attachment.

Has anyone else considered the power of cruising to create very strong family bonds and strengthen parent-child attachment? ]]> Cruising with Children LuvToSail http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/cruising-with-kids-a-cure-for-a-disturbing-trend-33177.html http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/teens-or-tweens-cruising-in-bvi-32452.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:45:07 GMT We have a 12 year old boy and 14 year old girl on board our 55' catamaran. We have taken them out of school for a year. Currently in the BVI, until about 12/1/09, then (generally) to Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Bahamas and back to US east coast in July 2010.

Any cruisers with kids around the BVI in the month of November? ]]> Cruising with Children Dragon701 http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/teens-or-tweens-cruising-in-bvi-32452.html http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/success-or-failure-stories-of-trying-to-introduce-young-teens-to-cruising-32291.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:18:03 GMT I, like I am sure many do, have a dream of packing up and cruising when I retire, at least for the summers. My oldest will be about 13 when I retire... I, like I am sure many do, have a dream of packing up and cruising when I retire, at least for the summers. My oldest will be about 13 when I retire and it's a bit scary to think about packing into a 33ftish boat for 3 months with 2 or 3 kids. Just wondering if there are any success/failure stories out there? I have been reading a few cruising/living aboard books. Any advice to give other than involve the kids, give them responsibilities, ect? ]]> Cruising with Children AKCoastie http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f49/success-or-failure-stories-of-trying-to-introduce-young-teens-to-cruising-32291.html