Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 12-12-2015, 00:25   #31
Registered User
 
tinysailor's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Sydney
Boat: Hunter 356
Posts: 31
Re: How young is too young?

We bought a 35ft boat 7/8 months ago to learn to sail on with our son in tow who's now 22 months old. We spend an average of 3-4 nights aboard per week depending on work loads etc. We have a mooring ball but find it far easier at our Marina (me especially when the husband's at work). By no means are we experienced and consider ourselves total newbies.

Sail wise it's very hard for us unless there's a third, even fourth pair of hands and we usually plan the start of the sail to coincide with his 2 hour nap time. He gets cabin fever and needs entertaining (toddler not the husband). Entertainment includes a mandatory 12v TV / DVD player, iPad, kite, bubbles and a lot of different toys and books. On hot days I fill up a large plastic bucket for him to sit in in the cockpit. Keeping him past his tolerance on the boat makes it miserable for everyone at the moment and that's not what it should be about. Ironically he enjoys a good blow and will sleep very well in 30kts+ overnight in the marina. Last night blew 50kts and he slept all night.

Safety wise to manage our tinkatron we have net around the boat, marine harness, PFDs and also strap a car seat into a princess seat. He sleeps in the v-birth which has netting across to prevent him from escaping and doubles as a 'safe zone'.

Bribery for critical times includes a stealthy stock of milkybar choccy / lollies (we've worked out a milky bar gives us 7 minutes of time), peanut butter sandwiches are a favourite when underway.

Living aboard he's a little champ, however the comfort of our home I certainly miss at times (space to run about). So far today he's managed to remove fuses, get his toe stuck in the washing machine discharge hose, made lovely patterns in the wood with his teeth, rubbed banana and peed on the sofa (my bad for not getting the nappy back on quick enough). We know who's captain.

It's been a gradual process, one of his first words was 'boat', we're looking forward to spending a few weeks onboard over Christmas. We have more off shore training early January and my Mum will be having our son for this period.

For us, I wouldn't consider moving onto a boat permanently until he's 5 years old.

Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByCruisers Sailing Forum1449908364.886975.jpg
Views:	283
Size:	14.2 KB
ID:	114861


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum
tinysailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 00:35   #32
Senior Cruiser

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: May 2013
Location: Oregon to Alaska
Boat: Wheeler Shipyard 83' ex USCG
Posts: 3,499
Re: How young is too young?

When I was commercial fishing, there were a lot of boats run by a family that lived aboard. There were young people from a few months on up. Most of the boats were in the 35 to 55 foot range. In good weather, some had play pens in an open deck area or gated places below. I don't remember any accidents. Sometimes I would catch a diaper in the gear.
Lepke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 01:31   #33
Registered User
 
UNCIVILIZED's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Up the mast, looking for clean wind.
Boat: Currently Shopping, & Heavily in LUST!
Posts: 5,629
Re: How young is too young?

I started @ about 3, ditto on my brother, & we LOVED it. Plus, starting at that early of an age, I'm sure, rendered us all but immune to seasickness (knock on wood). And as kids, we Never got sick onboard.
Also, most of my friends who sail that have had kids, started them early. My first "nephew" started at 1 month. We've got the pic of him with a line in one hand & a (98% empty) beer to his lips with the other.

I think that under sail, it's wise to have a designated kid watcher/nanny. But in my experiences with young ones onboard, they take to it far better than adults. And as they get old enough to be motive under their own power, they're taught about life jackets & clipping in.
Then at a bit older age, they're given their own jobs, as my brother & I were, & again, love it.

For down below time, you can hang a car seat from some padeyes on the overhead, & read a book while hanging out down below with them. Or read one aloud to them. And the motion's often nap inducing. Be they in such a swinging chair. Or a bunk with a tall, full width, lee cloth.

That, & kids are wiser than most give them credit as being. If you start explaining to them early on, how things work, & what's going on, they get it.
I was our jib trimmer @ age 3. And know of kids who've absconded with the sailing dink at 4 or 5, only to return 10min later.

It's a good environment for them. I mean, the corners on all of the furniture are rounded, unlike at home
And plenty of kids get raised on boats. Like my neighbors at the marina did with their son, on their Cal 34. From birth to early school age, when they fell under the Syren's spell of the easy amenities provided by land living; like in home washing machines ;-)

There were more folks around who were happy to look after their little guy than they knew what to do with. Such as the weekly or bi-monthly date nite I'd send them on, when I'd take him to a local, pro hockey game.
And yeah, his mom had to TELL me to stop bringing him home with signed pucks, as he had a whole milk crate full of them. LOL


Because of everything, & everyone which he was exposed to, he was a LOT smarter & more adaptable than most kids his own age. Be it play time, & figuring out how to involve us in his game of the moment, or to play by himself. Even being a regular in his mom & my long bike rides, telling whom ever was towing him in his trailer to "go faster X, go faster". As well as being a champion gofur for tools, when I was wrenching on something. A thing taught to me by my dad at that age. And he had the same exact (Real) tool set @ 3 as I'd had.


Just check the kids in the vid...
__________________

The Uncommon Thing, The Hard Thing, The Important Thing (in Life): Making Promises to Yourself, And Keeping Them.
UNCIVILIZED is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 02:03   #34
Registered User
 
Rustic Charm's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Boat: Bieroc 36 foot Ketch
Posts: 4,953
Re: How young is too young?

The emotional stuff around young children on board a sail boat is not exclusive to just sailing. It's to do with the natural inclination of people, especially women (oh dear ) to compare and criticise other peoples parenting. The Rebel Heart pages seen lots of that going on.

Just to sail, the answer is 'whatever age the parent desires'.. because obviously it depends on supervision, vigilance and being well prepared. It's not up to anyone else to judge one person's parenting over another, just because they are doing something I wouldn't do.

The same question has been raised a number of times about children doing around the world attempts. But, that question is always about 'solo' sails. Obviously there has to be a lower age of which a child cannot possibly complete the feats necessary to solo a vessel. BUT, as we have seen before, it is not on the age but more on the abilities of the child.
Rustic Charm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 02:04   #35
Registered User
 
Rustic Charm's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Boat: Bieroc 36 foot Ketch
Posts: 4,953
Re: How young is too young?

Quote:
Originally Posted by msponer View Post
I feel you can do a whole lot of sailing and still be within reasonable reach of medical care.

"48 hours" seems easily possible in Pacific Mexico and the Sea of Cortez, though it may be dramatic from a few places. 24 hours, or even 12, seems easily possible while island hopping in the Caribbean.

My youngest daughter was less than a year old when we sailed to Mexico. We had to take her to the pediatrician twice, for a fever, and then later, a rash. The care was as good as in America, though different. Her doctor presented himself as much less certain than our American doctors. Visits were longer, in a study in his house, and he spent most of that time going through his thought process, showing us pages from his books, and explaining why he thought it was A and not B. I thought it was a refreshing intellectual humility, but I think it could make some people nervous, if they are used to a doctor exuding complete certainty.

For our own risk assessment, the experience, and sharing that with her, was worth whatever incremental risk there was to being >5 minutes from an ambulance. She's now 8 and fondly looks back at photographs of her baby self adventuring.

We take an additional risk with our older daughter, who has an intellectual disability. She is at slightly higher risk because she does not walk well and occasionally does dumb things. But she absolutely loves the sailing life so much that it is easily worth it for her. We are back in America for a year, as landlubbers, and we went camping at the beach a few weeks ago. She did all she could to tell us how much she misses the boat and living on the beach.

After Rebel Heart's problems, my wife and I talked it through and decided that we have to take the kids medical care a lot more seriously when we head farther away from civilization -- when stop day hopping between islands and instead head towards Panama and the Pacific. We contacted Spike Briggs at Medical Support Offshore. She's having us take an MCA medical course in Florida, will make a pediatric medical kit that is tailored for our kids, and we will contract with her for a 24x7 email/phone consultation service. I now also view communication stuff as 'critical' instead of 'toy' -- and so the satellite phone and HAM radio will be installed in a more resilient way.

Kids in the Cockpit: A Pilot Book to Safe and Happy Sailing with Children has a lot of good advice and different parent perspectives on harnesses, rules, and etc.
Love them pics.. they are classic
Rustic Charm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 04:22   #36
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 4,413
Re: How young is too young?

As a grand parent with 2 girls about 4 and 5... their grand mother is very worried about taking them on board. These two open everything, don't sit still, fiddle with every switch or what looks like a switch... climb over everything... it's like a big play house to them. No problem of course but they have to be very closely monitored... by their grandmother. My sense is that sailing on calm conditions would be fine... heeled and pounded would not. Granny doesn't want to find out. I forgot to say that the times the girls were on board... their parents were not... so it was a babysitting thing for granny.

Having said this I have met children born and raised on boats and they were brilliant competent self sufficient children. I wouldn't take children for passages or sails unless they wanted to go. PERIOD.
Sandero is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 05:05   #37
cat herder, extreme blacksheep

Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: furycame alley , tropics, mexico for now
Boat: 1976 FORMOSA yankee clipper 41
Posts: 18,967
Images: 56
Re: How young is too young?

how young is too young?? ha ha ha seems there is no answer to this question as women have babies on boats andf folks sail with lil ones. if you look with a magnifying glass into this pic, you will see in the cockpit a lady with a babe in arms. the lady is now a tenured professsor at yale in fine arts and her baby is now a rhode island architect and entry level politician. when she was a babe in arms she was 6 months and less in age. she developed into a lovely lady who sailed baja haha 2 times, second time she went thru canal with her now husband and onward to newport rhode island.
the person wearing the white scarf is myself.
i learned to sail ON THIS BOAT without llifelines , without life jackets and without worries or drama from age 7. my brother was 6, and my other brother was 3 when we started sailing. my uncles family, as he was owner of the boat, learned at earlier ages. not only did we not die, we learned RESPONSIBILITY at early ages, as we each and all had jobs on board. no one sailed as if on a cruise ship. unless they were too young to handle lines..and NO drama bs.
families with babies cruise the mexicoast as well as caribbean and other locales regularly. some even have babies as they travel--this is not a SPORT to many but a LIFESTYLE. that means children. is normal and natural. the boat is home.


i saw above someone mentioned that women are drama queens?? welll we learned that from the men who are worse drama queens than women. men are THE WORST drama cretins. please donot go to calling women more drama oriented than men, as males are more creative of drama than are women. have fun with this one, but it is exactly what i have observed in 67 years of living. so quit bashing with drama bs. and the drama of rebel heart came from the male, if you remember correctly.
zeehag is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2015, 05:59   #38
Registered User
 
Rustic Charm's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Boat: Bieroc 36 foot Ketch
Posts: 4,953
Re: How young is too young?

Quote:
Originally Posted by zeehag View Post
how young is too young?? ha ha ha seems there is no answer to this question as women have babies on boats andf folks sail with lil ones. if you look with a magnifying glass into this pic, you will see in the cockpit a lady with a babe in arms. the lady is now a tenured professsor at yale in fine arts and her baby is now a rhode island architect and entry level politician. when she was a babe in arms she was 6 months and less in age. she developed into a lovely lady who sailed baja haha 2 times, second time she went thru canal with her now husband and onward to newport rhode island.
the person wearing the white scarf is myself.
i learned to sail ON THIS BOAT without llifelines , without life jackets and without worries or drama from age 7. my brother was 6, and my other brother was 3 when we started sailing. my uncles family, as he was owner of the boat, learned at earlier ages. not only did we not die, we learned RESPONSIBILITY at early ages, as we each and all had jobs on board. no one sailed as if on a cruise ship. unless they were too young to handle lines..and NO drama bs.
families with babies cruise the mexicoast as well as caribbean and other locales regularly. some even have babies as they travel--this is not a SPORT to many but a LIFESTYLE. that means children. is normal and natural. the boat is home.


i saw above someone mentioned that women are drama queens?? welll we learned that from the men who are worse drama queens than women. men are THE WORST drama cretins. please donot go to calling women more drama oriented than men, as males are more creative of drama than are women. have fun with this one, but it is exactly what i have observed in 67 years of living. so quit bashing with drama bs. and the drama of rebel heart came from the male, if you remember correctly.
Which post refers to women as 'drama queens' ?
Rustic Charm is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Too Close! WAY TOO CLOSE! Anchoring Near Jerks MarkJ Anchoring & Mooring 119 07-11-2022 09:53
Has Cruising Become Too Artificial, Too Expensive, Too Regulated ? Piney Our Community 110 31-01-2022 14:51
Young(ish) sailing couple hoping to meet other young boaters serah Pacific & South China Sea 9 21-08-2013 18:11
Crossing Atlantic with young Children? texwards Families, Kids and Pets Afloat 13 17-11-2008 21:28
Young Dog djakunda Families, Kids and Pets Afloat 0 04-05-2003 10:34

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:04.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.