The Kayak Forum is Sponsored By
|
|
|
| |
Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Teaching Kids to Kayak
Posted By: John Montgomery In Response To: Re: Teaching Kids to Kayak (Brad Farr)
Date: Wednesday, 19 January 2005, at 1:18 p.m.
Thanks, Brad
: Splash dad with the paddle - develops speed and balance.
I like this idea!
: It helps to have a specific spot they can see and shoot for and snacks when they get there. My kids still see a kayak as a way to get somewhere to have fun rather than just enjoying the paddle.
Excellent points. In the past, I've taken my nephew to a place he named "Ship Wreck Beach" because of all the old reef netters on the spit. Having a goal they can see in front of them works like a charm.
: A trip that is to short will be remembered more fondly than one that was to long, Err on the short side and allow plenty of stops for swimming, exploring, and throwing rocks.
Good point.
: My younger daughter is ususlly the first to run out of steam. I try to keep
: an eye on how she is doing and hook up a tow line before she gets to
: tired, that way she can keep paddling in assisted mode instead of pulling
: dead weight.I was wondering about how a kid would react to being towed. I don't think most adults take kindly to the suggestion unless they're all but incapacitated.
: The 1st time they used the boats we had all the kids do wet exits, it is very
: important that they are comfortable with this. Then we worked on adult
: assisted T-rescue to drain and get them back in the boat. This needs to be
: done before any deep water trips and was easy to learn. Now the kids can
: T-rescue each other.Good. As John D. noted in his reply, if a kid uses a spray skirt at all it should be loose enough that they basically fall out of the boat when they go over. As they get older, I think you could tighten it up a little, but only if the kid can demonstrate that they can easily release the skirt themselves during a wet exit.
: If the kids are small enough and the boat stable enough they can re-enter
: un-assisted.Yes, the little monkeys can be quite agile. I think I read somewhere, however, that kid's abdominal muscles take quite a while to develop. Did your daughters have any trouble hoisting themselves up on the back deck when you first got started?
: I don't take my daughters along all the time since I prefer long sightseeing
: trips and they like short play trips - (that continues to change over the
: years) All kids progress at different rates and will usually let you know
: how much they can handle. The nice thing is they can have alot of fun with
: very little skill, then improve technique as they grow.Thanks again for all your input! John
| |
Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board is maintained by Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks with WebBBS 5.12.
|
Kayaking Technique |
|
|
|
