Kayak & Canoe Tips for Kids

Hey there, my name is Matthes and I’m happy to share some valuable tips about paddling with children in this guest article for Kanu-Online. Spending time together with your children on the water can become a wonderful, bonding and unforgettable adventure. However, there are a few important things you should keep in mind beforehand.

7 tips for canoeing with children

1. Safety while paddling – the right life jacket for your child

Starting straight away with the annoying topic? Well, safety is absolutely essential when canoeing or kayaking – especially with children. Life jackets are a must. Small children should always wear a life jacket with head support that keeps them safely afloat even if they lose consciousness. These jackets are also suitable for babies. Once children can swim confidently, you can switch to a regular kids’ buoyancy aid. These usually look much cooler, which means older children are often happier to wear them in a kayak. If you ever capsize, you need to react immediately and get the children, the boat and your equipment out of the water. In such situations, it’s reassuring not to worry about your own buoyancy as well. That’s why wearing life jackets should also be mandatory for adults. Not to mention setting a good example. Nobody wants a beautiful paddling trip to turn into a lifelong nightmare. So please take this seriously and get your child a proper life jacket for kayaking. And don’t see this as preachy advice, but rather as a sincere and well-intentioned recommendation from a fellow paddler.

2. Choose suitable distances for each stage

Plan your canoe trip with children in a way that allows for enough breaks. It’s also a good idea to choose stopping points with enough space for the kids to run around, ideally even with a nearby playground. Children have to sit relatively still in a canoe for long periods of time, so having opportunities to move around is important. Start with shorter distances for the first trip and gradually increase the length of your tours. This keeps motivation high and helps children get used to longer outings. My own children started with short tours on calm rivers and small trips on lakes close to the shore. Nowadays, we also enjoy longer multi-day paddling adventures including overnight stays in a tent.

3. Keep them entertained

To avoid boredom, make sure there’s enough entertainment on board. Toys like water pistols can instantly make the trip more fun. But be careful – if one of the paddlers doesn’t want to get wet, they can also lead to conflicts. Binoculars are a fantastic way to explore the surroundings and discover local wildlife and nature in more detail. Even simple things from nature can keep children entertained. Stones collected beforehand can be thrown into the water along the way, and a simple stick is perfect for splashing around and poking in the water. A printed river map stored safely in a waterproof case can even turn children into little captains. However, favourite toys are probably better left at home – or at least made floatable beforehand. I’m speaking from painful experience here ...

4. Let children paddle too

Give your children a paddle and let them actively join in. Even if it sometimes disrupts your paddling rhythm. It makes children feel like part of the adventure, and they’ll be proud to have actively contributed to your journey. In “more dangerous” sections such as locks or small rapids, children should stop paddling and bring the paddle back into the boat. Poking around in the water with the paddle is also not a good idea. The paddle blade can quickly twist in a way that could, in the worst case, lever the child out of the boat or even flip the kayak. For those kinds of activities, as already mentioned above, a simple stick is much more suitable. Don’t make the mistake of planning children in as fully-fledged paddling partners. Their motivation to help paddle can disappear quickly, and that’s completely fine. If they feel like helping, they’re welcome to join in – but it should never be an obligation.

5. Bring enough food and drinks

Good snacks are also essential for keeping everyone in a good mood on board. Besides plenty of water, healthy snacks such as cut fruit and vegetables are ideal. Even a simple sandwich can work wonders. Small sweets can also help brighten the mood. Of course, every family probably has its own rules about what and how much sugary food comes on board. And trust me – the first serious hunger usually appears just a few hundred metres after setting off.

6. Don’t forget sun protection

Sun protection is especially important on the water. Depending on the position of the sun, rivers and lakes often offer very little shade, even when there are trees along the shore. Children should therefore wear plenty of sunscreen and definitely a hat or cap to protect them from sunstroke. A thin towel placed over the legs or shoulders can also help protect the body from the sun now and then. And of course, all of this applies to adults as well!

7. Be well prepared

Be prepared for all eventualities. Bring dry spare clothing packed waterproof in a drybag. Weatherproof clothing is always a good idea too. Sometimes a rain shower appears despite the forecast. Lucky are those who packed a rain jacket. Or a warm jumper in case it gets colder or shadier than expected. A canoe trip with freezing or soaked children is rarely relaxing. A first aid kit should always be part of travelling with children anyway. You almost always need a plaster at some point. In general, when travelling with children, it’s better to bring one thing too many than one too few.

And at what age can children start kayaking?

Well, that mainly depends on you and your own gut feeling. Do you feel safe on the water yourself? Have you practised capsizing and do you know what to do in such a situation? There’s no general age for children in a canoe or kayak. Our daughter sat in a kayak for the first time at one and a half years old. On her mother’s lap, on a lake very close to the shore. She only paddled her own kayak relatively late, at the age of 9. There was a practical reason for that: it wasn’t until then that we got the Gumotex Swing 1, a solo kayak suitable for children. But be warned – ever since then, she prefers paddling alone and only gets into the tandem kayak under protest … 😉

Which inflatable canoes & kayaks are suitable for children and families?

I don’t have much experience with canoes (higher bench seating and single-blade paddles), as I mainly move in the world of kayaks with double paddles. In this category, there are many suitable inflatable boats for families. Stability is especially important. Children will almost certainly move around and climb about while on the water. In those moments, you’ll be glad to sit in a stable kayak. We decided on two Gumotex Seawave kayaks as our family fleet. With one adult and one child in each kayak, we’ve had nothing but great experiences, even on multi-day tours. If you want maximum stability, the Gumotex Thaya is definitely worth a look. Thanks to its large side tubes and stable drop-stitch floor, it’s the most stable kayak in the Gumotex range.

The boats from the Zelgear Spark series are also very stable on the water. With the Spark 520, you can even fit the whole family in one boat with space for up to four people. For our family, however, the flexibility of tandem kayaks was exactly right. In this size category, the Spark 450 would be the ideal choice from Zelgear, and I only recently spent three days paddling in it together with one of my children. There isn’t really a dedicated children’s kayak in the inflatable kayak segment.

However, there are boats that children can paddle on their own. The Gumotex Twist 1 and the Gumotex Swing 1 are good options here. My clear recommendation goes to the Swing 1. Compared to the Twist, it has noticeably better paddling characteristics. My daughter was able to control the Swing well at the age of 9 and could even manage longer stages accompanied by adults. My son first tried the Swing at the age of 5. He paddled around aimlessly on a swimming lake, which actually worked quite well. But a guided trip on flowing water with him alone in the Swing would definitely have been too early at that age. Since the Swing 1 isn’t purely a children’s kayak, it also has another big advantage: dad enjoys paddling it from time to time as well.

Conclusion on canoe and kayak tips for children

I hope these tips help you prepare for paddling trips with children and make them both safe and fun. Despite all preparations, small conflicts can of course still happen from time to time. When they do, just stay calm – that happens in every family.

Thanks a lot for reading, and I wish you and your family plenty of fun and wonderful moments together on the water during your next paddling adventure!

Matthes