Since they were born, we’ve had our kids in a canoe. When they were babies, it was easy: you just put a life jacket on them, prop them into their car seat (unbuckled) or a bin and you’re off. As long as you have some extra clothes, all good. You only need diapers for sleep time. During the day, let nature take care of it!

Once they became toddlers, though, we needed to manage the amount of time in the boat, and make sure they were occupied. Toddlers get restless quickly.

Now that our kids are 8 and 11, with probably over 30 canoe trips under their belts, they can tolerate longer (sometimes) trips with less distractions. However, there are still five things (other than a life jacket) that we still use since they were toddlers

1. Their own paddle. This was one of our best investments. Not only do they feel they are contributing to moving the boat (they aren’t), it gives them something to do and you can teach them how to properly handle a paddle. They get to try out the various strokes themselves. And while it might seem like it’s slowing you down more at first, the payoff is for later. M, now 11, can handle a paddle, although he much prefers his mother’s fibreglass paddle so we may need to upgrade soon!

2. Snacks. Oh so important, even for the adults, really. And while we always have healthy snacks, like nuts and fruits, we make sure there’s a bit of candy or sweets somewhere. A lollipop is a great option as it will last a while! Sometimes, that’s the only way to keep moving until the next portage.

3. Seat or cushion. While we adults are comfortably sitting on our benches, the kids are left to their own devices in the bottom of the boat. We’ve used towels, coolers, backpacks and extra life jackets before, but a small garden pad, or even a little foldout foot stool can do the trick. The foot stool is nice too because if water gets inside the boat, they don’t get wet.

4. A toy. Notice I have the singular. An ideal toy for the canoe ride is a small boat that you can tie a rope to. The kids can easily be kept pre-occuppied by that. It beats having them use the bailer, which only drags you down. During one trip, we forgot to bring any toys. We were amazed to see how they were able to occupy themselves for hours with a drink box and a tarp.

5. A fishing rod. Even for toddlers, you can get them their own fishing rods. It keeps them focused on something and makes them feel like they are responsible for something (we’ve never caught a fish from the boat, but I hear it can happen!). As long as they fish on the opposite side of the stern paddler, there shouldn’t be too much hassle.