People often ask me about the best ways to introduce their children to personal watercraft. My answer is always the same. I think it is best to introduce children to personal watercraft as early as possible and as often as possible and as interactively as possible. With safety in mind, children and personal watercraft go perfectly together.

The only caveat to the above is likely children under the age of three. In most cases children under the age of three should likely stay away from PWC as they wouldn’t get much from the experience. But once they hit their third birthday, watch out!

Of course it’s a given that you must have a fitted, safety-approved lifejacket for your child. Make sure that it suits the age and weight of your child, so the extra safety features such as straps and neck supports are available. Make certain that your child wears his life vest any time he is close to water, not only when they are in the water or on the pwc. You should always wear your pwc as a reinforcing good example.

An easy way to introduce your child to personal watercraft is through a canoe. Choose a calm day. Place the child on the bottom of the canoe just in front of the stern paddler. As you start to paddle explain to the child how pushing the water backwards with the paddle makes the canoe propel forwards. Gently show the child how leaning in one direction tips the canoe towards that direction. Talk about the importance of staying balanced in the canoe.

While introducing your child to personal watercraft try to strike a good balance between the fun elements of personal watercraft and the rules of safety associated with the same. Children like to be made to feel responsible for something. Go through the different safety supplies you bring on board such as the noise maker and bailer. Make your child responsible for putting on their own life jacket (with your supervision, of course). Maybe you could give your child the responsibility of pulling the Seadoo cover off the Seadoo.

Bringing your child with you on the water for your pwc rides can be great fun for both you and your child. It is a perfect family activity, and a great way to spend summer time at the cottage. Just make sure to introduce your child to pwcs when they are ready, and continue to repeat the safety lessons every time you go out, so that they realize the importance of keeping safety a priority when it comes to boats and water.