[HeaveToo]

I waited until mine was a little older.

 

[BK922]

Beanbag chair for mom and kid riding. Keeps them low center of gravity and comfortable. And for naps at the sandbar. Adjustable angle umbrella combined with a sea sucker extra strength rod holder means you can get shade anywhere on the boat, umbrella won’t fly away in the wind, and you don’t have to drill any holes to mount it! Keep it short, always have a slow route home for when the kid is grumpy and doesn’t wanna go fast. Also I found he doesn’t like the wind in his eyes so face him backwards running or get sunglasses he will wear.

 

[Mike tries to fish]

The above +extra baby wipes. And get the kid enrolled in an infant rescue swim class as soon as you can.

I have a 5 month old and we were just looking into ISR for the same reasons.

I'm shocked at the price though. Our neighborhood have a couple instructors that offer it at the neighborhood pool and it's 800-1100 dollars depending how long the infant needs to grasp it.

 

[Jared T.]

If you have space, a pack and play with a crib sheet over the top works awesome to keep the sun off of them when boat is stopped and chilling.

 

[Surffshr]

I have a 5 month old and we were just looking into ISR for the same reasons.

I'm shocked at the price though. Our neighborhood have a couple instructors that offer it at the neighborhood pool and it's 800-1100 dollars depending how long the infant needs to grasp it.

Our experience was amazing. With a front yard pool and backyard canal, we knew that once she became a toddler it was time to swim. Couldn’t really talk even. She was so proud when she graduated and I was fckn traumatized from watching the graduation “swim”. Mama wouldn’t even come to it. I still take her to swim as she absolutely loves it. Much less traumatizing now other than the meets that she just started going to.

The other thing I did as soon as we were going together with just two was teach her what to do if I fell off the boat (probably still need to teach my wife). We would practice it at the dock and I’d drop it sometimes when we were running. Essentially 1. Take the wheel and throttle and put the throttle in neutral. 2. Pick up mic on radio and say you need help 3. Look for me in the water and watch for help. While still very young she could do this and was fairly adept at slow speed boat handling which she wanted to do. Never tested it but I felt she would at least know something to do if it ever happened.
The look she gave me at the end of our test run when I told her I was buying this Lostmen and selling my Shallow Sport (which she grew up on).

 

[KnotHome]

Keep in mind that the most likely place to fall in is transiting between the boat and dock. Your best bet is putting the life on your little one in the parking lot and passing her from parent on the dock to parent in the boat rather than holding while stepping from 1 to the other.
Those infant life jackets rated for less than 30 pounds don’t have a listed minimum, but you will see in reviews that the baby really needs to be 8 or more. That was the case for us, so my daughter didn’t make it out until she was a month and a half.

We started her on the bigger boats at the club I work for, but she made the transition to the skiff easy enough. By 6 months she usually let us stay out 4 hours or so.
The life jacket pictured worked fine, and I liked the cloth support for her back when she was really little, but the decorative paint/ ink started marking our clothes after a year or so. We switched to a Stearns infant model that is easier to put on her and for her to get around in.
Stearns Infant Classic Series Vest https://a.co/d/i1OMNin

 

[Ckirk57]

This is how I did it early on-

 

[Goose]

Congrats on the baby! I actually just went through this myself a couple years ago (daughter will turn 3 in June).

Personally, I say bring the baby on the boat, once she's about 6 months old! When you do though, this is not a normal boating trip. This is a slow going very thought out trip. If you get up on plane at all be prepared to come off frequently to mitigate impacts from other wakes or waves. Keep it as close to the marina/launch as you can, the day will be cut short for any number of reasons. Bring shade (a Bimini top works well) and something soft to lounge in. Depending on age of the kiddo, and if your wife is exclusively breast feeding, bring plenty of snacks, pouches (that's what we call those little to go fruit/veggie squeeze things), formula/milk, and some water. Also, unless changing a diaper or nursing this PFD stays on all times.

As a father to a toddler, and having plenty of friends with toddlers, there's no such thing as a well behaved toddler. They may sit there and listen better than many adults, however, their attention span is extremely short and their imagination is running rampant. You want this to be fun and make her beg to go out on the boat with daddy, not be scared by some angry adult yelling at her.

 

[Kamtam]

As a father to a toddler, and having plenty of friends with toddlers, there's no such thing as a well behaved toddler. They may sit there and listen better than many adults, however, their attention span is extremely short and their imagination is running rampant. You want this to be fun and make her beg to go out on the boat with daddy, not be scared by some angry adult yelling at her.

This last bit is also super important and probably the hardest to do

 

[mwolaver]

I see a couple of pix with the child wearing sunglasses. I was already wondering about this. I think eye protection is super important and we always had my daughter wearing them.

 

[Goose]

I see a couple of pix with the child wearing sunglasses. I was already wondering about this. I think eye protection is super important and we always had my daughter wearing them.

wearing Sunny’s is important but less so for kiddos. Generally speaking, the lenses if their eyes are ver flexible and they’re able to handle bright lights better. It’s why so many kids want to sit close to the TV.

 

[Jeb]

PFD for sure our daughter sleeps like a rock in it, umbrella and like some have had before lots I repeat lots of snacks. also a huge help if you have the space is a bean bag. Of course pick your days the slop with mom and bay = bad day/short trip.

 

[hipshot]

You do you. I'll do me. I'll also give real advice and give what I want to. Its an open forum. He can make his decision on what he wants to do. Funny since you know so much I guess you would be suprised to learn what you said above didnt happen. Both my kids have been with me as babies with my wife and been checked probably 2 times with each and no marine patrol ever cared about my 4 week old being in a life jacket. So, you can politley kiss my ass for calling me ignorant and not respond to my posts.

Amazing………….

 

[Trevlanz]

Bean bag with mom for sure. Had a buddy borrow mine last summer to take his friend and newish born on the boat, he said it worked great takes out the impact when hitting wake or chop

I think the kid was a lil older than newborn though

 

[Hoang]

My wife holds my daughter throughout the time being on the boat. We've taken her out after we felt it was the right time which was after she started walking at around 8-9 months and the right weather too. She's going to be 3 this May and is still rocking the same PFD. I actually have 2 PFDs for her on board.

I would also suggest using sunblock for infants and toddlers for the sake of not having skin cancer.

 

[millerrep]

I took mine at two, all safety gear, some comfort gear, bucket hat for the little ones. I stayed close to land, but not the ramp. Figured I go to shore in a storm event and radio if needed. Somewhere I have photos of my two boys when they were 2 and 4 on Middle Cape ENP. They still remember as do I when I was 6 fishing Flamingo.

I was site seeing a month or so ago at the ramp Stuart with my wife, a 20 22ft bay boat beaches with maybe 7 on it. They were picking up friends, they were all 25 yo or so, a few kids one was a toddler, 2 ish. The cute kids in skimpy suits soon turn to shit, when the toddler go up on the front deck and crawled right over board, in 10 inches of water, sand shore and bottom, looked like no harm done. Never let them out of you sight !!

 

[barnburner4444]

Great info so far. I did not have my micro at the time my son was born but we took him out regularly starting a few months old on bay boat. Things that were important:
First and foremost remember things are different. Its all about them.
Start with short trips and pick good weather days
Sunblock and tons of shade.
Snacks and toys especially when they get older. My sons favorite toy is a few bait fish in livewell.
We pretty much went on short rides and let him play on sandbar. Went for another ride to another sandbar...
I always found most challenging part was at ramp and what to do with them and all the stuff you now have to bring. Once we were underway, things were easy.


I try not to tell people how to parent, but I always offer this advice - especially if your on this site yas ou prob spend a lot of time in and around the water. Get your kid in ISR swim classes as soon as you can. We did it around 6-7 months with my son and he is 6 now and insanely confortable in the water. Whoever said that accidents will mostly happen at dock is spot on. My son sprinted off a seawall in Keys when he saw me open my bait well when he was about 2...Popped right up in his float like nothing happened. Worth its weight in gold!

 

[Panama]

Congrats! Like others have said start early and expect the trips to be short. Our first trip was all of about 15 minutes lol. Mom and baby in a bean bag worked best for us as well. We figured out after our first trip that golf cart rides really helps them get used to the wind in the face. I bought a seasucker rod holder and use that to move an umbrella around the boat as needed when we are stopped.

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are expecting our first child and are trying to figure out a safe way to take her on the boat/fishing with us. I was thinking that figuring out a way to secure a baby carrier would be great. Has anyone done something like this? Any pictures are advice of good ways to do this would be great. We have a 17' Maverick HPX-V

Buddy of mine put the kid in a big deep cooler lined with foam, strapped to the deck, with the lid bungeed up as a wind screen. A piece gauzy fabric strategically taped for sunscreen/tent. We’d hand him a hooked-up rod and he’d fight the fish standing up in the box. He’s college age now, and we still call him “Cooler Baby”. Oh, he’s a fishin’ machine.

 

[James Humphrey]

Congratulations, we waited till they were a toddlers. Alot of good advice above.
Shade, short trips, ice and a small towel in the cooler. (Things can go south quick when kids get hot).
I had a boat barbie. Lived in one of the rod holders. Never came off the boat. Even when I had charters.

The guys on the dock said I always had 1 hot blonde on the boat.
She stayed on the boat till they graduated highschool. More as a bow spirt after the kids were in elementary school.

 

[Ben Sheppard]

Lots of great advice and great pictures. Several have talked about head and neck support. Consider consulting with the pediatrician. On our boat, when towing in the bike cart or when taking skiing our doctor provided good advice and guidance to avoid head or neck events.