It seems that Spring might have started here on the West Coast of Canada. We have had an unseasonably late start to the nice weather, about 4-6 weeks behind Spring’s usual schedule. Decker is finally able to spend time outside on deck without being rained on or freezing to death. This has gotten me thinking about raising a child on a boat versus on land with easy access to a yard.
Cold weather means much more time indoors. It is so easy to fall into the trap of increasing the screen time, which was a problem for us, including the adults. Decker is home schooled, so he doesn’t even have the outlet of going off to school every day. We tried to hit the park and museums as much as possible. We would make a day of going to pick up supplies in another town by packing snacks, going to a park or playground, or visiting someone, but it was so much work!! I might sound like I am whining, and maybe I am, but so often I wished I had a backyard where he could spend a rainy afternoon mucking about in the mud. It seemed so easy…”Go play in the backyard!”
I wondered if I was a bad parent for not providing that opportunity for him. I tried to remind myself that many children all over the world don’t have a backyard, for many reasons. Yes, he probably spent too much time in front of the screen watching YouTube Kids. I also know that he spent hours building incredible Lego creations with epic battles between Lego mini figures and giant meat-eating dinosaurs. He
used every room in the boat to build bridges for his trains with cranes loading cargo.
While these creations were always ultimately destroyed by a dinosaur or our dog Oakley,
Decker learned about physics, construction, balance, simple machines, weight distribution and more. We went to the library to get books. We watched documentaries about Ancient Egypt, dinosaurs (of course!), wild animals and the ocean. We had in depth discussions where I marveled at his intelligent questions, his unaltered perspective on things, and his funny thoughts.
With the weather finally co-operating, Decker and Oakley have been outside for the past few days. We leave the companion way hatch open, with his lifejacket on, he comes and goes all day long. He and Oakley chase each other around the boat, he waves at everyone who goes by, and will talk the ear off anyone who will stop long enough to feel the guilt of leaving a happy, chatting child.
He has decided to catch ocean critters attached to our sailboat and dingy to create his own little aquariums. He found a few clear plastic containers and calls me outside every three minutes to discuss his latest critter. He has found baby Red Rock and Dungeness crabs, Goosebery jellyfish, a Limpet, Blue Mussels, countless baby shrimp, all types of seaweed, young barnacles, and weird tiny buggy scooting things. We almost had a Bay Pipefish, but he was too fast. We break out one or two of our fish or sea creatures identification books each time he catches something new. His biggest challenge is not letting the dog eat his prized possessions or drink salt water from the aquariums (she is only a puppy and not that smart yet). He has also started using the fishing rod we bought him a couple of years ago for Christmas. He still doesn't like touching "yucky" stuff so he only has a tiny hook, and no bait. He is learning how to hold the rod, and roll it up and down. The most amazing thing about fishing is that actually sits still for two or three minutes!
I guess all of this rambling on is to say that life on board has challenges when raising kids, but it also has great opportunities. It sounds cliché, but it’s true. Decker is forced to entertain himself and we are lucky enough to be part of his creativity. It isn’t all Rainbows and Unicorns, he drives us nuts on an hourly basis. I might need to re-read this in the depths of Winter to remind myself. So many people question if it is possible to raise children on a boat. Short answer: absolutely! It just takes some adaptation and patience.
Please share in the comments below some of the ways your kids entertain themselves while on board. I would love to hear them!
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