Empathy List Archives

M

mbgriff@earthlink.net

Fri, May 14, 2004 4:19 PM

To me the dependence on on electronic wonders to keep kids entertained, is
evil! Let him bring his own portable one and his own DVDs (all kids seem to
have them now) if you are unable to be creative and think of ways to keep the
kid involved with boating. He should be taking this cruise to be learning
about boating and the area you are in. If it's the Erie Canal, a quick call or
email to NY will provide you with all kinds of information on the area, its
history etc. Other places also do this, try a local Chamber of Commerce! Buy a
neat looking Journal for the kid to keep. Be sure he has a camera. Teach him
Knots. Give him his own binoculars. Teach him how locks work and why they
exist. Provide a Bird Book. If he likes art give him a sketch book and colored
pencils or water colors. Teach him to steer, learn to 'throw lines' and the
proper way to tie up to a slip. Be sure he has his own road map so he can see
where he is. Teach him to read charts and let him use the sticky arrows to
keep track on a paper chart of passing bouys, bridges, ie progress of the
boat. Let him steer, start reading the RAdar...Make this the trip of a
lifetime for him and also a learning experience, not one where you have to
entertain him!
Have a wonderful time with him!
Marge Griffith
Cinderella
Linssen GS 410

To me the dependence on on electronic wonders to keep kids entertained, is evil! Let him bring his own portable one and his own DVDs (all kids seem to have them now) if you are unable to be creative and think of ways to keep the kid involved with boating. He should be taking this cruise to be learning about boating and the area you are in. If it's the Erie Canal, a quick call or email to NY will provide you with all kinds of information on the area, its history etc. Other places also do this, try a local Chamber of Commerce! Buy a neat looking Journal for the kid to keep. Be sure he has a camera. Teach him Knots. Give him his own binoculars. Teach him how locks work and why they exist. Provide a Bird Book. If he likes art give him a sketch book and colored pencils or water colors. Teach him to steer, learn to 'throw lines' and the proper way to tie up to a slip. Be sure he has his own road map so he can see where he is. Teach him to read charts and let him use the sticky arrows to keep track on a paper chart of passing bouys, bridges, ie progress of the boat. Let him steer, start reading the RAdar...Make this the trip of a lifetime for him and also a learning experience, not one where you have to entertain him! Have a wonderful time with him! Marge Griffith Cinderella Linssen GS 410

MM

Mike Maurice

Fri, May 14, 2004 5:16 PM

mbgriff@earthlink.net
At 12:19 PM 5/14/04 -0400, you wrote:

To me the dependence on on electronic wonders to keep kids entertained, is
evil! Let him bring his own portable one and his own DVDs (all kids seem to
have them now) if you are unable to be creative and think of ways to keep the
kid involved with boating. He should be taking this cruise to be learning
about boating and the area you are in. If it's the Erie Canal, a quick call or
email to NY will provide you with all kinds of information on the area, its
history etc. Other places also do this, try a local Chamber of Commerce! Buy a

If kids are bored aboard the boat it's because they don't have enough to
do. Captain Bligh had a solution to problems like this. There are decks to
scrub, brass to polish, sights to take, bilges to pump, sail to take in
and let out, lookout posts to be manned, floggings to be administered; you
get the idea. If you are still confused about this, go see Captain and
Commander with Russel Crowe. And if you have seen it, "now don't tell me
that wasn't fun".

In other words, put them in charge of something. Put them in charge of the
navigation, the galley, the engine room, the weather forecasting. Give them
the con and make sure they don't run into anything. Put them in charge of
the ship's long boat. Give them a little rope and standby to correct their
mistakes. The older they get, the harder it is to learn, that's your
problem. Don't make the mistake of letting them get old on your watch.

I took my ten year old on a 4 month trip from Nova Scotia to Seattle. By
the time we got to El Salvador he was running the 12 to 4 watch and doing
the collision avoidance by himself. I would get up and look over his
estimates and maneuvering with high speed ships to see how he was doing. He
could do the job better than most adults, some with licenses. Kid's learn
judgement by practice. Give them supervision and room to learn and they
will learn fast enough to put most adults to shame.

If kids are failing, it's because we have failed them. We have met the
enemy and he is us. Master and Commander is pretty realistic and notice
that young boys were doing real jobs. If you wait until you are ready it
will be too late. By then they are too old to learn.

If you think you are not up to the task of teaching them all this, then
that is your problem. Do something about it. It's easier to teach the kids
than the adults, and you know who the adults are.

Regards,
Mike

Capt. Mike Maurice
Wilsonville, Oregon (Portland).

<mbgriff@earthlink.net> At 12:19 PM 5/14/04 -0400, you wrote: >To me the dependence on on electronic wonders to keep kids entertained, is >evil! Let him bring his own portable one and his own DVDs (all kids seem to >have them now) if you are unable to be creative and think of ways to keep the >kid involved with boating. He should be taking this cruise to be learning >about boating and the area you are in. If it's the Erie Canal, a quick call or >email to NY will provide you with all kinds of information on the area, its >history etc. Other places also do this, try a local Chamber of Commerce! Buy a If kids are bored aboard the boat it's because they don't have enough to do. Captain Bligh had a solution to problems like this. There are decks to scrub, brass to polish, sights to take, bilges to pump, sail to take in and let out, lookout posts to be manned, floggings to be administered; you get the idea. If you are still confused about this, go see Captain and Commander with Russel Crowe. And if you have seen it, "now don't tell me that wasn't fun". In other words, put them in charge of something. Put them in charge of the navigation, the galley, the engine room, the weather forecasting. Give them the con and make sure they don't run into anything. Put them in charge of the ship's long boat. Give them a little rope and standby to correct their mistakes. The older they get, the harder it is to learn, that's your problem. Don't make the mistake of letting them get old on your watch. I took my ten year old on a 4 month trip from Nova Scotia to Seattle. By the time we got to El Salvador he was running the 12 to 4 watch and doing the collision avoidance by himself. I would get up and look over his estimates and maneuvering with high speed ships to see how he was doing. He could do the job better than most adults, some with licenses. Kid's learn judgement by practice. Give them supervision and room to learn and they will learn fast enough to put most adults to shame. If kids are failing, it's because we have failed them. We have met the enemy and he is us. Master and Commander is pretty realistic and notice that young boys were doing real jobs. If you wait until you are ready it will be too late. By then they are too old to learn. If you think you are not up to the task of teaching them all this, then that is your problem. Do something about it. It's easier to teach the kids than the adults, and you know who the adults are. Regards, Mike Capt. Mike Maurice Wilsonville, Oregon (Portland).

R

ralph

Sat, May 15, 2004 4:16 AM

If kids are bored aboard the boat it's because they don't have enough to
do.

When my son was ten he knew how to gap plugs and change the oil. By the time
he was twelve he could tune up both engines. He graduated from the
California Maritime Academy and made chief engineer before he was thirty. I
just don't see how anyone can be bored on a blue water operated powerboat
with all the systems and equipment to be monitored, besides holding a course
and keeping an eye out for 24 knot ro/ro's bringing in another load of cars
from Japan. Maybe brown water boating is another story.
Ralph Salerno
M/V ANCORA
"Never sailed either"

If kids are bored aboard the boat it's because they don't have enough to do. When my son was ten he knew how to gap plugs and change the oil. By the time he was twelve he could tune up both engines. He graduated from the California Maritime Academy and made chief engineer before he was thirty. I just don't see how anyone can be bored on a blue water operated powerboat with all the systems and equipment to be monitored, besides holding a course and keeping an eye out for 24 knot ro/ro's bringing in another load of cars from Japan. Maybe brown water boating is another story. Ralph Salerno M/V ANCORA "Never sailed either"

MT

Mike Tellup

Sat, May 15, 2004 1:10 PM

We are currently in the 9th month of a year long cruise with our 3 children
(ages 10, 8 and 7).

We have a 9" TV with no antenna, so videos are the only way to watch TV. I
just checked with the kids to be sure, but so far we have watched a total of
4 (four) non-educational videos. Maybe a half dozen schooling related
videos.

There are a lot of things that children that age can be tasked to do on a
boat. You can see the confidence grow as they become proficient at their
'chores'. It is actually 'fun' for them (exept for maybe washing the
dishes!), which is the wonder of being a child. Just yesterday the whole
crew was out scrubbing down the boat, laughing and having a grand time.

I taught my then 9 year old daughter to plot a course on a chart and
calculate the travel time for us. We then checked it against the laptop
chartplotter/ gps when we actually got to that part of our route.

My other daughter assists me with anchoring and weighing anchor, plus she
assists when I do engine room checks.

My 7 year old son can hand me almost any tool or fastener I ask for, I just
call out the tool/size or fastener type/size and he can get it for me. He
taught my wife how to start/stop the generator and transfer power to the
elec. panel.

All of the kids can start/stop the genset, manage the anchoring/running
lights as necessary. They can read voltages/ amp readings off the link
battery monitor. They can handle lines at the dock and in locks (with
assistance as needed, of course).

As for other 'things to do' on shore, check with local libraries/chamber of
commerce/'weekender' type publications to see what is going on in the area.

There's plenty to do on a boat, it just going through the effort up front to
have some things planned.

But DON'T plan everything! Imagination is a wonderful thing. Give it a
chance to take flight.

Mike Tellup
Party of Five - Cheermen PT 38
Currently anchored in Price River, SC.

----- Original Message -----
From: "ralph" ancora@cox.net
To: trawler-world-list@lists.samurai.com
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 12:16 AM
Subject: Re: T&T: DVDs

If kids are bored aboard the boat it's because they don't have enough to
do.

We are currently in the 9th month of a year long cruise with our 3 children (ages 10, 8 and 7). We have a 9" TV with no antenna, so videos are the only way to watch TV. I just checked with the kids to be sure, but so far we have watched a total of 4 (four) non-educational videos. Maybe a half dozen schooling related videos. There are a lot of things that children that age can be tasked to do on a boat. You can see the confidence grow as they become proficient at their 'chores'. It is actually 'fun' for them (exept for maybe washing the dishes!), which is the wonder of being a child. Just yesterday the whole crew was out scrubbing down the boat, laughing and having a grand time. I taught my then 9 year old daughter to plot a course on a chart and calculate the travel time for us. We then checked it against the laptop chartplotter/ gps when we actually got to that part of our route. My other daughter assists me with anchoring and weighing anchor, plus she assists when I do engine room checks. My 7 year old son can hand me almost any tool or fastener I ask for, I just call out the tool/size or fastener type/size and he can get it for me. He taught my wife how to start/stop the generator and transfer power to the elec. panel. All of the kids can start/stop the genset, manage the anchoring/running lights as necessary. They can read voltages/ amp readings off the link battery monitor. They can handle lines at the dock and in locks (with assistance as needed, of course). As for other 'things to do' on shore, check with local libraries/chamber of commerce/'weekender' type publications to see what is going on in the area. There's plenty to do on a boat, it just going through the effort up front to have some things planned. But DON'T plan everything! Imagination is a wonderful thing. Give it a chance to take flight. Mike Tellup Party of Five - Cheermen PT 38 Currently anchored in Price River, SC. ----- Original Message ----- From: "ralph" <ancora@cox.net> To: <trawler-world-list@lists.samurai.com> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 12:16 AM Subject: Re: T&T: DVDs > If kids are bored aboard the boat it's because they don't have enough to > do.

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DVDs