My youngest daughter Pippi has been begging me to allow her to try paddle boarding for the past few years. Finally, I deemed her a strong enough swimmer to allow her to try a real paddle boarding lesson, on Okanagan Lake. Pippi is able to swim out to the swimming area buoy with me and back this year.
I don’t allow my kids to do deep water sports until they are strong swimmers (Okanagan Lake is deep: 760 feet in some areas with crevices of undetermined depths on the lake floor). I know many parents think it’s okay for their marginal swimmers to be out in deep water if they’re wearing a life jacket but I disagree. If children can’t swim well, they shouldn’t be in deep water.
I thank Nicole from Kelowna Beach Rentals for Pippi’s awesome lesson. Pippi loved paddle boarding!
I was impressed by Pippi’s balance; she paddled for the entire hour and didn’t fall off her board once! As part of the lesson, she jumped off several times in order to practice getting back on. Afterward, Pippi said her arms were a little sore—it’s a big deal holding onto that paddle and steering for an hour (especially for little arms).
I love water sports that use your own steam to get around the lake such as paddle boarding and sailing (great exercise and so much fun). I recently tried paddle board yoga and that was a lot of fun too.
I wish paddle boards weren’t so much money to purchase. Even human-powered sports are expensive (skis, paddle boards, bikes); next season, I want to rent a paddle board for the entire summer.
One of the beautiful things about children is that they don’t really care about how they look as long as they’re comfortable. Pippi grabbed the first bathing suit she found and put it on for the day. It turned out to be a hand-me-down from her older sisters and about 3 sizes too big. When wet, it bagged down to nearly her knees but she didn’t seem to care, so I didn’t care.
Sandra Hart
Way to go Pippi!
mixhartMix Hart
🙂
Tanya
I bought my board at Costco. It wasn’t too bad for price. It’s lasted me well and held up to some crazy stuff from rapids to rocks. Was just in the Okanagan for a week. You probably wouldn’t have approved of my son jumping off the bridge in OK Falls in his life jacket. (deep water and novice swimmer.)
May I ask, with your opinion RE kids and deep water, how do you feel about kids riding in canoes, kayaks, etc. with their parents in deep water. My son has been riding in our family’s tandem kayak for a couple of years now and he’s definitely a novice swimmer. I’ve honestly never heard anybody suggest before that kids shouldn’t be out of shallow water until they can swim well (even with a life jacket on.) – hence, curious on your thoughts RE canoe trips with kids where water is always deep and families will even do overnight trips together.
Mix Hart
Hi Tanya,
I’ll look into Costco for paddle boards. About the deep water: Of course, I too have had my kids in boats/canoes/kayaks (in little life jackets) before they could swim–it’s unavoidable if you want to be the kind of family that canoes etc. To clarify my issue with kids in deep water, my concern has to do with children participating in solo water sports in deep water. I wouldn’t allow my older daughters to take sailing lessons until they passed level six in swim lessons because accidents happen and kids (adults too) panic. I think any child who is participating in solo deep water sports such as windsurfing, sailing, snorkelling, tubing down rivers, surfing, paddle boarding etc., needs to be a strong swimmer. Because although they might be with a group, essentially, they are in control of where they go in/on the water and river/ocean currents are sometimes fierce, lakes too during windy conditions. If an accident happens, sometimes, the only hope of survival that the child has is the knowledge and skill to swim to shore.
Tanya
Thanks for clarifying. Our son does solo paddling but he is never alone. For me, it’s less about the depth of water (honestly, it’s safer to SUP on deep water than it is to run a shallow river with boulders, sweepers, etc. – and I hurt myself on one this summer when I fell off in super shallow water and hit a boulder) than it is about other safety precautions. For example, my son does not paddle on a lake with motor boats, he always wears a PFD, he never paddles out alone, we don’t go out with him at sunset or in the dark, etc. For me, personally, there are a LOT of factors to consider when I look at water safety. But, if we were on a small, quiet lake, with no motor boats, on a beautiful sunny day, in summer with no wind, and my son were to take out his own kayak, I wouldn’t worry in the slightest – provided I paddled next to him. Worst case scenario, he falls in and I yank him out or he crawls on to my board.
Mix Hart
I’m impressed that you paddle board on rivers. You must be good. I’m finding good old Okanagan Lake about my speed for now…though, I’d love to SUP on the ocean someday soon.
Tanya
Where I’m from most people SUP rivers rather than lakes. Both are glacial in temperature and the rivers move. Hard not to love moving water. But it means we have to be very serious about the sport. We don’t wear bikinis, we carry throw ropes, wear PFDS, and never paddle alone. We take safety pretty seriously. Falling in also isn’t something you take lightly so you make sure your balance is solid.
I wrote a story on the topic recently for River Sport Magazine. I talk about how I got into the sport in the story and talk about paddling the Bow River where I paddle most. http://riversportsmag.com/2015/08/04/sup-touring-the-canadian-rockies/
Mix Hart
Wow, great article! You are an expert and very brave. I can only dream of being so skilled at river sports 🙂
Tanya
FAR from expert. And I don’t know about brave. Crazy would be a better word at times. Have you tried to SUP the channel in Penticton? (not in the middle of the day when it’s full of tubes) It’s a good intro to river SUP. Super easy, safe, and fun. I love that little paddle.
Mix Hart
Thanks for the tip–I’m going to try the Penticton channel for sure.