Boating with kids.

5 Tips for Safe Boating with Kids

• Expect the unexpected pack more, even for just for day boating.
• Always be prepared for call for help—use your cell phone or a VHF radio.
• Spend time teaching your kids to improve their swimming skills.
•  your child always wears a life jacket, for swimming (if needed), water sports and cruising.
• Establish rules upfront and always practice safe boating habits onboard and in the water.

Expect the Unexpected

Always pack for the unexpected keeping extra medications and all the usual items such as, diapers, wipes, and formula if you are packing for a baby plus you should never forget the sunscreen. Kids do not have the body mass, patience or maturity to just “tough it out.” Warm, dry, hydrated and well-fed kids are more easygoing when circumstances become difficult. Comfortable adults make better decisions too. For a day boating, pack as you might for an overnight ashore. With all the fun and games when kids are onboard, there’s bound to be an occasional scrape. Keep a first-aid kit on your boat as well as tweezers to remove splinters.

Calling for Help Afloat

Make sure to keep your phone charged in case of an emergency or need to call for help. If you need to be towed in or have an accident out on the water.

Preparation & Practice

You wouldn’t play a board game with the kids without explaining how to play it first and what the rules of the game are. The same is true afloat, so involve kids while boating. Everyone aboard, once mature enough, should know how to drive the boat (kindergartners probably shouldn’t know how to start engines, but fourth-graders can do everything, even dock). When kids learn the dangers of docking, or an anchor line paying out or of sharp or pointy objects while fishing, they’re automatically cautious about them. Scared kids become distractions, so turn that around by training them to do specific “jobs.” Keep it fun but conduct man-overboard drills (try offering an award to see who can see a barely floating milk carton the longest). It is also a great teaching moment, teamwork makes the dream work!

Life Jacket Safety

Statistics show overwhelmingly that wearing a life jacket is the single most important thing anyone—adult or child—can do to be safer on the water.

State and federal requirements for kids and life jackets vary, but safety dictates that everyone aboard small, open boats, including adults, always wear them. On midsize and larger boats, life-jacket rules relax when kids are below decks or within an enclosed cabin. Ensure preschoolers and non-swimmers wear life jackets before they even step from shore to dock too. Parents set the example by wearing inflatable life jackets according to those same rules.

Learn more at https://www.discoverboating.com/ownership/safety/life-jackets on which life-jacket is the right one to make sure it fits correctly otherwise it is useless.

Swim Skills

Kids improve swimming skills by shedding their life jackets—and they can under federal law, although not in all states—to swim behind a securely anchored boat. Water safety experts, however, say kids aren’t “swimmers” unless they’re competing on swim teams or certified as lifeguards. This is doubly true while boating, where currents strengthen or change direction suddenly, boats sway at anchor and boat wakes come out of nowhere.

Outside of ideal swimming conditions, let kids have fun in properly fitting USCG-approved Type III life jackets. In an accident, kids and adults benefit hugely from being comfortable in the water in full-time life jackets.

Never swim in a marina or near docks with electrical power, either. A short on the dock can—in fact often does—energize the water for several feet around it, which can be lethal. Turn off 110-volt generators and inverters while swimming too.

For towed water sports, including tubing, employ an adult spotter beside the driver, keep riders in Type III life jackets—note that competition vests may offer reduced floatation—and avoid high-traffic areas. Kids lack the judgement of adults to, say, tuck behind the boat’s wake to pass oncoming traffic.

Establish rules & Practice boating safety

Beyond planning and practice, establish clear safety rules and follow them. Sure, that is easier said than done with kids who, by nature, test limits. But here is the advantage to boating: “Don’t make me turn around and go home,” carries far more weight afloat than it does ashore. It is important that kids understand that they can’t run on the boat deck, they should never walk around while the boat is moving, and they should always maintain three points of contact with the boat to avoid falling when rocked by the wake of a passing boat.

Boating With Toddlers

The early years require a bit more care and attention, here’s what we’ve learned works best:

1. CREATE A SAFE SPACE

If you have kids under seven years old, it’s good to create an area for them that feels safe and comfortable. Create a cushy zone with pillows and maybe a few of their favorite toys to keep them entertained and happy.

2. TAKE BREAKS AND KEEP IT SHORT

The key to keeping young kids happy is to only take short trips on the boat — at least at first. As they become more comfortable and start to like the boat more, you can go for longer.

A break is an excellent way to soothe short attention spans, and it can be nice for everyone to get off the boat at lunchtime. A nice walk around the marina and a change of scenery can be a refreshing change of pace before you settle in for a relaxing afternoon cruise.

3. BRING PLENTY OF TOYS

There may be no better distraction than toys to keep little ones entertained. If you can, save a few toys for on-the-boat use only — it can help excite your young ones to go on the boat. Most toddlers are interested in what’s in front of them more than their surroundings. But if you keep them boating and happy, they’ll soon turn their attention to being on the water and boating itself.

4. INSPIRE IMAGINATION

When you’re on the boat is a perfect time to spark your kid’s imagination. Tell pirate stories, make treasure maps and get creative.

For Ages Eight and Up

If your kids are a bit older, here are a few things you can do to help them enjoy your boating excursions even more:

1. INVITE THEIR FRIENDS

When your kids can play with their friends, they’ll create their own fun and games. Also, it can buy you a little time to relax as they entertain each other.

2. BRING REMOTE CONTROL BOATS

Remote control boats are relatively inexpensive and fun, and they are enjoyable for everyone when you’re on anchor in protected water.

3. HAVE INFLATABLE WATER TOYS AVAILABLE

Kids love inflatable water toys — it’s fun to get a big one that everyone can climb aboard and play on at the same time. And if you’re feeling more adventurous, you can pull a tube behind the boat for high-speed fun.

4. KEEP goggles and water guns on board

A mask and snorkel can reveal an amazing underwater world, and you and your child can explore underwater marvels together. And water guns can be great fun to play with each other in or out of the water.

5. HEAD TO THE ISLAND

It’s nice to switch up the pace of your day to keep your kids entertained. If you can, anchor up or pull ashore for some playtime.

6.. PACK THE BINOCULARS

Besides playing pirate, binoculars are fun for looking at wildlife and other vessels in the distance — it’s nice to keep a pair on the boat.

7. INTRODUCE KAYAKING AND PADDLE BOARDING

When your kids are older, a kayak or paddle board is a great way to give them a little freedom. Just be sure to know where they’re going and when they plan to be back. A waterproof radio or walkie-talkie set is always a useful communication tool to keep onboard.

8. TRY WATER SPORTS

Especially for teens, water sports like wake boarding, water skiing, and tubing have the intensity and excitement teens love for hours of entertainment. Let them put on their favorite music, and you might be inspired to give it a go before you know it. Wake boarding or even surfing can be fun and help them get some great exercise.