You have no idea how much that gets me thinking about my little guy and hoping he loves paddling as much as I do and looking forward to seeing the kind of paddler he will evolve into having been around kayaks since the day he was born. He's been watching kayak vids with me since he was a baby and some of his first words were "kayak - helmet- bump your head." It would be great to see him tearing it up like that. Rainen turns 5 in August. When he saw me getting ready for my last river run, I was going to go to the store for food for the dry bag and said I had to go out. He said, "Papa, I have stuff, I will take care of it for you" and he assembled my lunch from his supplies - all within his reach in the kitchen: two juice boxes, a cheese string and a granola bar. Then he says, "When will I be big enough to come?"
Question for any parents out there who want to share. When did your kids start ww paddling and what worked great in terms of their progression as paddlers and what would you do differently, if anything, in hindsight.
He's beein the pool since he was 5 months old, loves the water, taught himself to dog paddle and swim underwater last summer before he was 4. I rent a Fun1 from time to time for him to use as a pool toy and basically just have fun with it - no structure. I take him canoeing as well. He has his own paddle. He's been down to the pumphouse to see slalom. Right now the plan is just making it all play and exposing him to different boats in the water and letting his own physicality, natural curiousity and motivation direct what happens.
