​Tripping with young kids suggestions?

[Guest]

. I'm looking for something to that will fit our family of four and camping gear

I am quite new to canoe tripping though, so I appreciate the input

Aside from appropriate family canoe selections there are archived threads and entire books written about how to make family canoe tripping enjoyable for all.

https://www.amazon.com/Cradle-Canoe...kmr0&keywords=Macullif+canoeing+with+children

We started our sons tripping at an early age. What-worked advice/suggestions I can remember from those days:

Absolutely get them their own appropriately sized (and weighted) paddle when they are big enough to move to the bow. My sons were bored being mere passengers no matter where seated, but even at 9 or 10 their paddling contribution in the bow was valuable and effective.

Effective and, honestly, sometimes needed. They recognized the value of their paddling contribution when I said “Ok, gimme what you got ‘til we clear this point” and that made them part of the trip. It wasn’t long before I’d rather have them as a paddling partner in the bow than one of my novice friends.

A comfortable kid-sized PFD made a world of difference. That was an expense they will too soon outgrew, and yet still well worth the cost. I’d be unhappy too if forced to wear an uncomfortable PFD while paddling. If you have an outfitter shop nearby take them with you for a test fitting and allow their input on selection.

Make it more about the destination than the getting there. We did a lot of short, easy paddle in camper trips at first, ending at some site where the boys could happily splash about in the water and play in camp. I think that when they came to associate the joy of being there with the occasional chore of getting there they were happier anticipatory and participatory paddlers.

On longer trips that sometimes meant making a few stops en route in to picnic, swim and explore ashore, but I think they quickly gathered the truism that the more work it is to get there the better the site and experience.

Starting with short paddle-in lake trips also affords the easy opportunity to paddle back out if the weather turns ugly or the bugs prove a torment. Or to paddle back to the car for resupply if it is too nice to leave just yet. I have done more of the latter than the former; leaving some extra provisions in the car can’t hurt.

Bring lots of dry kid clothes with you, and leave more in the car. I recall trips where my sons soaked a set of clothes before we even managed to get the canoes off the car at the launch. Well, not just for the kids; a set of dry clean clothes left in the car makes me awfully happy on the ride home as well.

Camp time was largely fun play time (still is), with lots of shallow beach swimming in summer, wandering, exploring and family games. A deck of cards is worth its weight in gold on a rainy tarp sheltered family afternoon.

The lessons about selecting a campsite, rigging a trap and making a fire occur naturally with an observant kid helper, just explain what you are doing, and why. Kids are sponges.

We kept food to the usual, familiar stuff at first. Breakfast cereal, juice, sandwiches, mac & cheese, soup, hot dogs. A novel activity combined with new setting was made more domestic with familiar meals. Do bring the (not at-home familiar) pie irons; kids and pie irons go together like peanut butter and jelly, but are way more fun.

Two safety cautions that come to mind with young paddlers are hydration and sun exposure. Kids don’t realize when they are becoming dehydrated or sunburned until it is too late, so it’s up to you to keep their fluids up and their UV exposure down.

One non-caution; when you bring them back from a trip horribly bug bit, sun burned, scratched, bruised and happy their teachers will not call Social Services. I did worry sometimes.

If they come to enjoy paddling you may eventually arrive at the happy adolescent day when they have their own appropriately-sized solo boat, and later the teenage day when they ask if they can borrow a canoe to take a friend canoeing.

Raising tripper kids makes for a wonderful journey.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Let them play with matches and make a fire . Teach them the right way.
Same for using sharp tools like a knife.

We were young dumb and took a 2.5 year old on a Boundary Waters trip for six days. It rained each of the six days. Sometimes it rained all of the day.

Having a warm dry tent and sleeping bag was essential.. She did some 44 little portages ( we stayed off the big lakes)

 

[Dagger]

"Make it more about the destination than the getting there" hit home. I am more of a paddle all day, and see where we end up kind a guy. My wife and daughter are not. They get more enjoyment mixing it up a bit, swimming, rock climbing, exploring that cove or beach area along the way. To me, one actually has to be in a canoe to be canoe tripping, at least the majority of the time. To the rest of my family the canoe is a good way to get to great places along the way and do all kinds of other stuff besides canoeing. It's all good though, and our daughter has become a good paddler anyways. Over the years she has developed a fine set of outdoor skills as well as a love for all things nature. Her connection to nature becomes especially apparent when we take her friends along, as some of them seem to get their exposure to the outdoors mostly from watching the Discovery or National Geographic channel. On one occasion, the blackberries along the way were ripe, my daughter started picking and eating them like they were going out of style, while her friend asked if they are safe to eat and whether we should wash them first. I don't think she ever had wild blackberries before.
At the end of the day, take your kids out in nature whenever possible. If you can take them out in canoe, even better!

...just some quick additional thoughts...We found it beneficial to have lots of snacks, and something besides paddling for her to do while in the boat. We had books or some of those foldable plastic coated wildlife maps, and we made it a game to spot and identify as many species as possible. At the end of the day we would discuss and compare our findings and observations. An inexpensive pair of binoculars can provide loads of fun, and so can a small toy boat on a string and a stick. It all depends on how old the kids are.

 

[Fitz]

My son was traveling with us to the Maine Woods by the age of 3. He initially would get bored in the canoe, but a small fishing rod and a small paddle quickly relieved that problem. Find a shallow beach camp site. He would play in the shallow water with a pfd on for hours and find all sorts of animals and treasures. They grow up so fast. That kid is 18 now and deciding about his future this year. He is still an active outdoors person (he was up before dawn this morning and bow hunting in the rain) and is not glued to a screen like the rest of his generation.

 

[scoutergriz]

One very important thing to think about is what to do if you flip- My wife took charge of the little one, and I handled the canoe and gear.
My daughter started at 2 months old, those old baby carriers were a godsend; We could put her in one and she'd nap while we paddled, then at camp I'd flip out the back leg and sit her up for feeding. As she got older ,we just bought bigger until about 3, then we switched to a pad on the floor and a cut down plastic chair, that's also when she got her first paddle- a little 24" grey owl.
A small stuffed animal is good, she cuddled with it and used it for a pillow (when it was dry! ) In camp I strung some trail tape around the site and she learned that there was no going past it without one of us. a couple of toy cars and a pail and shovel set were more than enough to keep her busy right up to about 9 or 10 yrs. old, we had whole cities built in the dirt! From 6 on I'd paddle the canoe backwards with her in the bow. by 8 she was learning to paddle solo (I was the ballast at first) Around 6 she started helping with the cooking. My wife and daughter could easily spend an entire rainy afternoon, rehydrating apples, making dough from scratch, and baking a nice pie or upside-down cake in the dutch oven.

 

[stripperguy]

Both of my kids started wilderness canoe trips when they were just about 2 years old. By age 6, they had their own paddles and carried their own gear. By the time the kids were about 8 tears old, we made sure they could self rescue. Practice was disguised as playtime and before they knew it, they had developed some valuable skills.

The early trips were simple and easy, kids don't fully grasp distance...as long as there is entertainment around they're happy. That entertainment was typically catching fish and crayfish, tending the fire (at six?! you betcha!), helping pick the campsite, swimming.
Now, my daughter insists that her kids camp and paddle and fish. My son says the canoe trips are his favorite activity, and he accompanies me on some very adventurous trips.


The key was to keep them amused and never overwhelm them. There's plenty of time to ramp things up. Setting aside my personal desires and watching them enjoy themselves was a tremendously satisfying endeavor.

 

[Guest]

a pail and shovel set were more than enough to keep her busy right up to about 9 or 10 yrs. old, we had whole cities built in the dirt!.

Griz, that brought a smile of memory to me.

When my boys were young we tripped with another family with two similarly toddler age children. Having playmates and another set of watchful parent eyes in camp was a huge boon on trips (not to mention having two racked minivans for self-shuttle).

Quinn, the young daughter of those friends, was happily entertained playing in the shallows with a rubber duck on one trip, tossing rubber ducky out and wading to rescue him, all the while chanting “Ducky, ducky, ducky”.

Unfortunately Ducky lost his little plug and sank irretrievably. Quinn was briefly disconsolate, until she found her little plastic pail. She proceeded to fling her pail around the shallows, chanting “Bucket, bucket, bucket”.

Quinn had a toddler pronunciation problem with the B sound. It came out as a distinct F. She spent hours in the shallows chanting “Fuckit, fuckit, fuckit”.

(I am shocked that anyone would believe that we, as upright and responsible parents, would spend an afternoon laughing at a four year old girl cursing like a sailor with Touretts)

(OK, it still makes me laugh)

 

[Guest]

My son was traveling with us to the Maine Woods by the age of 3. He would play in the shallow water with a pfd on for hours and find all sorts of animals and treasures.

Fitz, we had the same rule about wearing PFD’s even in the shallows. On a warm, sandy shallows sites the boys were sometimes in the water 10 pruney hours a day, coming out only for lunch (remember sunscreen and hydration). All the more reason to spring for a well fitted and comfortable kid sized PFD, even with constant parent overwatch.

Same PFD fit and comfort for capsize and rescue practice. That was a warm water summer camp “game”, both in a tandem with a parent and with their first (and subsequent) solo canoes.

Admittedly that practice was made easier with an empty canoe in calm water, and didn’t really approximate the difficulties of a loaded boat in real capsize conditions. But my sons have since unintentionally swum a time or three from solo canoes (and kayaks), and by then it was not a shockingly unfamiliar event.

...as long as there is entertainment around they're happy. That entertainment was typically catching fish and crayfish, tending the fire (at six?! you betcha!), helping pick the campsite, swimming.

The key was to keep them amused and never overwhelm them.

Part of keeping them appropriately amused (and learning) was taking a break from familiar home entertainment activities and accessories. Beyond a deck of cards and a bucket or ball it was all creative make-do.

Erecting “fairy house” villages in the woods using sticks, twigs and leaves. Especially the kid’s explanation of who lived and worked where. The poor fairies lived in poorly constructed substandard housing and worked in the mine (hole under a tree). There were farmers with fields and some palatial fairy house estates as well, complete with gravel paved paths through ornate gardens and tiny tree landscaping. It made for an interesting life impressions from the mind of 8 year olds.

Building small cairns and throwing rocks to knock them down. Excellent game if you are caught windbound bored ashore for a few hours. I spent half my childhood chucking rocks or dirt clods on the farm, and I’m glad my sons got to experience that rudimentary joy.

Making an increasingly involved miniature golf course and carving downed wood clubs. We had a couple golf balls from the backwoods bocce set and it made for another fantastic all-ages game. The kids did the course layout, which evolved over a couple days. The windmill hole was especially tricky.

Making (removable) backwoods swings from a length of rope and a convenient overhung limb. I highly recommend that when camped amongst trees with stout overhung limbs. No harder than slinging a food bag line and way more fun!

Suspending a hammock from such an overhead rope is fun too, but I would not recommend twisting the occupied hammock up 100 turns or so and letting it spin out. That rotational speed is beautiful with an ice dancer, not so much with a twirl vomiting kid.

10 pieces of trash. The last game we play, to this day, after packing up camp is each finding 10 pieces of trash. We keep a clean camp, and pick up what we see while we are there, so finding 10 tiny pieces of trash each is akin to an Easter Egg hunt where the prizes are twist ties and bread clips, bits of rope, bottle caps or, bonus, an old tent stake.

Most memorable multi-day camp game ever. Squirrel-a-vision 2000
(From back in the heyday of rec.boats.paddle)

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!s...nce/rec.boats.paddle/2BmOi1CCD0Y/APqe7H7tdUsJ

Note: Whether you have kids along or not write that crap down soon after it happens and the memory is vivid.