Keeping young kids occupied while sailing

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gyoungs

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My wife and I sail with our 2 kids aged 3.5 and 4.5 Even after a short period of time (1/2 hour) the toys we have brought with us lose their appeal and fighting / 'harness tug of war' ensues down below. Any ideas for keeping the kids entertained while sailing could greatly increase the family’s enjoyment of time on the water.. a lady we met on the pontoon said she got her kids to make boats out of bottles and tow them behind the boat (not under motor!) That sounds like a good idea. Got any others? G
 
Don't underestimate how much your kids appreciate sailing with you. They will remember it for the rest of their lives with appreciation. yes of course they get bored. The best trick is to involve them as early as possible in runninng the boat. Let them steer, let them feel like they are making decisions that affect everyone. Same goes for wife or any visitors.
You can have the satisfaction of being responsible and really in charge while letting everyone else think they have the job. The trick is to watch and be carefull while knowing how far the situation can deteriate before you need to intervene. A little less than perfect sailing won't hurt anyone but of course you must be experienced and skilled enough to control without controlling.
My two sons (they started at a younger age than yours) now love the boat and are infact more skilled than me. I just go along for the company. Enjoy your kids while you have em Plenty of time for sailing later. olewill
 
Tending a mackerel line kept ours quiet for long periods, but be prepared for having to deal with mackerel by the sack-full on the occasional day when the conditions are right and they are biting!

When they get a bit older, Travel Scrabble (magnetic board) is a Godsend - useful for rainy days too for the whole family.
 
We found with our two that sailing was limited to half a day, with at least a day ashore between trips (its only for a few seasons!). We had a bilge keeler, which meant we could stay on the beach even at mealtimes: greatest 'ploy' was to dig a sea wall round the boat against the incoming tide.... my back still aches to remember it!

And DONT allow assorted crustacea aboard! If crabs escape below, the entire family will be up till midnight evicting them from assorted remote corners you never even knew your boat had! "But I can HEAR one under my bunk"

As they got older Computers were the abiding passion (still are, and making more money at it each year than I ever dreamed of, but thats another story). Pre laptop days, elaborate rig ups with the Speccie and Electron to make them work off the ships 12v supply, via portable tellies. Advance warning required of an engine start - 'Dad you've just crashed my computer AGAIN!' would be the indignant cry up the companionway if I dared start the engine without pre-booking the time!

Fond memories of first attempts at helming with No2 - feet planted firmly apart hanging on grimly to the tiller - facing AFT! - "But I cant see over the cabin roof forward Dad" - at least he had got the hang of reciprocal bearings.... and was steering by a mark ASTERN!
 
I have photos of my two boys ...... from early age up to teens .....

The biggest smiles are in those photo's .......

I let them helm as soon as they could hold the tiller. I involved them in everything .... counting the anchor chain as it went out !! Guessing how much was out ! Mackerel lines ...

Dinghy - let 'em try ---- OK so you may be all over the shop and late to that important pint etc. - but it's time you cannot get back and never wasted ....

On board during passage ... get them to do 'jobs' that are 'important' - sound important !
 
We have just come back from 2 weeks on the boat with a 5 yr old. The best kit was the 12v portable DVD player, especially 11 hrs from Brixham to Weymouth, but I forget how many times that Incredibles was played. It does keep their mind of the quartering sea and sea sickness. We did strongly control its use ie. raining and long passages.
 
Claudia Myatt's Log Book for children is available from the RYA which will teach the kids exactly what's going on, and give them a record of the cruise. Agree with the above comment about getting them to sail, helm etc. If they know what's going on, they'll take an interest.
 
TV, Video, DVDs (Kiddies movies/cartoons), Ice cream and jelly, plenty of "pop" and marshmallows. They are either busy watching the telly or are in their bunks too sick to bother anyone. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
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"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
 
At anchor I taught ours contract bridge but they then thrashed self and wiife at it. Under sail, the usual numptie stuff DVD's and playstation are okay - esp if you have better gear on board than at home, hee hee.

I have also got some excellent photos of the kids blowing into a foresail as punishment for squabbling down below. The boat did actually go about half a knot faster, and I still wonder which was funniest - them blowing... or the rest of us in the cockpit wondering whether we should be helping out with a bit more blowing...
 
Agree... DVD's work well.... also lots of little jobs that they 'own'... like motoring cones, anchor balls, and tidying up the cockpit sheets... mine for some reason love coiling ropes!...

Also, don't be afraid of starting them too young on the basics.... another thing that occupies quite a bit of time on board is identifying marks, and then finding them on the charts..... especially good in the evenings or at dawn when they can 'count' the light characteristics.... full family chants of "one thousand, two thousand...." my eldest who is now 9 is fully up to speed on chart notation... and knows day shapes and light characteristics better than I do!

We also do a lot of knot tying competitions..... teach them how to tie a bowline, and then set them off tying strings of 'em.......

Like the idea about making boats out of bottles... might try that one.....

Also, we do add plenty of stops... especially to anchorages with beaches....

Finally, it sounds daft.... (in fact it sounds awful...), but ours adore a family singalong in the cockpit.... thank god my grandparents forced me to learn all the old WW2 songs..... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
My post is going to be not very politically correct according to some posts here, but we don't allow DVD's and computer games on the boat.

Our children are a little older now, but they both adore sailing - we came back from a month cruise yesterday.

When they were small, sailing was limited to short bursts with lots of time on the beach etc etc. A typical trip was across the bay from Plymouth to Cawsand to get Fish and Chips. They NEVER sailed across the channel - or any long passages that might have been rough and sick and put them off sailing.

They were involved in sailing the boat in as many ways as possible. If you really have to make long passages with very young children, then games and other similar activities are perhaps the only option. Why not try some audio books. Our son has nearly the whole Harry Potter series read by Stephen Fry and will spend hours listening to the tapes and reading the book at the same time. Somehoe this activity doesn't jar on the sensibilities of my teacher SWMBO as the idea of him playing computer games.

Ultimately - as others have said, involve them in running the boat! Our daughter is still cross that we now have a roller reefing genoa and she doesn't have to go on the foredeck to hank on sails! Our son is keen on the fishing thing and loves to be taxi driver in the dinghy. They were not allowed the o/b for a number of years and a big treat was being allowed to row the dinghy round the anchorage.

We often meet other families whose children are allowed to play computer games/watch DVD's on passage. Ours would too if given half a chance, but they have few complaints now.

Perhaps the bottom line is that you have to modify your sailing to suit the family if you want them to end up loving it as well?

I will ask daughter if she would like to comment! (Uncensored...)
 
Stories on cd or tape (it kept both myself and brother from fighting on long drives to the south of France for our annual holidays. Although being in the days before having a walkman Mum and Dad nearly murdered us for playing the Asterix the Gaul tape several times a day)!
Board games are partically good although the mate of the boat I was on this year foolishly taught his girlfriend's young cousins cribbage and after a couple of games they were beating him! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif (you have been warned).
Also just giving the kids a sense of responbility and their own little jobs around the boat no matter how mundane will keep them amused for hours.
 
Not allowing DVD\'s

Yep that seems rather mean - as your post tacitly admits. Kids aren't more or less intelligent/sociable as a result of watching DVDs. The main lesson they learn is that their parents are miserable gits, rather than a bit of a laugh. There is a need for some rules on boats, but "no DVD's" isn't one of them.
 
Re: Not allowing DVD\'s

Hmm - been called many things but not miserable so and so. I think what we (and the children) have come to abhor is the idea that passage making can be made more palatable by a mindless watching of a small screen watching DVDs or playing games. We have to ration our son's use of his X box at home, or he would sit in front of the screen ALL DAY. (I know because he tries to if given half a chance).

Sorry if you don't agree with our policy. I said it wouldn't be PC in this thread, but I believe very strongly that minds are not enlarged by some electronics!.

Having said all that, we still try not to make passages too long. For the teenagers, its the arriving and what they do when they are there that is just as interesting as the getting there. We do play games (Scrabble and Trionimoes) were popular last month. Its getting worrying as I don't win much any more. Threats of mutinee if we don't play after supper: we have to bribe them by going out for a dessert ashore.
 
Re: Not allowing DVD\'s

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Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity

Have your say here....
 
Re: Not allowing DVD\'s

Hm. the earlier post implied that they wd *very* much like to watch DVD's but now you say they abhor it. So sorry about the personal stuff but - here you are now eh? Anyway i spose if they have an x-box you must be okay.

But erm, rather strangely, you're fine about them having an x-box at home to take their mind of useless homework etc but on board the boat oh dearie me the very idea of anything OTHER than sailing, well, that would never do. Is it that you really really want them to enjoy what you enjoy, become passionate as you do?

In any event - although sailing of course is a pleasant pastime and (to a moderate extent) enlarges the mind, it is far from clear that (as your rule stipulates) it is an invariably more superior pastime such that (some) onboard playing of electronic games must be outlawed.

Indeed, one might say that sailing *doesn't* enlarge the mind very much at all - because your policy may have coerced them into thinking in the same way as you do? Where's the progress in that?
 
Re: Not allowing DVD\'s

Who's to say what are "correct" activities for children, anyway ? I spent large part of formative years in a darkened room typing in 1500line programs out of a magazine into a VIC-20, then failing to save the result onto a cassette tape. Drove parents mad, who couldn't see any potential in computers. Parents attempted other distractions (cycling, boating in small RIB), but ultimately failed to produce a well rounded individual as now have career in IT. You can't win em all. Fairly certain that careers for project gotham racing experts are thin on the ground, these days, tho.

dv.
 
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