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Canoeing
with Children
Tips and ideas to help introduce children to the wilderness canoeing
©
Outdoor Adventure Canada
 So
often I hear about people giving up canoeing when they have children.
When we were expecting the arrival of our son I thought we were
going to join the ranks of parents waiting for the children to
get older before taking them on a canoe trip. Canoeing does not
end for parents of young children and there is no need to send
them to the grandparents in order to go tripping. It does change
though; here are some tips and tricks to make canoeing a family
event.
First of all
you'll need to make sure the child has a properly fitted life
jacket. There are even models available for children that are
under a year old. You should let your child wear the life jacket
in a controlled environment such as a pool so that they can learn
to lie back with the jacket on. This way they will get used to
the feeling and are less likely to panic if you ever do capsize.
Take a few
day trips to ensure that they are accustomed to the feeling of
being in a canoe. Very young children often like the motion and
they find it relaxing. Our son would often fall asleep in the
canoe. Small children, under the age of six, should be carried
in and out of the canoe so that they don't cause the boat to tip.
Then you might want to do a canoeing trip or two where you are
fairly close to civilization until you know that they are comfortable.
 If
they have never been camping before it would be a good idea to
set the tent you will use up in the backyard or go camping close
to home so that the child can get used to sleeping in a tent and
in the outdoors.
For school age children it is fun for them to have their own paddle.
You can pick one up at most outdoors stores for under twenty dollars.
Even if they only paddle for a ten minutes at a time the little
ones really feel proud of paddling. When our little boy isn't
paddling he sits in front of the stern paddler, usually his Dad,
on a canoe seat. He plays with small toys and sometimes even falls
asleep. He has his own map, compass and binoculars to play with
too.
In the beginning
you'll want to make sure there aren't any really long portages
on your trips. If your child is an infant you'll have to plan
portaging careful. Most parents I know use a backpack designed
for carrying a child. One person is responsible for the baby and
the other(s) take care of the gear. With children aged four and
up it is a little different. We've taken nieces, nephews and our
own boy canoeing and it amazes me how much the kids embrace portaging.
We take frequently stops to looks at plants, bugs, mushrooms,
rocks and such and I think it is this exploration approach that
seems to make the portages fun.
Campsite safety
is often a concern. Many times you can eliminate many of the potential
hazards by merely choosing the right campsite. Sometimes things
happen and you end up with a site that is less than ideal. This
happened to us on occasion. One particular island site had a very
cliffy side. We brought the canoe up and laid it parallel to the
shore on the cliff side and instructed our little one that he
was not to go beyond the canoe. You can also use marker tape to
section off an area. This works well with school-age children
but not so well with toddlers who are more adventurous.
In the book
Cradle to Canoe the authors, Rolf and Debra Kraiker, recommend
a tether system made by tying a rope between two trees that are
in a safe spot on the campsite and using a second section of rope
with a carabiner attached to each end. One of the carabiners is
attached to the main rope and the other to the child's life jacket.
Then you put the life jacket on the child and this keeps the little
one out of trouble. Remember that you still have to keep a close
eye on the child but this does make it easier to start camp chores.
Biting bugs
can also be an issue. I don't recommend using adult strength DEET
on a child. In fact I prefer to use children's strength DEET as
little as possible. Bug hats and jackets are much better, as well
as long-sleeved shirts and pants. If the bugs are bad tuck their
pants into their socks.
Rainwear is
important. It seems to rain on every single one of our trips.
Have a raincoat or anorak for the child along with rain pants.
A pair of rubber boots is a good idea too. You'd be amazed what
neat things you can find by exploring camp on a rainy day. Keeping
warm and dry is paramount though.
First aid
is important. I make sure I have all the standard first aid items
in my pack but I also bring some Batman band-aids and such. For
some reason the hurt seems lessened when they have a fancy band-aid
on it. I also pack electrolyte replacement crystals and a children's
pain reliever.
 Bedtime
can sometimes be difficult. Our little guy was afraid of the dark.
One of our friends brought along the neon bracelets and other
neon items that you can find at the dollar store. These were amazing.
Not only was he more visible but at bedtime we hung the neon item
from the gear loft in our tent and it acted like a night light.
I was usually the one responsible for bedtime so I would go into
the tent and tell him a story or if my imagination wasn't all
that great I would let him look at the images on the screen of
the digital camera, We'd talk about the photos and the trip and
then he would go to sleep.
Don't be afraid
to take your children on interior canoe trips just tailor the
trip to the child's ability and keep in mind that you will be
creating wonderful memories as a family. As the child becomes
more skilled you can make the trips more challenging.
I highly recommend
purchasing the book I mentioned earlier, Cradle to Canoe by Rolf
and Debra Kraiker as it is an excellent
resource for any parent wanting to canoe with their children.
If you have
any questions please pop into our Discussion
Forum where there are many like people who can offer suggestions
and ideas.
For more articles
please view the archives.
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