Afton, Stillwater Area - Family w/10yr girl

LUnaCY

Active Member
Aug 28, 2018
206
Afton, MN
Boat Info
310 Sundancer 2002
Engines
Mercruiser 5.0 MPI Bravo III
We purchased our 310 Sundancer with every expectation of sleeping on it most summer weekends and weekdays. We quickly realized that we drastically underestimated our 10 year old daughters grumpiness when boating without friends. Weve brought some of her friends, but are looking for others who boat.

Anyone out there with similar age girls who are looking for river socials next spring?
 
We cruise that same area quite often and our boys (11 and 13) love every minute of it. They get upset when it’s time to go home. Camp out at Kinnickinnic park there’s always a lot of people with children camped out there.
 
Parenting is a skill one learns. Advice from your mother might help. I do not think there is any thing you can do. When the trip ends the friends will be there. Perhaps a sudden supervised instant swim in cold water with a life jacket would take her mind off her situation.
As a nurse at a radar station once told me when I sprained my ankle "Suck it up sunny and do your boots up tighter"
 
When my kids were in that age range I found the solution to those "grumpies" was to invite their friends along. When we had a bowrider they occupied the bow. When we moved up to a 330 Sundancer they occupied the cabin. They weren't interested in scenery, only being away from mom and dad and with their friends.
 
Good luck with all that. Been through that phase. We rafted with others that had kids same age. They ended up having a blast, looking forward to the next outing. Spent most of the time on one bow or the other. The problem was when we would go out and the others did not. Then those grumpies surfaced.
 
Really? My kids are 8, 6 and 3 and these are the best boating days ever. Absolutely the best family time I can imagine putting my money into...
That was the intention.

I grew up on boats and have great memories of all the friends I met beached or tied up. I always looked forward to it. We’ll find people.

@northern, Ill thought Gunny died this year. I like my kid.
 
We're in this pre-teen / teen stage with our oldest and they just forget how to have fun. Not sure if they try and overcomplicate maturity to not feel so much like a child, or if it's just the f%&$in phones!!???? Whatever it is, we seem to have the best times meeting up with friends of simmilar ages, or entertain out land friends. For us, this ment less overnights and more day trips.

Kids were mostly good with this, but i'm not sure if next year I will be so compromising....,the season felt a lot shorter!
 
We're in this pre-teen / teen stage with our oldest and they just forget how to have fun. Not sure if they try and overcomplicate maturity to not feel so much like a child, or if it's just the f%&$in phones!!???? Whatever it is, we seem to have the best times meeting up with friends of simmilar ages, or entertain out land friends. For us, this ment less overnights and more day trips.

Kids were mostly good with this, but i'm not sure if next year I will be so compromising....,the season felt a lot shorter!

This brings up an interesting question for the O.P., does your 10yr old have a phone?
 
Yes, she has a phone. Partly because Im gone for the occasional week long work trip, partly because we spoil her.

She is completely addicted to it and we are trying to keep the old school idea of family...hence the boat (which my wife literally told me to buy).
 
Yes, she has a phone. Partly because Im gone for the occasional week long work trip, partly because we spoil her.

She is completely addicted to it and we are trying to keep the old school idea of family...hence the boat (which my wife literally told me to buy).

A 10 yr old with a phone, really?

1. "partly because we spoil her"

2. "She is completely addicted to it"

See, now that wasn't that hard to figure out now was it?
 
Awesome. I wasnt bitching about my kids. But thanks for calling out the root cause. Putting effort into family. While you’re demonstrating your stupidity on social media and texting while driving, you could have flipped another burger.
 
They may act like they hate it now.....but later in life will tell their friends how their dad took them on the boat all the time! The friends will be saying, dang, I wish my dad did that when I was young.
Both my daughters learned how to throw a cast net around, and grandkids are learning how to drive the center console and bait their own hooks now. They will reflect on these times when they are throwing dirt clods on me, I hope.

Capt. R
 

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