Introducing my children to kayaking

On the water too, it is important not to put the cart before the horse. You should follow certain safety measures religiously: wait for calm waters, good weather and make sure your child is wearing a life jacket.  

If you are taking your toddler with you in the kayak, place him between your legs to make him experience the sensations of the kayak while keeping an eye on him. 

As he or she gets older, your child will want to use the paddle—let her participate; these key moments will stay in her memory and help her own the paddle stroke. 

Later on, you’ll be able to sit your apprentice kayaker in the cockpit of a double kayak, or maybe even have his own junior craft. The sit-on-top kayak is very useful on a first outing: fun, accessible and featuring a double hull which makes it unsinkable.  ~ 

Kayaking/canoeing school starts at 12 years of age. Children advance according to the achievement levels set by the French Canoe-Kayak Federation: white, yellow, green, blue, red and black paddle.  

These levels represent the your child’s technical progress, his mastery of safety and familiarity with the environment. Often, after just one year, your young kayaker picks up his green paddle: the beginning of autonomy in calm waters!