Ways to Engage Two Young Children ?

[zeehag]

and d o not forget----gotta train em right----
ARGH--EVEN BLACKBEARD HAD TO FOLD HIS CLOTHES AND SHIP RAGS.....





make it fun to keep their interest high...

[Katiejoy]

Hi we sailed extensively with 4 kids and one of the best things to keep them happy was the box of pirate Lego...which we added to at ports with toy shops.Also your little one might enjoy a small inflatable boat wedged in the cockpit and filled with warm bubbly water and empty shampoo bottles etc. when you are anchored or sorting out a mooring. Lucky you....a great adventure ahead.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

We don't have any bluewater passages planned yet, although that's the goal. Kids are amazing, aren't they? I love the way they find themselves in the activities they choose. When we are not underway, they do like dinghy games. I'm looking forward to getting some safety netting and harnesses for them, so that our activities topside are not so anxiety-produing! The little one gets a touch sea-sick in the swell, unfortunately, but I know that sometimes kids grow out of motion sickness. I roll in the minority on computer stuff; options, rather than restrictions, work better for our family. I am excited to meet all these liveaboard families and seeing different approaches and lifestyles!

Kids can become very comfortable on the water quickly. I think parents can project their own fears on the kids. Here is a few shots of another favorite pastime underway.

The boy was 10 and the girl 4. There is a shot of another water kid from an earlier time. I will let you guess who he is...

[SaucySailoress]

Dan - we call that Kiera surfing, named after the kid (on my profile pic) who invented the sport. Or so we thought. But clearly others are at liberty to invent the same games...

[LauderBoy]

Originally Posted by sarafina

A small ocean kayak he could paddle around might be attractive as well. My daughter fell in love with kayaking about that age.

Would second this. You can pick up a used little spitfire kayak pretty cheap. Just let him know it's his and let him explore his heart out with it. Toss in a fishing pole and as he gets older give him some small useful toys for kayaking(I use gps and an hand held vhf for longer trips) and he could even start kayak camping in a lot of areas at some point.

It can really become a lifestyle and the nice thing about it is it's sort of a "all yours" type of thing when you're out there on the yak.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

My kids are 2.5 and 6.5; both boys. We are about to take out 37' boat from Maine to NC. close quarters are fine; we all sleep together on land and the adjustment at sea is to being too FAR apart, not the other way around. Plus, she's roomy for her waterline.

My worries involve keeping everyone engaged and happy on a cruise like this. The little one is too small for board games, and the big one is too small for patience how do I rock this in such a way that my children DON'T say "no freaking way am I living on that thing with you all winter!"?

Sarah

Our kids are 4 (boy) and 6 (girl), have lived aboard for 3+ years. A quick brain dump of what they like to do both underway and inport:

coloring books, drawing, art stuff (stores nicely too)
board games, card games, etc.
Play with Wii/iPad/Leapster
big block legos
read
watch movies
play with matchbox cars
playing with dolls
EATING (pretty much constantly)
wrestling/tickle fights
playing dress up

When at anchor:
fishing
learning to drive dinghy
swimming/jump off stern and bow
cleaning topsides
going to get ice cream
going to parks, playgrounds, etc.

When underway:
hang out in cockpit/dangle feet over the windward side
practice walking around all the lifelines
looking through binos
playing with line/pretending to tie knots
learning to steer boat
monitoring trolling lines
keeping lookout for crab buoys

Frank

[thompsonisland]

I'm glad to hear that mine aren't the only kids who eat ALL THE TIME on board!

[thompsonisland]

I'm wondering about rigging swings (like the bosun's chair); any experience?

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

I'm wondering about rigging swings (like the bosun's chair); any experience?

I forgot to mention the kids really love climbing on the boom when anchored and in port. We've never rigged swings (interesting idea), but we do have a children's climbing harness for going up the mast.

[ctl411]

I have 6 year old twins boy/girl . They love to swing in the chair next to the boat as auto drives I can swing them. Needs to be a fairly calm day steady winds or they get dunked. They like that if the water is warm but on cooler days I just keep them higher. When the were small used to rig up a swing down below. Scrubbing deck underway is also good on a hot day, not much scrubbing gets done but they have fun getting wet.

[thompsonisland]

Originally Posted by ctl411

I have 6 year old twins boy/girl . They love to swing in the chair next to the boat as auto drives I can swing them. Needs to be a fairly calm day steady winds or they get dunked. They like that if the water is warm but on cooler days I just keep them higher. When the were small used to rig up a swing down below. Scrubbing deck underway is also good on a hot day, not much scrubbing gets done but they have fun getting wet.

Can you explain this to me a little? How do you rig the chair? Where?

[ctl411]

I use the spinnaker halyard to hoist. Beam reach or higher to heel the boat and or extra crew to the lee. Swing back and forth between the wife and I bow to stern. Have some pics at home will try to post later. My sister and niece have also taken a ride. The kids I can just hold the line bigger kids need to put on the winch.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by ctl411

I use the spinnaker halyard to hoist. Beam reach or higher to heel the boat and or extra crew to the lee. Swing back and forth between the wife and I bow to stern. Have some pics at home will try to post later. My sister and niece have also taken a ride. The kids I can just hold the line bigger kids need to put on the winch.

I want to do that!!!

; -)

[David_Old_Jersey]

I once was that kid! (both of 'em ).

The secret is...........the shore. Limited only by imagination .........and not just the doing, but the prospect of .

Boats (and the hours on end doing SFA) are boring! - to truly appreciate you need 20+ years of dullness and headbanging in the workplace .

[bobconnie]

Our 4 were 1 boy 3, 2 girls 5&6, and a girl8, back then (at least to my knowage) electronics were not for kids !) so it was books and learning the boat and sailing !! it's pure bliss to have kids that can tie sheep shanks and bowlins on demand!!LOL all I can say is they were all brought up by us, and educated by us(schooling buy mail back then) and by the time the boy was 5 he could steer with the auto pilot, knew his compass, both with numbers and by direction! the girls could do most anything on the boat except Raiseing sails but they could sure drop em ! LOL(don't ask) now these kids are in there 30s except for the boy, they all sail and one has her own boat ! The dingy and the kayac ides are super! ours always loved the dink ! it let them play Pirate, Magellean, ect! and gave them some freedom ! kids adjust to most anything as long as ya pay attention to them and include them in as much as ya can ! They like chores Really it gives them a feeling of growing up ! The best thing we learned about raiseing kids aboard is you are much more involved in their lives then raiseing them ashore ! ours lived aboard till time for college !! and I think we are still more involved with them now then most folks are with there grown and gone kids! just our 2 cents