Toddlers on the boat

Ok SC family, I need some help.

I have a 16 month old that hasn't been out on the water yet.

She is quick, sneaky & stealthy....

She's too big for a bumbo chair.

I have the Playskool swing to hang from the tower but are there any other options besides holding her??

Some kind of car seat for the boat??

If we have a decent crew it'll be a non-issue but my concern is when there is only a few of us.

My wife calls it "mom brain" but in the blink of an eye, if every one is distracted, she could try to climb overboard.

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The seat from the tower is about the best thing we have found. A friend of ours has used a walker in the past on their boat. worked good but takes up room.
Lots of snacks and water/pedialyte. We block the walk way to the bow so he can't get up there at all. He loves to help drive and honk the horn.
If you don't have to many people a pack and play works well.
We line the floor of the boat with soft coolers, he has already hit his head on the slider frame for pulling the seat back.
Eventually they fall asleep. Even then you need at least one person to watch at all times.
The life jacket its self is pretty restrictive. They have a hard time climbing up on the seats or siting up.

Thats a little young in my experience. He or she will be fine for a few hours but the idea of hanging all day on the boat with a 16 month old is a bad idea. Some babies are better than others...my daughter was more of a lake baby than my son was. We started both of them at age 2, other than that we were fortunate to have Nanny and Pappa close by that would watch them anytime. Good news is they get easier and more enjoyable around 4 1/2 to 5. Now my kids are 9 and almost 12 and they burn all my gas and cut into my surfing time by going over and over and over again.

In my experience young ones like that tend to fall asleep pretty quick on a boat. Both other posters here had good advice, I just disagree with anything that holds them in. This seems like a possible disaster in case of emergency, kinda like why boats don't have seat belts.

Best restraint in the arms of somebody that loves her/him.

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if every one is distracted, she could try to climb overboard.

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This is parental failure, Don't let it happen to you.

Yeah, we know better than to try and take her out for a full day. We figured the first outing would only be a few hours to see how she responds.

To date, Abuela has been more than willing to watch her for us but we don't want to abuse our babysitting privileges [emoji16]

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Originally Posted by jimmsch

Best restraint in the arms of somebody that loves her/him.


This is parental failure, Don't let it happen to you.

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Totally agree. People on Boat Owners United FB group talk about leashing the child to the driver, that seems reckless too.

We'll try rocking the tower swing when she gets tired of being held and give it a try.

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Bring some type of towel or chip bag “clips” with you. You’d be amazed at what you can rig up with clips and towels to keep the sun off them when napping, and the shade helps them sleep longer too!

My 7yo has been boating with me since he was 6months old, he always took the best naps on the boat. Occasionally he still does lol, but only on the boat.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bc248f0cdb.jpg

He was 5.5months old here!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...55de3211c6.jpg

^this summer

Enjoy the time with your little one on the boat as often as you can!

The hat is awesome

I've never been a fan of people that "leash" their kids. But when my son was a toddler, I had one of those plush animal backpacks that had a leash attached to the back... Could be damn simple to put a leash on the life jacket.

Also, the life jackets that aren't the traditional ones that are still USCG approved might be a great option for comfort.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/55f...d&odnBg=ffffff

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/Col...id=500&hei=500
https://www.coleman.com/puddle-jumpe...000001298.html

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Originally Posted by trayson

I've never been a fan of people that "leash" their kids. But when my son was a toddler, I had one of those plush animal backpacks that had a leash attached to the back... Could be damn simple to put a leash on the life jacket.

Also, the life jackets that aren't the traditional ones that are still USCG approved might be a great option for comfort.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/55f...d&odnBg=ffffff

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/Col...id=500&hei=500
https://www.coleman.com/puddle-jumpe...000001298.html

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Thanks Trayson, I wasn't even aware those kind of "floatie" style jackets were USCG approved.

We have a Hyperlite for her but it's got the big extension behind her head....she's not a fan [emoji23]

I think we might try that other style if she meets the weight requirements.

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Originally Posted by z28ke

Bring some type of towel or chip bag “clips” with you. You’d be amazed at what you can rig up with clips and towels to keep the sun off them when napping, and the shade helps them sleep longer too!

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Great idea to turn some towels into sun sails!!

Thanks [emoji1690]

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Originally Posted by trayson

I've never been a fan of people that "leash" their kids. But when my son was a toddler, I had one of those plush animal backpacks that had a leash attached to the back... Could be damn simple to put a leash on the life jacket.

Also, the life jackets that aren't the traditional ones that are still USCG approved might be a great option for comfort.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/55f...d&odnBg=ffffff

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/Col...id=500&hei=500
https://www.coleman.com/puddle-jumpe...000001298.html

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Our 3 year old twins have been wearing this type for a couple years..my daughter was even wearing it to the grocery store and to bed at night. For some reason she was obsessed with hers...

So puddle jumper life jackets are for 30-50 lb kids. She would be a pretty big 16 months old to fall into that so unfortunately I think she is stuck with the hyperlite she already has for now.

The swing from the tower worked best for us if no one wants to hold her constantly. We used it with Nolan and we got a pink one to use for Hailey next summer. If they are not secured in the swing then you will have to watch them like a hawk, no way around it.

I can’t believe it took you 16 months to get her out!

Nolan made his boat debut at 1 week
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a1a4c6919b.jpg (that’s the smallest life jacket we could find, rated for 0-30 lbs. I know only his feet stick out the bottom)

Hailey made her first boat trip at 3 weeks so the jacket fit her a little better. Don’t have a good picture though. You can see her head in the bottom corner. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8238195774.jpg

Nolan enjoyed the swing when he was about a year. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f3030328cf.jpg

We did some full days with Nolan around 20 months or so and he did good. Played until he passed out and we just payed him on the seat in the shade https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...816fa9201c.jpg


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Also get her a hat like one he has here. They come in pink as well and are great for keeping the sun off of their head and neck. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...72276c84a2.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...84402b29e7.jpg


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Originally Posted by rdlangston13

So puddle jumper life jackets are for 30-50 lb kids. She would be a pretty big 16 months old to fall into that so unfortunately I think she is stuck with the hyperlite she already has for now.

The swing from the tower worked best for us if no one wants to hold her constantly. We used it with Nolan and we got a pink one to use for Hailey next summer. If they are not secured in the swing then you will have to watch them like a hawk, no way around it.

I can’t believe it took you 16 months to get her out!

Nolan made his boat debut at 1 week
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a1a4c6919b.jpg (that’s the smallest life jacket we could find, rated for 0-30 lbs. I know only his feet stick out the bottom)

Hailey made her first boat trip at 3 weeks so the jacket fit her a little better. Don’t have a good picture though. You can see her head in the bottom corner. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8238195774.jpg

Nolan enjoyed the swing when he was about a year. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f3030328cf.jpg

We did some full days with Nolan around 20 months or so and he did good. Played until he passed out and we just payed him on the seat in the shade https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...816fa9201c.jpg


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Yeah, she's about 22-23lbs so the puddle jumper jacket is too big.

I guess the hesitation is akin to taking your baby to a restaurant for the first time only 10X worse...if she ain't digging it, you're pretty stuck or you're heading back to the dock.

We would have definitely liked to have taken her out last year but Mama Bear said that was a no-go until she had some swim school.

For all I know, she could love being out on the water just like me but I tend to run scenes of livid temper tantrums in my head [emoji28]

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We had my daughter (14 MO) out for the first time on the new boat over Memorial Day. I put her life jacket on her a few times around the house and let her play in it to try and get used to it. It didn't really bother her around the house but when we got on the boat and put it on her she was not happy for the first 5-10 mins but once we got moving she calmed down very quickly and fell asleep on my wife a few times as well. I made sure I got her a comfortable neoprene life jacket with fleece around the arm holes and neck. She made it a "full day" but I won't lie we have friends with a house on Conroe so she did get a 2.5 hr nap in their media room (cheat code)LOL. All in all she made it like 6 hours on the boat and even went on the tube (very slowly) with my wife, sister-in-law and niece. As you know water, pedialyte, snacks, hat and sunscreen are essential. Some Family members, her cousins & a few toys went a long way too. There is only one way to get them used to it though ;) I had seen the swing on the tower and we are definitely going to try it next time. Hope it goes well and enjoy that time man, it is the best!

We've had our daughter out on the boat since she was 5 months old, she loves it and now it's just second nature. Shade is a must, tinting the windshield helps. We limit her to a few hours a trip, only once or twice has been all day, but we had access to a cruiser or houseboat. The tower swing works in very calm water, but underway, it may bang around everywhere. She loves the wind in her face and playing in the water on the swim platform or a float with a mesh bottom. Don't over think it just have fun!

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Originally Posted by KnoxMojo

We've had our daughter out on the boat since she was 5 months old, she loves it and now it's just second nature. Shade is a must, tinting the windshield helps. We limit her to a few hours a trip, only once or twice has been all day, but we had access to a cruiser or houseboat. The tower swing works in very calm water, but underway, it may bang around everywhere. She loves the wind in her face and playing in the water on the swim platform or a float with a mesh bottom. Don't over think it just have fun!

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Key is to spread the rope out as wide as possible to help eliminate side to side movement. It may still more a lot forward and back but that shouldnt results in banging into anyone.

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Originally Posted by rdlangston13

Key is to spread the rope out as wide as possible to help eliminate side to side movement. It may still more a lot forward and back but that shouldnt results in banging into anyone.

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Great advice, never thought of that, smart cookie you are. Thanks dude!

These ones have a stabilization specifically for water use.
http://www.babysearock.com/index.html

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Originally Posted by Kxmoomba

These ones have a stabilization specifically for water use.
http://www.babysearock.com/index.html

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I'm guessing "stabilization" = bungees instead of rope or webbing. Seems like that wouldn't be terribly hard to retrofit and that a "boucer" chair would already have it built in... (just trying to save a guy from dropping the whole $150, because that seems steep). But yeah, the concept is sound.

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Originally Posted by trayson

I'm guessing "stabilization" = bungees instead of rope or webbing. Seems like that wouldn't be terribly hard to retrofit and that a "boucer" chair would already have it built in... (just trying to save a guy from dropping the whole $150, because that seems steep). But yeah, the concept is sound.

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Yeah, the Playskool one we have was like $25. I'll get some bungees from Harbor Freight [emoji16]

I actually have some extra GatorStep laying around if I wanna pimp the tower swing...

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Originally Posted by Kxmoomba

These ones have a stabilization specifically for water use.
http://www.babysearock.com/index.html

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I am not seeing $100 worth of benefit in that over the $25 baby swing at Academy. It has a seat cushion? His stabilizer looks like a bungy cord. I could drop a 50lb lead wake bag on the floor and attach it to our chair with a bungy and I imagine it would have the same affect.

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Originally Posted by rdlangston13

I am not seeing $100 worth of benefit in that over the $25 baby swing at Academy. It has a seat cushion? His stabilizer looks like a bungy cord. I could drop a 50lb lead wake bag on the floor and attach it to our chair with a bungy and I imagine it would have the same affect.

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Brilliant! Lead Wake bag to anchor the chair and keep the swinging motion in control.

[emoji362][emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]

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How are yall attaching it to the tower? with some loop straps and then running the hooks through those?

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Originally Posted by RC_Hinojosa

Yeah, the Playskool one we have was like $25. I'll get some bungees from Harbor Freight [emoji16]

I actually have some extra GatorStep laying around if I wanna pimp the tower swing...

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My Man! That's what I'm talking about!

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Originally Posted by TXSurf4

How are yall attaching it to the tower? with some loop straps and then running the hooks through those?

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MY old tower was just polished aluminum so i just ran the rope around it and used the hooks to connect it on itself. With the new boat tower being powder coated I was thinking of getting some of those heavy duty rubber bands and wrapping them around the tower and the hooking the hook onto them. Kind of act as a shock absorber and keep the tower from getting scratched.