would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

mil & family are going on their boats for fathers day and have asked us to go. dh and I are very uncomfortable with bringing not only our 15 month old but especially our 6 week old newborn. for some reason they don't see why we are not okay with it. are we alone here? maybe we just think differently? would you?

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

I would be more concerned about your 15 month old since she's probably walking. I would go with a 6 week old, I just just be sure to keep LO out of the direct sunlight.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

No, I wouldn't.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

No way.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Nope!!

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Nope I wouldnt

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Definitely not!

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Sailboat, no. The reason being if the boat is on a keel & you have to hold on, you're only holding on to the baby with one hand, not supporting the head at all.

Powerboat, also no way. The air flying in the babies face, hitting other boat's wakes.

IMO, there is no reason to do it outside of having to flee Long Island & not being able to use a car.

A 15 month old would be a nightmare. I had my 8 & 10 year old on a boat - with lifejackets. All they wanted to to was walk around. Not worth it.

Message edited 6/7/2012 10:55:53 AM.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Nope!!
and really just for head support. there will be bouncing etc and that is not ok for their necks

Message edited 6/26/2012 2:34:38 PM.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

No way, not worth the risk. especially on a holiday when every yahoo under the sun is out on the water!

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

No, and your ILs shouldnt need a reason why you say NO.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Definetly no!

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Not a chance. And I wouldn't even explain myself to them.

To me it is more of a hassle than anything, and I highly doubt the day would be enjoyable with a newborn and watching a toddler like a hawk.

Message edited 6/8/2012 6:45:49 PM.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Nope!

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

I wouldn't just because you can't put a life jacket on a 6 week old. I'm sure you won't crash or the boat won't leak, etc but you never know so why chance it. My neighbor's boat has sunk twice and it's a nice boat and they did extensive repairs after the first time... boats are always breaking down and needing work.

We have a boat and DS was 10-12 months last summer and we even took it out in Oct when it was freakishly warm that one weekend so he would have been around 14 months and he loved it. He sat very still in my lap with his life jacket on and looked around when he wasn't falling asleep, he slept most of the time.

Message edited 6/7/2012 12:37:46 PM.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

i am the most relaxed parent in the world (at least i think so) but i would not take a 6 week old on any kind of boat (not even a cruise ship)

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

I guess I am in the minority.

I would have brought DS on a boat right away.

We brought him out Memorial Day weekend to the air show at Jones Beach. He loved it. He was 4 mons.

I am one of those parents that took my DS out right away where ever

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

No.
We took our youngest out right away, bu she stayed in the car seat.

And I would not explain myself to my il's

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

I wouldnt for a few reasons. Ive never seen a life jacket that small and that would be a must for me. The amount of sun that reflects off the water could be too much even if you're in the shade. And with a 15 month old to throw into the mix I would think at that point it would be more of a hassle then what it's worth.

And a simple "Because we dont want to." should be all the explaining you should have to do to your IL's.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Depends on the boat. When my kids were that age our boat was 26 feet and I would not ave taken them on it at that age. From around 6 months on it was fair game though.

Our current boat is much bigger and has a really large cabin so I would not have a problem with taking a newborn on it if the newborn was in the cabin. We could fit aback and play down there and stuff. Even now when our kids, or our friends kids too, are on it they spend most of the time playing downstairs.

So it would really depend on the size and type of boat.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

They don't make life jackets to fit smaller than 3 months of age. Even at 9 months. The life jacket is very big on my dd and we tried about 5 different brands on her. She is just not comfortable wearing it. So when she goes on the boat it is for a short trip. My first dd didn't exactly enjoy the boat until she was around 2- because of the life jacket. Even on my 30 ft boat with full cabin- I would never put a child on a boat without wearing a flotation device the whole time. You never know what could happen. Even when they are in the cabin we have them wear the jackets. I also could not imagine holding a 6 week old while on a boat, because they have no neck control. It is advised that children are never strapped in infant carseats when on a boat because if they go overboard they will sink immediately.

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

I wouldn't even bring my 3 yo on a boat

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

Bottom line is you need to do what you are comfortable doing. As is evident by this post people have offering levels of comfort and all that matters is your level of comfort.

For instance, I am comfortable with our children not wearing life jackets in the cabin of our 40 ft boat ( I am talking about if we are docked or tied to the mooring, or have the anchor in). However, we also have a 22 ft Whaler and on that they must always wear a life jacket. (and yes my DH is crazy about boats - I know we sound insane).

Re: would you bring your 6 week old on a boat??

NO! children need to be 20 pounds before they are allowed to be on a boat (check the coast guard website)