Children and Boats

[Paul@CW]

Oh god I really hope this doesn't start arguments seeing as children are quite an emotive subject but I'm interested in people's views so here goes...

 

As a child I always remember my Dad letting us steer the boat without too much supervision from him and my brother and I always worked the locks while Dad was on board. This probably started around about the age of 10 after we had been on quite a few trips and were always supervised.

 

I now have a 5 year old son who has been on narrowboats each year since he was born and gets to help out at Grandad's boatyard a few times a year. People we come across are impressed with his confidence around the boats and his knowledge of what not to do around the locks. At the moment there is no way I'd let him out of my sight obviously as he is way too young but I am pleased that I am able to give him a feeling of freedom by not clinging to his arm at all times.

 

I'd be interested to hear ohters experiences as a child on the canals or how they look after and educate their own children when on the canals.

[John Orentas]

I regret to say that I have very few childhood memories of the canals or canal boats. I was however brought up within walking distance of the Rochdale Canal, though I doubt if I even knew it's name, even in the 1950's it had already lapsed into total dereliction and decay. I do remember that all the lock gates had been removed and dumped into the chambers, I thought that was odd, but it was to be many decades before I was to learn that the vandalism had been carried out by the owners of the canal, the Rochdale Canal Company in a final (as they thought) act to kill it of as a viable navigation.

 

Public opinion at that time had no particular view of the canals but fortunately it was always cheaper to do nothing rather than to totally destroy them, but for the likes of me there were intriguing places to hang out and explore.

 

It gives me some satisfaction now that I was involved albeit in a microscopic way in the bringing back to life of the Rochdale.

 

My most abiding memory of the canal system was a chance visit to Runcorn in the late fifties with my father. The basin of the terminus of the Runcorn arm of the Bridgewater Canal was very much larger that it is today, it must have been a Sunday for I remember it being full of working narrowboats, so crowded in fact that you could have walked across it in any direction, every one of the boats seemed to have one or two old chaps sat at the stern puffing on their pipes, a magical schene.

 

The lock flight down to the Manchester Ship canal in operation then and we walked down some of the way. The good news is that one of those flights of staircase locks (there used to be two) is likely to be restored in the near future.

Edited January 19, 2005 by John Orentas

[Gary Stacey]

I have a 15 month old daughter who we are going to bring up on a boat. We come in for a lot of stick form some people who consider us to be wreckless by doing so. Some believe we are denying our daughter a normal life, others that we are putting her at risk by being so close to water. I am of the opinion that she will have a relatively unique and fulfilling childhood. I myself spent a number of happy holidays as a child on rented narrowboats. My dad once even had a 23ft cruiser onto which all 6 of us crammed for weekend breaks. Unfortunately finacial pressures meant this boat had to be given up.

 

Gary

[dor]

We started boating when my boys were about 7 & 9. We had more or less permanent use of a 62ft semi-trad, althouhg it wasn't actually ours. By the time he was 10, the elder boy could handle the boat as well as anyone. Unfortunately the younger, now 22, still struggles to get our current boat into a lock without hitting everything in sight!

 

A couple of years agao we were coming back from Ellesmere Port and paired up with a boat to go through the Chester locks. The couple had been crusing the system for 9 months and had three children, about 2, 4 & 6. Whilst the 2yo was generally kept hold of, the other two were left loose. At first we were horrified at the way the kids were moving about near the locks, especially shinning up and down the lock ladders. You think "would I let my 4 year old do that?". But then they were clearly confident in what they were doing. Is it really any worse than some of the things we got up to as kids? There is a tendency now to cocoon our children, and of course the H&S mafia will try and have everything fenced off. I am sure the experience of childhood is the poorer for it. True we may lose one or two less as young children, but would we also lose less as teenagers/young adults if they had a more rounded experience as children?

[Yamanx]

I have a seven year old girl. She loves to help out at the locks and often steers the boat, although not well enough to be left alone just yet.

 

We let her run around free, not out of sight but then not out of sight at any time whether on the boat or not, the only stipulation being that she must wear a life jacket at the locks.

 

After all it can be quite boring for a seven year old on the boat all day and any way in which we can involve her we do.

[David Schweizer]

I started steering a Narrowboat when I was a Teenager, so it has never seemed odd to me that children should be allowed to steer boats. I can well remember children as young as eight or nine steering loaded Working boats in the 1960's. My own Daughter started when she was about ten years old, when she was big enough to see over the top of the cabin when standing on a box. The only problem she had was lack of physical strength when the tiller had to be swung over hard.

 

The main issue is not so much age but size and ability. A long time ago, used to help to instruct Adults and Young people on how to handle a narrowboat, and it was very clear that some people had a natural aptitude whilst others could not tell left from right (sorry Port from Starboard). If I had to make any generalizations, I would say that Young people aquired the basic skills rather more readily than Adults, and Young Women were quicker to learn than young men.

 

I have no problem with Children steering Narrowboats as long as they have been properly trained and are supervised whilst learning, and the same goes for working locks, My daughter, even when she was little, was one of the best lock wheelers have ever had, and I was often irritated when Adults tried to boss her about at locks because they thought they knew better. The point was she knew exactly how our boat behaved in a lock and knew exactly what to do to minimise it banging about. In turn she has trained several of her friends to become equally good. So once again it is down to proper training and appropriate experience before letting them loose on their own.

 

Now my son - that's a different matter - perfectly capable but no interest, and gets bored with boating very quickly.

[Alastair]

See 'Chloe Steers' in Gallery-'Boats'

 

8yrs old, and handling 18ton rather well.

[Paul Evans]

We first took our daughter on a hire boat - just a week - when she was 3 years old. A wet week on the Northern Oxford and Ashby didn't dampen her enthusiasm and she came with us for 3 weeks at a time until she was 17 when she decided that she hated canal holidays and preferred to spend her time at musical festivals - Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds etc. I'm still hoping that she will return to boating and form part of that young, fit, enthusiastic crew I'm looking for to serve me in my dotage.

 

By the time she was 7 she was working narrow locks with some skill, although physical assistance was required on the tougher ones. By the time she was 10 and could see over the roof, she was steering with some confidence when she decided to concentrate. I still remember the look on the OCM's face when she was setting locks ahead on the Wolverhampton flight and saw me walking up the towpath and her daughter steering the boat!

 

The canals gave Laura the opportunity to develop skills and confidence and to see things she would otherwise have missed. Encourage your kids and start them early!

[nbtafelberg]

I live on our boat with my wife and Two kids one 2 and the other 5, both girls.

 

They LOVE it.

 

I do agree with you all. Some people thought they would be in mortal danger, like we would be on some rowing boat.

 

Boats and Roads are similar, once you teach a child they learn. My kids have a good respect of the water. I think there is very few better places for kids to learn than living on a boat.

 

I did it when I was young and it didn't hurt me, then I crewed a lot as a teenager.

[DHutch]

When i was about 5, i can remember watching Emily Anne being pulled out of the mill where she was fitted out, lifted onto the lowloader and carried to worsley where she was lowered in for the first time. And set off on her maiden voyage (being pulled from the towpath)

 

And since then i have spend many happy hours aboard when we the family came to see "granddad", i the beginning i remember the times that i used to walk all the way down the side, though the front hatch, and down onto the bed, and all that way back to the galley, just because i was afraid of passing the engine!! (an open and unshielded steam engine is quite a alarming when your only about at tall as it is!!)

 

Im no 17 and i try and get to the boat as often as possible, either to cruse or to work on it. And I?d say we hit less things with my at the helm than when my granddads steering, my sister (who is 13) jump off and go ahead with my brother (11) to set the locks, and last year my brother spent a week on the boat with my granddad, and apparently (I was at school) he?s pretty good, although his concentration is sometime a little distracted at times.

 

 

daniel

[enigma]

Our children have been helming boats since they were nearly tall enough. No fear and bags of confidence.

 

On a formal note you might ask your insurance company what they think of children steering, I think they may say 16 years of age.

[Webchem]

I think there are some fantastic stories and advice here. Both our kiddies have been boating (currently 18months and 5 years).

 

While the 5 year old is probably now able to totally look after herself, the 18 month year old is a professional vandal, never mind just interested in everything. If we took her at the moment she would need constant supervision.

 

The last time we took them both with the two of us was when the little one was 5 weeks old, and Anna 3, while Anna was tough, she showed a great deal of regard for safety. Megan was very easy, although not quite sure she understood why feeding time had to stop for locks, but it did help us to teach her about waiting (if that makes sense).

 

We are planning to go next summer and take it from there, while I take a group of sixth formers every year, I think my wife (and Anna) are suffering from withdrawal.

 

However did see a teaching job I fancied in Bradford-on-Avon.......

 

Kids and boats are generally great, especially if they are taught respect for the water and not to overstretch themselves.

 

Cheers

Jools

 

[Jon]

As long as they are supervised, I don't see a problem with kids getting involved. Obviously there are dangers, but under proper supervison there should be no real threat.

 

As a minimum though, I would suggest that child who will be near the water should be able to swim to a fairly competent standard, and wear approved buoyancy aids (clearly you won't get a teenager to do this )

 

Jon

[Richard Bustens]

My boating experience compared to some on hear is very limited , but i can not stress to much about safety.

You can not take your eyes of them for a minute,

On the Norfolk broads 25 years ago my son aged about 8-9 fell in so many times one week that we had to go out and set him some new shoes as all the ones we had with us were wet,

on one occasion we were mored up stern on in a line of boats, when i heard a splash, a small child had fallen of the boat next to us and was caught between us and the boat next to us, i ran and pulled him out, no sign of his mum or dad they were in there boat having a drink or something.

When they did come out to get him, just took him away, not even a word of thanks for pulling him out.

So your 5 year old DON'T take your eyes off her.

[Oliver]

Has anyone thought of/tried putting safety lines on the boat and clipping the child to them (like the gear on yachts used to stop Man Overboard during racing)? You can get children's lifejackets with the rings on ready to clip onto the lines.

[John Orentas]

Unlike the obvious dangers on sea boats, I believe the major hazard on canals is not one of drowning but the injuries caused by being trapped between a heavy boat and a very solid bank or wall and that of falling onto a boat in an empty lock.

 

In a sense it is probably better, if a child falls from a boat or bank that he goes into the water wall clear of the boat. A lock without a boat in it, probably presents little or no serious danger to a child equipped with a life-jacket.

 

The best life-jackets must be the permanently inflated or kapok types, the 'automatic' inflating types are only appropriate for rivers and open waterways, safety lines could work on narrowboats but they must be aimed at keeping the child within the confines of the boat, which differs from the priorities at sea.

Edited January 29, 2005 by John Orentas

[Guest]

I have zero experience of boating but with four grandchildren ranging from 6 months to 2½, I have a real interest in the thread. Seems to me that the main area of risk to a child has to be in the locks - turbulent water, undertow, crushed between boat and wall etc. Cant help feeling though, if a kiddie falls into a lock, they have a chance. Stepping in front of a car, even at only 30 mph, they have none! We teach them to cross the road though.

 

Peter

[Oliver]

Spent a long time talking to Crewsave at the Boat Show about suitable life jackets for children - especially toddlers. They echoed what John has said about the permanently inflated ones. They also suggested that for youngsters it was a good idea to have life jackets which supported the head.

[DHutch]

They also suggested that for youngsters it was a good idea to have life jackets which supported the head.

 

yeah,

 

"like jackets" have all/most of the padding at the front, and a head suports. so you hold you on your back, with head up!

 

"boyantcy aids" have the paddin all round, and no head suport, so they just help you to float, be that on you back, or face down!!

 

 

there was a thread on this "Lifejackets, for kids & dogs

 

daniel

[Khayamanzi]

Anyone tried tying them to the chimney on the cabin top like what they used to!!

[Richard Bustens]

Gives a whole new meaning to smoked trout

[Chrissie]

It's a shame when children are wrapped in cotton wool and not allowed to do anything which might involve some risk. They need to be supervised to prevent them harming themselves (or others), but they shouldn't feel they're being watched every second.

 

If they are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them, they will gain confidence and independence which is safer for them in the long run.

[Chrissie]

and of course, we need to be sure that we always follow good safety rules - because they will be watching!

[Khayamanzi]

It's a shame when children are wrapped in cotton wool and not allowed to do anything which might involve some risk.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Interestingly enough an element of 'risk taking' is actually in the National Curriculum. A sub strand of Physical Education is Outdoor and adventurous activities and this states that children should be given the chance to develop an attitude of risk taking within a safe environment. This is developed through activity centers such as PGL but also through the use of indoor PE apparatus.

 

I wonder how long this will be in there before our nanny state decides it leaves us open to too much litigation - and I write this on the day that the news headlines declares that political parties want to hand more control back to schools for poor behaviour: now there's a novel idea!!

 

Fade lights and exit stage left!

[bottle]

Children do not understand DANGER it is a concept and needs to be taught,

 

for instance to say to a child "Don't touch that", does not convey anything. To say,

 

"Don't touch that because ....................." and give a good explanation that the

 

child can understand and comprehend is much better. We all make mistakes and

 

do something dangerous without thinking and we are "adults". The whole idea of

 

life and boating is to be fun, bring children up to be safe and HAPPY.

 

 

bottle