Introducing the little ones to sailing & and not scaring them.

I have no pearls of wisdom how to get them involved in board sports, but whatever you do, please don't, I repeat DON"T, ever let them get involved with horses! (Unless you love horses more than them).

Too many windy afternoons spent in a paddock picking up horse poop, wishing I was sailing.

"No stress is the go!" +1
When my son was 4, I couldn't resist the urge to buy a 1,5m? kids rig, just in case as we had fooled around in the water on my boards the years before. He first played around with the sail on the beach (fin taken out of board), imitating the sailors on the water in whatever they did. A week later he could uphaul and sail across a little cove to a place where the waves were too big for him to uphaul (some 20 centimetres were enough). This may sound downright prodigious to many, but it was all he could do until he was nine. Football was all the craze and the kid's rig went on holiday with us mostly ignored by him. Then he picked it up again and aged 11, he's out blasting (but still only uphauling) on a 3,0 when I'm fully powered on a 5,6. My daughter started et the age of seven only, but at the age of nine, she is now better than him then.
They've got their own speed and times.
I avoided buying special boards as I didn't want to drag them along, so only invested in two kids rigs (1,5 and 2,5) and wetsuits. This never gave me the feeling I had to push them to make the effort worthwhile. Kids boards with a center fin or Windsups would make it a lot easier for them not to go downsind all the time, though.
Good conditions are key, I think, so I've found myself wading around in a lukewarm lagoon on Naxos for hours at times, as they needed help dragging the boards upwind. Prevented me from too many afternoon beers on days with 10 knots or less of wind, though, so this was probably even healthy.
Fool around with them on the water in any way, let them do what they want to do and keep an eye on how they look at you, water is a scary element after all!
Cheers,
Sven

Towing kids on their own board with a windsurfer can be a lot of fun for them, too. They should be comfortable swimming alone, though, so your daughter may be a bit young.

Another thing that worked great for my daughter was attending kids camps in the summer in Cabarete. Windsurfing was just one of the fun things they did, but she got pretty good at it. In hindsight, I should have also gotten her some private lessons to get her into the harness and straps - she never got hooked, and when she turned pre-teen, windsurfing was not cool anymore.

Hey Ginno.

I think the right gear and gentle persuasion and the right venue. And +++No Stress
My son who has just turned 8 has been coming out with me on my inflatable SUP for a long while now. Both paddling and sailing. It also makes an awesome play platform for him and his mates, just need to wash the mud off afterwards.
Tried him on the SUP with this rig at Easter and although it was nice and stable the small sail had no effect on the board and he was not able to steer.
I have since picked up a 2nd hand 122 Kode, with centre fin slot and full EVA deck. He had his first sail on it this September Holidays at Elanda Point.
First day we tried was a little too breezy and had a little chop. So it was a bit of a challenge, but he enjoyed his couple of stacks.
Second day was really light, but by the end of a short hour session with the bigger 1.5m he was able to sail away from me, drop the sail and turn the board, uphaul and sail back to me, steering as he went.
Both of us were very chuffed with that.
Added a bit of tech as he got to wear my GW60, which was popular too.

As a Bonus the Kode is a good size for me when the wind comes in, so I am not bringing an extra board.

Looking forward to another session soon.

Get kids sailing with kids - organise a morning with your sailing friends to get the kids on the water. When kids see other kids having fun they get over any fears and join in.

Kids get cold quick even when it is 35?c. You might not feel it but they could be freezing.

Before you know it they will be storming off down the beach to rig up because you are too slow putting on sunscreen.

Had a terrific couple of days with my grandchildren learning to sail at wello. I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a learners rig from a mate and the kids took to sailing with ease. Did some initial theory, they got the feel of the sail on land and the big starboard start was the ideal board for the occasion. Aided by the ideal weather conditions both the 11 and 14 year old children were able to control the board and 2.5m rig with ease. I only wish we had that sort of gear when I started to learn ( and a cool grandpa to teach me)

Thank everyone for your insights I look forward to the day she is rigging up for me!
In the mean time its good to know that its ok to wait until the water temperature is at least above 15 degrees (as it is now in Port Phillip Bay) I'll post again as we progress. Ginno.