Infants on board

[Epsmith19]

Hi All- My wife and I are expecting our 1st in March '22. For you parents out there at what age did you start taking your kids out?

 

[troy_bwell]

We are new boaters but all my kids have had a blast this summer, 2,4,6! We are having baby #4 at Christmas so I’ll let you know how it is with a baby. I think once they are 4-6 months and can sit up well enough they should be able to wear a life jacket. We will put that to the test this spring! I’ve seen some nice tower baby swing setups that I’m dying to try too!

 

[mspis65]

Found this on the inter-web.

Your baby should not ride on a boat – including rowboats, kayaks, motorboats, and sailboats – until he weighs at least 18 pounds and can wear a snug-fitting personal flotation device (PFD), according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The average weight baby reaches 18 pounds at about 7 months for boys, and 9 months for girls

 

[RobbieO]

My grandaughter is 3 months old and weighs 14 lbs. She has a Body Glove Type II life preserver that fits snug. She has 2 more weeks to gain 4 lbs. before we put her on board for the first time.

 

[2kwik4u]

My youngest has been on the water since 6wks old or so. Born April 2nd, on the water around the middle of May or so. Oldest was in the water from about the same time, but had a break between 3-6 when we didn't have a boat.

LOTS of time at anchor. Feeding, sleeping, diaper changes, etc. Almost ZERO WOT, too much noise and mom doesn't like it.

You need a good infant vest. Get an inexpensive one that meets USCG specs. They'll outgrow it in MONTHS.

Get shade. Lots of shade. I use TWO Anchorshade-II's from TaylorMade. One in the bow and one on the stern shades the whole boat with the bimini deployed.

Grab a USB rechargable fan, and some spring clips. I'll link some when I get back to a PC. Helps keep the wee one cool in the summer. Well worth the small cash outlay.

Take extra beach towels to make a pallet on the floor for sleeping. Once the eat and get snuggly in the warm summer months they'll sleep in no time.

If you can swing it;find a sitter to take with you. Honest to God this saved our sanity the first year. Our neighbors got a boat and their 20yr old daughter LOVED just sitting on our boat with the infant. She would nap in the shade with the little one and we could float with the adults and get a few minutes of "normal" back in our lives. Really helped our mental health to get a break from the constant work of an infant. Totally worth it.

When you get to the ramp from home and then back to the ramp from the water. Infant is last out of the A/C in the truck and first back in. Make sure your tow vehicle can sit and idle with the A/C on so the little one can rest in their seat while you unpack/repack for the tow. You really need dependable equipment here.

Hearing protection if you can get them to wear it. Boats on plane are loud, even a set of soft/fluffy earmuffs will protect them better than nothing. They only get one set of ears, protect them if they'll let you.

Here's some pics. Click for larger images
This is 4mo old. Sept 2018


Also 4mo old.


And of course, I love sharing this one. 16mo or so.

 

[RobbieO]

My youngest has been on the water since 6wks old or so. Born April 2nd, on the water around the middle of May or so. Oldest was in the water from about the same time, but had a break between 3-6 when we didn't have a boat.

LOTS of time at anchor. Feeding, sleeping, diaper changes, etc. Almost ZERO WOT, too much noise and mom doesn't like it.

You need a good infant vest. Get an inexpensive one that meets USCG specs. They'll outgrow it in MONTHS.

Get shade. Lots of shade. I use TWO Anchorshade-II's from TaylorMade. One in the bow and one on the stern shades the whole boat with the bimini deployed.

Grab a USB rechargable fan, and some spring clips. I'll link some when I get back to a PC. Helps keep the wee one cool in the summer. Well worth the small cash outlay.

Take extra beach towels to make a pallet on the floor for sleeping. Once the eat and get snuggly in the warm summer months they'll sleep in no time.

If you can swing it;find a sitter to take with you. Honest to God this saved our sanity the first year. Our neighbors got a boat and their 20yr old daughter LOVED just sitting on our boat with the infant. She would nap in the shade with the little one and we could float with the adults and get a few minutes of "normal" back in our lives. Really helped our mental health to get a break from the constant work of an infant. Totally worth it.

When you get to the ramp from home and then back to the ramp from the water. Infant is last out of the A/C in the truck and first back in. Make sure your tow vehicle can sit and idle with the A/C on so the little one can rest in their seat while you unpack/repack for the tow. You really need dependable equipment here.

Hearing protection if you can get them to wear it. Boats on plane are loud, even a set of soft/fluffy earmuffs will protect them better than nothing. They only get one set of ears, protect them if they'll let you.

Here's some pics. Click for larger images
This is 4mo old. Sept 2018
View attachment 162053

Also 4mo old.
View attachment 162054

And of course, I love sharing this one. 16mo or so.
View attachment 162055

We will be finding a good beach on the lake. I have an EZ-Up and a large beach sportsbrella as well. Plenty of beach towels etc. Thanks for the heads up. She is too young for suncreen so she'll be well shaded. I like the baby tube with the shade!

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

We started at 6 months. Everything above is great advice, we used the bow filler cushions and set up a beach tent in the bow for nap time. Worked well.

 

[AlvinV]

We started bringing our youngest at slightly over 1 y/o. She learned to nap very quickly on board!

 

[tabbibus]

We had ours at about 4 months in. I'll try and find some pictures later.