Boating With Children
If you want an amazing way to bond with your family in the great outdoors, get a boat! Boating is an ideal activity for families with kids, because the possibilities for fun activities are so numerous: pleasure cruising that ends in ice cream at the marina, swimming and riding inner tubes, learning to fish, navigating the boat using a map and compass, and so much more.
But bringing your children out on the water can be challenging if they aren’t adequately prepared for it. Because you want to keep your kids safe and happy, it’s important to pack some extra supplies and take a few essential steps before you leave the dock.
The Harbor (Boat & Yacht Sales), located in Branson, is proud to be your Missouri boat dealer. To help you enjoy boating trips with your family, we’ve provided some of our best tips for boating with children below.
Teach Kids To Swim
Infant water classes can help children as young as a year old become comfortable with the water. Formal swim lessons can start around the age of four, depending on your child’s development. If kids seem frightened of the water and haven’t yet mastered how to float, how to hold their breath, how to doggy-paddle and perform basic swim strokes, then they shouldn’t be going on a boat yet! As children grow, you can teach them more complicated swimming strokes and how to deal with dangerous water conditions.
Acclimate Kids To Wearing Life Jackets
Every child needs to wear a life jacket on board a boat, and they should be wearing it from dock to dock in case they fall into the lake while boarding. Purchase child-sized life jackets that fit your children well and test them out at the local swimming pool to make sure they don’t slip off. Crotch straps and buoyant head rests are good features for children’s life jackets to have. Attach a whistle to the jacket that children can blow in case of an emergency, to get an adult’s attention.
Encourage every teen and adult to wear their own life jacket, since this helps to model good safety behavior for kids—they’re liable to ask why they have to wear a life jacket when an older sibling doesn't, so it’s best that everyone complies.
Review Safety Rules
It’s important that every child knows the boat’s safety rules and that you review them before leaving the dock. Teach them how important it is to never run or jump around on the boat, to keep their arms and legs inside of it at all times, how to throw out a life ring for someone, and why they should not disturb the operator while the boat is in motion.
Pack Plenty of Supplies
Finally, there are a number of things you’ll want to have on hand for your kids’ well-being and enjoyment on the water.
Children will catch cold much sooner than adults will, and temperatures out on the water are significantly chillier than those on land. Pack warm layers and lots of blankets so that kids can immediately change into dry clothing and wrap up when they get out of the water.
Make sure to have a cooler full of snacks and drinks on hand, like sandwiches, string cheese, yogurt tubes, fresh fruit, crackers, juice boxes, milk cartons or bottled water. Hungry kids are angry kids, so keeping them fed will ensure a more peaceful atmosphere.
Stock your first-aid kit with bandages, tweezers, gauze, antibacterial ointments, aloe vera, bug spray, sunscreen, antacids, painkillers and anything else that may be necessary, like asthma inhalers.
Have some entertainment options on hand for when gazing out at the water gets boring. Kids don’t really want to sit and chat; they want to have fun! A Bluetooth speaker connected to a device that plays music, which lets the kids control the playlist so they can put their favorite songs on during the trip. Coloring books with marine themes can be another diversion. Play-Doh, simple card games, fidget spinners and Slinkies can all keep hands and minds occupied. You could even involve kids in the navigational aspect of boating, or have them assist you when it’s time to come into the dock by standing watch or holding the ropes ready.
Come on down to our Branson location to check out our full selection of family-friendly boats for sale. The Harbor welcomes all of our Show-Me State customers, including those in the cities of Springfield and Kansas City, Missouri.