How do you introduce kids to boating?

[SteveGabbard]

So I am a mother hen. And a worry wort. My ten year old loves to be on the water in canoes, rafts, etc...

When we were in Colorado he kept asking when he could Kayak. My thought is a child should be of a size where he could physically help himself if needed. As I said, I worry. I can see potentially bad situations on class I.

Can anyone who has introduced their kids to kayaking give any advice?

[tomOzarkVideo]

We started with a SOT.

Now that she's decent at controlling the boat, we're looking at a WW boat.

[Louiscov]

Ten can be a fantastic age to rev up paddling interest.

My oldest (now 33) began short solo paddling trips at 10 (dragover loop, local bayous) and at 11 began soloing the upper Buffalo. We always kept trips short or took multiple breaks to hike, explore, just rest tired arms. We played games on who could see eddies first and I always let him "lead" with me right beside him where we could discuss lines, obstacles, strategy, etc. We'd see who could paddle to a rock with the least strokes, who could hit an eddy the highest, but always just in fun. Kept it very laid back and FUN, never work. At 13 he soloed Boxley - Kyles, at 14 upper Little Mo (Albert Pike - Hwy 84). His first Buffalo trip was at age 4, and we gave him a small 28" jonboat paddle to splash around with. His first Ponca Pruitt trip was age 6.

With easy, stable sit-on-tops nowadays learning is even easier. Some short trips like dragover loop, short section of the Buffalo, ACC Rendexvous this fall, tons of possibilities. Good luck and please keep us informed.

Mine still likes to paddle, and to have adult children call you every year wanting to go on a trip is an indescrible blessing. Every second I spent boating with my kids was so worth it.

[mgood]

Dane Jackson has been boatin since he was a wee little lad. I started at 13, which in hindsight was a little later than would have been optimal for my development.

8? 9? 10?

[Fish]

I think Louiscov has it just right for young kids: very short trips in terms of mileage, warm weather (ideally where the kids will want to take a swim!), only easy rapids, plenty of snacks and drinks, plenty of play, swim, fish and explore time, zero pressure, let them do what they want to on the river. Also other kids - that helps a lot too.

I've got one approaching 10 and another approaching 1. I hope there are plenty of fun river trips with them in my future.

- Fish

[kayakdoc]

I started my current 13 yr old in a Jackson Fun 1 1/2 when he was 7 yrs old with lake paddling only. We practiced initially just around the swim area then practicing stroke technique (getting the boat to go in a straight line). Ultimately we started going in long loops around the lake to build stamina. Then we did some short 3-4 mile trips on the Mulberry at low levels (ie 2-2.5ft) at about age 8-9. I believe his first Piney trip was at age 10 with some friends in Rafts that he could ride in when he got tired. He is now running Class III+ (Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Mulberry at big levels, Cossatot incl the falls, Falling water at regular and flood)and is ready for the Ocoee and not far from Richland.
I also have a current 8 yr old that is about ready for the Mulberry on low levels. He has a lot of flat water experience in lakes and is inheriting his brothers Fun 1 1/2.
I think the Key is each child is different and not to push them before they are ready. I try to avoid committing them to anything too long and be sure to have plenty of food/snacks and drinks. They are little furnaces that burn a lot of calories and we all know how they get when they need to eat.
I understand the apprehension of getting them on moving water, but just getting them on the water and letting them make the call when they want to move up seems to be what has worked for my little paddling buddies.
It's great to see them develop a love for paddling at this age that I didn't get exposed to until I was 20.
I can't wait for my 13 yr old to be 16 and we'll have a built in shuttle system.
We have about 6-7 under 13 yr old paddlers in the River Valley chapter that are going to be a blast to watch as they progress.
Good luck with your future best paddling buddies.

[SteveGabbard]

Good stuff. Thanks everyone for the input!

[Clif]

We do/did lots of lake work, too. Lot of our own version of boatball. Throw the ball and we all race for it. Sprints, boat control, leaning.. several things get practiced while having fun. Also turned them over as soon as they were comfortable to know what to expect and how to react. No skirts at that point. Made games out of that too. We have some mile long runs here in Clinton that made good intro to current, as well as the back yard.aka Cadron

[Sparky]

Jeannie and I start with the grandkids at aroun1-2 years and take them on easy short canoe rides. We've put them in duckies and small raft and taken them down easy whitewater and also stick the older ones in the front of the Caption for easy whitewater. This week we had summer camp at our cabin in Arkansas and took them to our swimming hole one the Buffalo. We brought a NRS Maverick duckie and a Wenonah Argosy (14'). We bought small ajustable paddles for the 4,6, and 8 year old. We put the boats in the water and let them decide what they want to do. Even the 4 year old took her turn paddling the canoe. We take the duckie and canoe paddles to their great grandparents pool and turn them loose. It's amazing what they can do. Teach them just a little and then leave them alone and they will ask for help when they want it. Warm short days are the key. We've already begun planning their trip to the Nantahala for next June.

We were at NOC about ten days ago and they had a kids demo going on. We even saw a little tyke followng his dad around in a kids racing kayak at Surfer wave....made me realize it was time to take the grandkids! These kids are the future caretakers of the places we love, if we take them they will love and care for it in the future.

Brent

[Joel_G]

We started my son, Micah, when he was nine in a Fun 1. Thanks to an excellent crew of Arkansas boaters (they know who they are), we brought Micah up in the sport pretty much like you would with any other beginning paddler. It was always a careful balancing act to urge him just a bit beyond his comfort zone, but not so far that fear over-matched the fun.

Thanks to Arkansas' rain dependent rivers and our home at the time being in South Arkansas, we ended up spending lots of time in the pool (weekly roll sessions) and lots of time playing at Rockport. This gave him a really solid set of skills, an intuitive sense of how to deal with pushy water, and the confidence to take on increasing challenges. He first ran Cossatot falls at age eleven.

Now age fifteen, he's a solid class IV boater with a true love of kayaking. More importantly he's learned to approach risk intelligently, which makes being the parent of a teenage boy quite a bit less stressful. I continually see the influence of his experiences on the river manifested in his daily life. When confronted with a dangerous or uncertain situation he does not retreat or become paralyzed by fear. Instead he scouts the situation, assesses the risk, and then either picks his "line" or decides to "walk it".

If you don't read anything else, READ THIS. If they have an interest in it, get your kids on the water. Paddle with folks who know what they're doing. Apply common sense - be rational. Approach the risk in the same way you hope to teach them to handle it.

[tomOzarkVideo]

Great advise all around. The family aspect of paddling was the main draw for us. Tracy begged me to take her on a canoe trip for 2 years before a group of friends took us out together in 2007.. Ever since then, the three of us ( including 11 year old Averie) spend as much time on the water as possible. We put her in a SOT for 2 years and now that she can paddle decently, we'll get her a play runner and start slowly stepping her up to Wolf Pen and Piney. Baby steps.

Everybody benefits from the river.

[Jbyrum]

I started when I was 14 or 15. Wish I found kayaking earlier! I think the best way to introduce him to paddling is to surround him with experienced boaters. Like many sports, the best way to learn is having a coach or mentor that you can observe. I was lucky enough to have several "coaches": Heather, Cowper, Scott. Having a responsible and experienced mentor at your side can prevent you from firing up something you aren't ready for, saving you a trip to the hospital or worse.

[knu2xs]

Heck, I don't remember not being in a boat! Paddling was pretty much a part of life. When my dad graduated from a Mad River Explorer to a really hot new boat for whitewater, a Blue Hole Sunburst, he carved a saddle out of strofoam for me to sit on right in front of him. This lasted until I graduated to my own boat. Big boats were the norm still and a Perception Dancer just did not seem too appealing, so we went for the only small boat at the time, a Hydra Minnow. I paddled the Main Salmon in that boat at 12. By 14 I was paddling everything in a Perception HD-1 (13 foot open canoe). This lasted until 15, when I graduated to a Mohawk Viper 12.

If you really want to see what is possible, check out Sage Donnelley. She is a pint sized diabetic girl from out west who paddles almost everything...and does very well at it. I think she might be eight now...

http://www.sagedonnelly.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[canoe]

Let me remind Joel about a certain old guy that he wrote an essay about when he was a young stout. dale :myday"

[bmartin]

No right age but 10 is certainly not too young or too old. Biggest factor for the level of river might be how strong a swimmer they are and the support paddlers with you.

I had my boys in rec boats when they were strong enough to hold a paddle - probably around 7 or 8 when they hit moving water. Several trips down the broad river in GA which might be similar to the Spring for AR and by age 10 or so took them to section 3 of the Chatooga and we were OK with walking a few of the rapids. When they hit their mid teen years their interest in paddling waned and their interest in girls and friends peaked. Just throwning that out there because your sphere of influence will change a lot in the coming years and no telling if you have a future class IV boater or at least some nice memories with them on the water before they begin discovering their own paths.