Parental Pointers for Safe Family Boating with Kids
Boating with your family can be a delightful, memorable, and rewarding experience. It’s also an excellent way to let your kids appreciate nature and the activity itself. If you’re reading this, there’s a big chance that you’re planning your summer vacation or family getaway with the kids, and you want to make sure that everyone’s able to enjoy it to its full extent, knowing that their safety is guaranteed.
So, before you start looking up boat rentals in Grand Lake, OK, you must be familiar with these essential safety tips when boating with children.
Weather Check
It would be a bummer to cancel your much-anticipated family boating trip, but it’s necessary to do so if weather conditions seem unsafe. So make sure that you also consider checking the weather forecast before scheduling the tour or making a reservation for a boat rental. Even if the weather seems to be beautiful, it’s still best to come prepared by bringing along dry blankets and a change of clothes for everyone, especially the kids — who can get cold quick or even suffer from hypothermia after swimming or getting wet.
Life Jackets
This really goes without saying, but it’s still worth emphasizing the importance of life jackets on board. Everyone should have a life jacket, and kids should have one that is Coast Guard-approved and are of the right size for them. Children should wear their life jackets while on the boat at all times, so you should never remove them for the sake of a social media photo-op.
Childproofing
Similar to childproofing your house, childproofing the boat entails covering or removing any sharp items and objects, as well as making sure that there isn’t any clutter on the floor that can cause children to trip while on the boat.
CPR Training is a Must
Way before you book your rentals, you and your partner must already know CPR. Even if you’ll be joined by someone who knows CPR or if you’re hiring a guide who would be manning the boat (that also knows CPR), it’s still recommended that you undergo training yourselves. Knowing CPR, as well as basic first aid, can provide you peace of mind when you’re taking your kids on your boating trip.
Sign Up for Swimming Lessons
As for the kids, make sure that they undergo early swimming lessons before having them on a boat. Even if you don’t plan on letting them take a swim, it’s still vital for them to know how to do so in case of an emergency.
Bonus: Baby On Board
If you’re bringing a baby along for the trip, you have to exercise extra precaution. Most boats don’t have the boat equivalent of a booster seat for your car, but you can try to look for marine-grade baby seats to keep your infant safe and secure for the trip. But even if you don’t have one of those, make sure that your infant sits securely on your lap and is held for the entire duration.
The Takeaway
If you’ve noticed, the basic boating safety tips are pretty much common sense, but sometimes we tend to forget even the most obvious of safety precautions due to the excitement. So make sure that you keep this list handy, write it down if you have to, and let it serve as a checklist when you’re off to embark on your family’s nautical adventure.
