She's no stranger to climbing in bilges!
She knows the difference between a phillips-head and a flat-head screw driver!
She has a hard time between right and left
but she will never, ever mix up her port and starboard sides!
Gia wanted to put her perspective on this raft up topic. Being a kid myself once, I recall my mother saying, " Why do you think I had 3 girls? So I could teach them how to do all my chores!" Now that I'm an adult I know that is exactly what my mom was thinking! Ha ha ha! Seriously though having kids aboard is one thing but making them feel like they are a part of the team is another. Like Good Ol' Captain Ron said, "Hey swab. C'mere. Listen up. Now, the way it works shipboard is, you do your job. You do it good, you get a better job. Maybe you get promoted from swab to mate." Kids love being in charge, remember when you were the line leader? Or when you were in charge of turning off the lights as you left the classroom? Same feeling comes when Daddy names you the "Dinghy Captain!"
Here are Gia's favorite jobs aboard:
Washing the boat - A bucket and a deck brush, maybe even a hose if your lucky and you've got at least two hours worth of fun in the sun! You might even get a little cleaning done! If not who cares, the kids are happy, getting vitamin D and exercising what they think are incredible deck washing skills! ;) Hey, practice makes perfect!
Climbing in the bilge - Everyone wants to feel needed, especially the miniature humans onboard! Whenever we have a hard to reach spot in the bilge or lazzarette Gia always makes herself available! She doesn't mind not knowing where her little hand might bump into beyond the floorboards. The way she sees it, she's little for a reason right?! So why not ask the littlest person aboard to climb into the tiniest cabinet to hold the wrench on a nut while we tighten from above?! We know how lucky we are that she enjoys this type of thing but with those teenage years approaching I'm not sure how much longer #1) she will fit into the smaller spaces & #2) she will enjoy helping us do anything (que Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" stabbing scene music).
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| Celery, peanut butter, raisins and pretzels become butterflies! |
Making Appetizers - There are tons of cruiser potlucks and gatherings that are perfect opportunities for kids to showcase their creativity with finger foods! Allow children the freedom to create and you will be amazed at how much they are learning from the cruising lifestyle!
Driving the Dinghy - The sooner the better I think. I'm a fan of encouraging children to understand how things work and using the dinghy, be it rowing or pulling the cord on the outboard are things every child should know. Not just because your pretty cool if you can pull the outboard motor cord and get it to start but because in case of emergency everyone should know what to do.
There are a million ways to get your kids involved in cruising chores, just find what works for you and your child and most of all have fun with it. I'm not a fan of "girl" jobs & "boy" jobs but on our boat I'm really not the one who does engine oil changes or uses a saw but it's not because I'm a girl it's because I'm goofy! Ha! I believe you should use your strengths regardless of gender and I can't wait to see the look on Gia's boyfriends' face when she tells him that she will never live in a house! Ha! Oh yeah, Gia's last & least favorite job on board is to clean her room! Ha! But don't tell her I told you!
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1 comment:
FUN post, bringing back memories of when I was a cruising kid - loved being in charge of the dinghy especially. And I was "in charge" of managing currency conversions, so we knew what we were paying for everything - good math practice.
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