Can boating be relaxing and enjoying…..

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CMJ

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…..with a 2 year old on board??

Having spent a couple of years cruising the south coast without children, this year my little’un is now almost a toddler (21months) and so far our trips have been a bit of a struggle (understatement). He’s great off the boat but when on board and limited to either sitting in his buggy or on the flybridge somewhere whilst underway, he just becomes restless leading to tantrums (from both him and the missus!) – not relaxing! And to top it all off , like on cue, he always kicks off massively when tying up, or exiting/entering the marina lock.

When he’s with all of his toddler mates, he always seems to be the most energetic / hyperactive (or ‘spirited’ as wife likes to put it)….which I’m sure only adds to this chaos.

I'm determined to make this work so how can I restore some sort of pleasure to this (asides from leaving him on shore!)? I love the boat (AZ50) and couldn’t dream for anything different – and I’m sure there are others who manage far better on smaller boats……so has anyone got any good tips on how to makes things a little easier with him on board – like mods to the boat and ways to keep him entertained etc?? I’m sure there must be loads of you who have gone (or are going) through the same thing.

Any help really appreciated!!
Thanks:)
Chris
 
CMJ said:
…..with a 2 year old on board??

Having spent a couple of years cruising the south coast without children, this year my little’un is now almost a toddler (21months) and so far our trips have been a bit of a struggle (understatement). He’s great off the boat but when on board and limited to either sitting in his buggy or on the flybridge somewhere whilst underway, he just becomes restless leading to tantrums (from both him and the missus!) – not relaxing! And to top it all off , like on cue, he always kicks off massively when tying up, or exiting/entering the marina lock.

When he’s with all of his toddler mates, he always seems to be the most energetic / hyperactive (or ‘spirited’ as wife likes to put it)….which I’m sure only adds to this chaos.

I'm determined to make this work so how can I restore some sort of pleasure to this (asides from leaving him on shore!)? I love the boat (AZ50) and couldn’t dream for anything different – and I’m sure there are others who manage far better on smaller boats……so has anyone got any good tips on how to makes things a little easier with him on board – like mods to the boat and ways to keep him entertained etc?? I’m sure there must be loads of you who have gone (or are going) through the same thing.

Any help really appreciated!!
Thanks:)
Chris
Click to expand...

This is a million dollar question, so to speak. I'm constantly wondering the same as I have two kids, one just turning three and the younger one two. They like being on the boat, but actually going anywhere is, as you said, far from relaxing. They can't seem to keep their hands off the various levers and buttons and won't sit still for very long. Especially the older one is prone to tantrum when denied of having his way. He is also quite 'spirited'.

Last summer the younger one was easier to handle as she wasn't so mobile. I'm a bit worried about this summer though. So far we have tried to time our trips to their afternoon nap, which has worked ok. On the flybridge we always have cords attached to their life jackets so that they have some freedom of movement but we can still keep them safe.

My brother used to lock his kids safely into the saloon when mooring to make it a bit more stress free. He also tells me not to worry, next year (or year after that) will be easier...

All this "rumba" has taken some shine off the boating part. The enjoyment of preparing for the trip, helming and navigating your boat has become more of a survival game to make it to next port without too much stress...

I'll keep reminding myself that it will only be temporary. Before you know it, your son will be helping with the ropes, etc.
 
CMJ said:
…..with a 2 year old on board??

Having spent a couple of years cruising the south coast without children, this year my little’un is now almost a toddler (21months) and so far our trips have been a bit of a struggle (understatement). He’s great off the boat but when on board and limited to either sitting in his buggy or on the flybridge somewhere whilst underway, he just becomes restless leading to tantrums (from both him and the missus!) – not relaxing! And to top it all off , like on cue, he always kicks off massively when tying up, or exiting/entering the marina lock.

When he’s with all of his toddler mates, he always seems to be the most energetic / hyperactive (or ‘spirited’ as wife likes to put it)….which I’m sure only adds to this chaos.

I'm determined to make this work so how can I restore some sort of pleasure to this (asides from leaving him on shore!)? I love the boat (AZ50) and couldn’t dream for anything different – and I’m sure there are others who manage far better on smaller boats……so has anyone got any good tips on how to makes things a little easier with him on board – like mods to the boat and ways to keep him entertained etc?? I’m sure there must be loads of you who have gone (or are going) through the same thing.

Any help really appreciated!!
Thanks:)
Chris
Click to expand...



I fitted a seat belt in the saloon in order to fit a car chair which my daughter would fall asleep in , it was facing the DVD in case she woke up which she did in locks and I would be in the cockpit with the doors open so she wasnt alone.

The front cabin was dedicated as her play pen/bed.
I used raggie netting from ceiling to the bed so she couldnt fall/climb out.
With the hatch open, swmbo could talk to her as we went through the locks.

When she got bigger 3 we started to use the flybridge and had the same chair up top, although she had grown out of the chair for car accident safety , she still found it incredibly comfortable being strapped in.

Pontoons, you just need a fishing net and crab line/bacon, dont forget the crab races across the bathing platform .

When cruising with other families it helped to put the kids on one boat.
 
Last edited:
I find that boating can both be relaxing & brings enjoyment - it's the parenting, either on board or off, that's the stressful part :D

You just wait until they hit their teens - I'm pretty strict, but my eldest daughter thought she could still throw an impromtu party at our house last weekend while I was working nights & her mother was away.

Forty "kids" & seven policemen later, and I found that my skills at being a dad were being severely tested!
 
CMJ said:
…..with a 2 year old on board??

snip

Any help really appreciated!!
Thanks:)
Chris
Click to expand...

Look forward to any answers, as I've got triplets and have a 29foot raggie. The stakes are high - if I can't make it work, the boat will have to go :-(
 
This time in a childs life is not called the "Terrible Twos" for nothing

From my observations of my three Grandchildren the age of two is the time when their parents were most tempted to sell the kids into slavery:eek: all three of them were monsters at times.:eek:

However, by the age of three the elder two had turned into lovely kids who did as they were asked (Harriet is just comming up for two and can be absolute harridan)

Just bide your time for a while - I guarantee you that it will all calm down as he falls into a boating routine (If not try a straight jacket and a gag)

May
xx
 
An AZ50 is a good size, why don't you ask the Mother in law along to help out , that should help create a relaxed atmosphere ;)
 
DAKA said:
An AZ50 is a good size, why don't you ask the Mother in law along to help out , that should help create a relaxed atmosphere ;)
Click to expand...

Well, the father in law actually helped 2 weeks ago when we went out but it was still utter chaos!! Him, my mum and swmbo all took it in turns to sing to him (and sometimes together - eek!) 'twinkle twinkle little star' trying to get him to sleep but to no avail...

- note the absence of the MIL (he he)
 
poltergeist said:
I find that boating can both be relaxing & brings enjoyment - it's the parenting, either on board or off, that's the stressful part :D

You just wait until they hit their teens - I'm pretty strict, but my eldest daughter thought she could still throw an impromtu party at our house last weekend while I was working nights & her mother was away.

Forty "kids" & seven policemen later, and I found that my skills at being a dad were being severely tested!
Click to expand...

Well mine are 3 & 6....... if thats what I've got to look forward I'll enjoy it whilst they are young!!
 
This is a great thread, i have a 2.5 year old and a 39 week pregnant wife and we have exactly the same issue. He is as good as gold but as soon as it gets to the hard bit or mooring my 30ft boat he is wild!


He also wants to be on the swim platform all the time - not sure the fascination- he doesnt get near it thou!
That's why my boat hardly moves these days, I spend more time pickinicking in the marina than I do taking it out - hoping my wife will regain intrest ones the baby is out.

Chris
 
As above, car seat and DVD worked wonders when they were 18-24 months old. Stopping near some ducks/swans/etc and throwing them some bread was also a great way to entertain them - they quickly learn to say "quack-quack" or whatever you decide to call them.

When they get 24-30 months, you can start with fishing or crabbing. They love dropping it in, pulling it out and checking what they caught - again and again and again!

For the older one, we take some pictures of things that he will see along the way and get him to look out for it e.g. see if you can see this bridge/tower or five red buoys. Or, we turn part of our trip into a treasure hunt - see geocaching.com for a couple of "treasures" to go and find!

My youngest (2.5 years) loves going out on the boat - his favorite DVD is not Noddy but the one with our boating holidays. His favorite activity is going on the tender, either "go fast" or to feed the ducks/swans/etc. When anchored, he just wants to go fishing. The only problem is, he refuses to go to sleep when he is on the boat - which kind of impacts our evening activities. The oldest (5) is different - he falls asleep whenever he hears and engine running and prefers his PSP or watching DVD's for the rest!

When we do close maneuvers, we always clip them on, mostly in the cockpit area, to avoid any issues. Below 24 months, a bottle of milk or something to eat used to work for us.

I think the trick is to do find things that build on, or involve, things that they like e.g. teddies, feeding ducks etc. Of course, they're all different and respond to different things - like my two above!
 
Hi, great advice everyone - thanks so far.

I like the car seat idea and have considered it myself - my thinking being if he's happy to be strapped into the car, then why not strap it onto a seat on the flyridge? The only difference is that he might notice us all pottering around when he's tied up (with gaffer tape over his mouth - acceptable?)

Also like the crab line etc idea for when on the pontoon......

Not sure the DVD thing would work though as there's no DVD on F/B (where we spend most of our time).
 
My boy was on the boat from 6 weeks old. We used to bed him down in a crib on the saloon seating. Luckily he used to drop off to sleep as soon as the engines started. When he was old enough to crawl, I strapped a car seat to the lower helm seat and he spent 2 or 3 seasons cruising like that perfectly happy. He liked to look out when we were travelling. That was fine until he found that kicking the throttle levers whilst the engines were running made Daddy go a funny purple colour. After he was 4 or 5 he wasn't happy to be strapped in a car seat for hours so the only solution was for Mummy to stay below and amuse him with books and toys. A couple of years after that, he was happy to stay in his cabin for trips reading or playing. One of the best things we did was buy a collapsible play pen which we used to set up in the cockpit whenever we adults were sitting in the cockpit. I also increased the height of the cockpit handrails, filled any gaps with netting and had a couple of stainless steel gates made up to stop him crawling off down the side decks.
After starting boating so early and spending so many years boating with his parents, you would think that my son would be a keen boater. Unfortunately he's not. Maybe that will come later
 
Kids and boats

We have a three year old and a five year old and the best thing about it is that they have given me a reason to keep upgrading to bigger boats!
Seriously though, DVD's are great for killing time on longer trips and especially at mooring times. We try to involve the kids wherever possible and let them roam around while underway as they soon learn to hang on! Perhaps I am a bit hands off but they both go rowing in the dingy on a long bit of rope when we are at anchor.
We do lots of eye spy and helping with steering etc which can be a bit fun, though the latter is best done when there is lots of room.
The kids see it rather like a fun car journey and because we always try to do something special at our destination they look forward to going on the boat.
That said it is far from peaceful at times but they are getting easier and easier. Hang in there, we love boating because it IS a family activity -just plan each trip carefully and don't ask too much of them.
 
Some great comments about getting the kids involved, rowing, steering etc. Things most kids won't be doing and better than being wrapped in cotton wool or twiddling their thumbs on Playstations. A proper childhood, doing real World things and very lucky they are. Wonder what their classmates are doing during the Summer hols :)
 
The lovely story in the link below is not quite motor boating with small children, but I am sure it will provide some useful ideas for all parents with little ones about how to manage them at sea.
http://www.selfsteer.com/pdfs/GOB_ND05_Martin.pdf

I first met Dave and Jaja here in Barbados on their wee 25' sailing yacht 21 years ago, and thought at the time that she was a rather small boat for 2 people to live on board.

Bumped into them again 6 years later in Antigua - in the meantime they had been around the world on Direction, produced two children on the way, No. 3 was in the offing, and they were thinking about moving up to a bigger boat - Driver, the boat they subsequently acquired and re-fitted, was all of 33' long.
And they then proceeded to live on board, all 5 of them, in high latitudes (Norway, Iceland, Greenland), for the next few years, even in winter time.

Here is a nice update about them now, living ashore in Maine - http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/A-Sailing-Family-Takes-to-Dry-Land/10253/
 
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