Babies! What do you do with them when fighting a monster!?

[Girica]

To all you parents out there that love to fish with little ones; what do you do with them while your fishing? Specifically toddlers from 1-2ish years who are relentlessly mobile, super curious and clumsy. I'm not going to miss a day on the water, nor is he.

Some ideas I've explored...
- non inflatable life jacket with a lanyard attached to them when they're roaming around the deck. Obvs no hooks/gaffs or anything dangerous within reach.
- strap a car seat or bike seat down on the boat for when you need them pinned down.
- where him on the chest harness (but that is getting increasingly difficult as he gains size).

What are some solutions you have found for keeping it safe and fun for all?

 

[JWS]

Keep the expectations extremely low and pack loads of snacks.

I think my kid was 2 when we got our first boat (16’ harbercraft), and she has always known that when the boats moving you sit on your bum. Crafts, colouring books, and any other activity you can think of to occupy them.

 

[Eden Island]

We started with an open 16' Skookum Sealer with about 15" freeboard. In that setup, one parent either had our daughter in arms or a hand on the loop of her lifejacket.

When she was 4, we moved to 23' Hourston. One of the advantages of this boat is that the cockpit is hip-high so she was fine, unless she wanted to be on the stern seats. Most of the time she was fully occupied with crafts, puzzles and books inside the cabin. Or sleeping.

 

[seabeyond]

Keep the expectations extremely low and pack loads of snacks.

I think my kid was 2 when we got our first boat (16’ harbercraft), and she has always known that when the boats moving you sit on your bum. Crafts, colouring books, and any other activity you can think of to occupy them.

Couldn't agree more with your first comment.

Keep it light and fun. If they associate the boat with not being a fun place now, they are likely to remember that for life.

 

[Dorman Point]

We always kept a Boat Fun Box on board. Filled with books you don’t care about getting wet, colouring books and scrap paper with crayons, matchbox cars, large building blocks, simple games without any small pieces. We used a Rubbermaid type box with a good lid, and changed the contents out as the kids aged. When I finally took it off the boat when the kids were young teens (hadn’t been opened in a number of years and had kind of been forgotten), they wanted to go through it and look at all the drawings they’d done and read the familiar books they remembered so well. That’s when I knew they associated the boat with happy times, like
@seabeyond says.