Re: [Cal_Boats] Kids, family???

David - Not exactly sure what you're saying . . . that we should go sailing regardless if he can go or not? If so, we do race every Wed and Grandpa gets to see his grandson for a few hours of babysitting. Works well for all of us. He loves the water, loves the beach, loves the boat, loves fish . . . just hates his life jacket. In regard to doing things "just for the kids" I am with you there. There seems to be a lot of "over-parenting" these days with parents "over-booking" their kids in one activity after another. I read the "Saving Sailing" book by Nicholas Hayes and he said that one of the main reasons sailing is dying is that parents and kids aren't doing it as a family but rather the parents are dropping the kids off at sailing class just as they would soccer and the kids are dropping it when they reach college age just as they would other "kids" sports. I grew up in West Texas about as far away from a large body of water as you can get or from any natural geographic feature as far as that goes. So when we took a vacation it almost always involved an 8 hour drive to a big lake or to the mountains. Granted we loved going on vacation where ever it was just to get the Hell outta town but the only time we ever took a vacation for us kids was the one time we went to Six Flags in Dallas. I just want to get him initiated to the boat at an early age so that it is a regular part of his life. Paul In a message dated 9/7/2010 6:42:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, tm… [at] yahoo.com writes: Paul, Children are part of the family but are NOT the primary. They need to be integrated, but cannot be the reason the family does everything. Sailing with young kids is tough. In our family we always put the family first, the kids had to fit into that. We did lots of stuff that we felt were "for the kids", but the family as a whole existed, and they were just a part of that. I know, old thinking. Regards, David Dobbs, Cal29 411 --- On Tue, 9/7/10, pw… [at] aol.com <pw… [at] aol.com> wrote: From: pw… [at] aol.com <pw… [at] aol.com> Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Kids n lifejackets - HELP needed To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 9:21 AM LOL I'd rather not wait a year to take him out though. Paul In a message dated 9/7/2010 9:35:22 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, ge… [at] hotmail.com writes: Same Problem here....somehow 24 months to 36 months solved everything, except the 12 month old is now 24 months. Give it a year and you should be okay. To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com From: he… [at] sbcglobal.net Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2010 12:38:08 -0700 Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Kids n lifejackets - HELP needed try chocolate chip cookies, one every so many minutes he keeps it on (lollipops last too long). Helen From: "pw… [at] aol.com" <pw… [at] aol.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, September 6, 2010 11:20:31 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Kids n lifejackets - HELP needed My 26 month old son LOVES the boat but HATES wearing a life jacket. We have 2 of the same type, one a body glove with the crotch straps etc and the other the same type but with Scooby Doo on it to no avail. I am not exaggerating when I say that if you were in the boat next door you'd swear we were pulling his fingernails out with pliers and lighting splinters in his toenails when we put this on him. We let him scream for 30 min before giving up on it and keeping him below . . with my wife of course. We didn't bribe him with a lollipop but may have to next time if no one had any other tricks they can share. Thanks - Paul Adventure Kwest '80 Cal 39

I basically grew up with sailing as my "sport", but it was a full family activity. We sailed as a family, or at least as father and son. I got a kick out it a few years ago when talking to the owner of a Catalina 38 at the boatyard where we kept NODROG, he was lamenting that they hadn't had as much time to go sailing as a family the past Summer, (he had had a boat there for many years, first an old Columbia Sabre, then a Catalina 25, a Catalina 30, and since 1982... the 38) because their daughters were involved in a soccer team. I had to chuckle about that............ because for me, I never got involved in "kids sports", just never had the time, after all.......... we had a sailboat! Who has time for soccer/baseball/bowling/etc. when you have a sailboat! If I'd played sports I would have had to spend less time sailing, and that just never would have worked for me. I'm 46 now, Dad is 73...... we still spend a lot of time sailing together in the summer, and spend Saturdays in the Spring and Fall (and many during the Winter) going down to work on "the boats" and the family cottage. Maybe it's because I'm still single, but sailing has kept my dad and I close my whole life! My Mom still enjoys boating, but is now quite content to just go out with my dad on his little (14') powerboat for short afternoon or morning rides, my sister has a family now (husband and 2 young boys, 3 and 7 years old) and since they now have a pool at their house....... well, she doesn't get in much sailing (pool is really too small to sail even her 8' dinghy on, <GRIN!>), although my 7-year old nephew is now starting to show interest in sailing with Uncle Rod....... so, who knows? Maybe my Brother-in-Laws SUNFISH will get some use someday? I've taken that boat out a couple of times..... but, haven't used her for the past 2 seasons.....(Brother-in-Law hasn't used the boat since 2002), we just have too many "toys"! Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" 1979 O'DAY DS II #10201 former co-owner (with Dad) of "NODROG" 1970 CAL 21 #285 PS: On the original question about finding a PFD that a youngster will WEAR willingly, perhaps take him to the store to pick out a new PFD that he will like?? OH..... Stearns has a new one, sort-of looks like a pair of "water-wings" with an added panel of foam across the front...... looks silly, but IS USCG-Approved! Not sure that it would really be comfy long-term, but apparently many kids DO like them!! It is called a "Puddle Jumper" and fits 30-50# kids. Cost is in the $25-30.00 range depending on the store. It would be less "confining" than a typical children's vest, a factor that might help? We've been lucky, my clear old nephew gladly wears (and has since he first went boating at 3 or 4) a "cheap" Type II orange PFD. My 3-year old nephew might wear a smaller one of those....... but the one time that he went boating this summer he wore his "swim vest" that he wears in their pool. Unfortunately not USCG-Approved (his Dad sat on the seat next to him, Grampie ran the powerboat slow, and they stayed near shore) although I can't figure out what is different with this vest (looks like a typical small-child Type III including crotch-strap) as compared to a USCG-Approved one? I'm a safety nut, but given the situation........ I felt that it was most important that he was wearing something that he LIKED and was used to, and again......... Were they going out further, or for a longer trip, I'd have preferred that he wear an approved type II. On Tue, 7 Sep 2010 22:00:32 EDT pw… [at] aol.com writes: David - Not exactly sure what you're saying . . . that we should go sailing regardless if he can go or not? If so, we do race every Wed and Grandpa gets to see his grandson for a few hours of babysitting. Works well for all of us. He loves the water, loves the beach, loves the boat, loves fish . . . just hates his life jacket. In regard to doing things "just for the kids" I am with you there. There seems to be a lot of "over-parenting" these days with parents "over-booking" their kids in one activity after another. I read the "Saving Sailing" book by Nicholas Hayes and he said that one of the main reasons sailing is dying is that parents and kids aren't doing it as a family but rather the parents are dropping the kids off at sailing class just as they would soccer and the kids are dropping it when they reach college age just as they would other "kids" sports. I grew up in West Texas about as far away from a large body of water as you can get or from any natural geographic feature as far as that goes. So when we took a vacation it almost always involved an 8 hour drive to a big lake or to the mountains. Granted we loved going on vacation where ever it was just to get the Hell outta town but the only time we ever took a vacation for us kids was the one time we went to Six Flags in Dallas. I just want to get him initiated to the boat at an early age so that it is a regular part of his life. Paul In a message dated 9/7/2010 6:42:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, tm… [at] yahoo.com writes: Paul, Children are part of the family but are NOT the primary. They need to be integrated, but cannot be the reason the family does everything. Sailing with young kids is tough. In our family we always put the family first, the kids had to fit into that. We did lots of stuff that we felt were "for the kids", but the family as a whole existed, and they were just a part of that. I know, old thinking. Regards, David Dobbs, Cal29 411 Staples&#174; Weekly Ad 50&#37; off backpacks, notebooks for 9&#162; & other extreme deals on school supplies http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4c871dd2ed7b44e3efast06duc

> > On the original question about finding a PFD that a youngster will WEAR > willingly, perhaps take him to the store to pick out a new PFD that he will > like?? > You might try reverse psychology and lay out all the choices, tell him we get to pick one, and if he doesn't jump at one, say he should get a particular one. Pick one you know he won't like. Kids that age want to exert their control over their world and at 2 the only thing they can do is say NO, so they do that a lot. Give him the chance to say NO by picking another one. "No, I don't want that one, I want this one." But I still say use a harness if your state allows it as they are safer and more comfortable. Allen

I have may have missed this suggestion already. What we did with our youngest when he reacted the same way to his life jacket, was to take him to a pool, put the life jacket on him then let him float in the pool with it on. He loved it. Then he wanted to wear it all the time. He wanted to go to the boat and go out just so he could wear his life jacket. The downside is that it resulted in him jumping off the boat into the water every time he got the chance. We got really good at man overboard drill. Fortunately, at that point, we were sailing a Thistle on a lake. Much easier to haul him on board the Thistle. Rick Lobb Cal 2-29 “Rebecca Shea” Bellingham, WA From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of pw… [at] aol.com Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 7:01 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Kids, family??? David - Not exactly sure what you're saying . . . that we should go sailing regardless if he can go or not? If so, we do race every Wed and Grandpa gets to see his grandson for a few hours of babysitting. Works well for all of us. He loves the water, loves the beach, loves the boat, loves fish . . . just hates his life jacket. In regard to doing things "just for the kids" I am with you there. There seems to be a lot of "over-parenting" these days with parents "over-booking" their kids in one activity after another. I read the "Saving Sailing" book by Nicholas Hayes and he said that one of the main reasons sailing is dying is that parents and kids aren't doing it as a family but rather the parents are dropping the kids off at sailing class just as they would soccer and the kids are dropping it when they reach college age just as they would other "kids" sports. I grew up in West Texas about as far away from a large body of water as you can get or from any natural geographic feature as far as that goes. So when we took a vacation it almost always involved an 8 hour drive to a big lake or to the mountains. Granted we loved going on vacation where ever it was just to get the Hell outta town but the only time we ever took a vacation for us kids was the one time we went to Six Flags in Dallas. I just want to get him initiated to the boat at an early age so that it is a regular part of his life. Paul In a message dated 9/7/2010 6:42:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, tm… [at] yahoo.com writes: Paul, Children are part of the family but are NOT the primary. They need to be integrated, but cannot be the reason the family does everything. Sailing with young kids is tough. In our family we always put the family first, the kids had to fit into that. We did lots of stuff that we felt were "for the kids", but the family as a whole existed, and they were just a part of that. I know, old thinking. Regards, David Dobbs, Cal29 411 --- On Tue, 9/7/10, pw… [at] aol.com <pw… [at] aol.com> wrote: From: pw… [at] aol.com <pw… [at] aol.com> Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Kids n lifejackets - HELP needed To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 9:21 AM LOL I'd rather not wait a year to take him out though. Paul In a message dated 9/7/2010 9:35:22 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, ge… [at] hotmail.com writes: Same Problem here....somehow 24 months to 36 months solved everything, except the 12 month old is now 24 months. Give it a year and you should be okay. _____ To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com From: he… [at] sbcglobal.net Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2010 12:38:08 -0700 Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Kids n lifejackets - HELP needed try chocolate chip cookies, one every so many minutes he keeps it on (lollipops last too long). Helen _____ From: "pw… [at] aol.com" <pw… [at] aol.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, September 6, 2010 11:20:31 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Kids n lifejackets - HELP needed My 26 month old son LOVES the boat but HATES wearing a life jacket. We have 2 of the same type, one a body glove with the crotch straps etc and the other the same type but with Scooby Doo on it to no avail. I am not exaggerating when I say that if you were in the boat next door you'd swear we were pulling his fingernails out with pliers and lighting splinters in his toenails when we put this on him. We let him scream for 30 min before giving up on it and keeping him below . . with my wife of course. We didn't bribe him with a lollipop but may have to next time if no one had any other tricks they can share. Thanks - Paul Adventure Kwest '80 Cal 39