Voyaging With Kids - A Guide to Family Life Afloat

Haven't finished yet. Personally I don't like how there are side notes on every single page. Could flow better if the side note stories were just integrated into the main content. The book I received fell apart. Definitely has some good content. Not sure about five stars though.

As a six-year live aboard/cruiser I thought I had plenty of experience living on a boat to add a kid into the mix. Of course, I still read everything on the subject that I could. But when it comes to having a baby on the boat, it opens a whole new range of experiences not covered in the common baby literature. So you're turning to Internet resources and blogs to try to figure out how the heck you baby proof something, what exactly you need to have for babies, how you're going to manage them as they grow up, etc. This book is an absolutely fantastic resource. We've had our 10 month old on our boat her entire life. And this book still provided itself to be an amazing resource - not only giving me more ideas on what to do with her now, but providing me guidance on how to manage things as she gets older. I devoured the book in a weekend and it will become one of my favorite resources when it comes to having a kid on a sailboat. The writing is excellent and the information is exactly spot on what I need to know. Especially helpful are the stories at the end of grown-up cruising kids. I could give those to the in-laws and reassure them that what we were doing is not going to ruin their grandchild. Taking a child on a sailboat cruising either around the US or around the world is a wonderful gift that you can give your child, but it requires a lot of forethought and planning and this book certainly helps organize it and make it easier. Favorite parenting book this year.

When you take the book into your hands start reading the book with the Foreword and the Chapter 13. It will be answer to your “Why?” question. The rest answers to “How?”.The book is very engaging. The information is presented in consulting-like manner: each of the chapter describes the key consideration point, and shows how the authors and other cruising families worked them out. As with any similar books you would need to consider different presented options, try them and apply what works for your familyIf you are already in cruising (even in your thoughts) the book helps to build the path to make the dream to be real, and to plan and prepare your voyage adventure, whatever small or big it will be.If you are not in in cruising the book is very educational as well, and demonstrates that voyaging with kids is not an act of irrationality, but, with correct project management approach, including planning and risk mitigation, is quite rational, enjoyable and a great world-schooling opportunity for your kids. It changed my perception and acceptance of voyaging with kids. I hope it will do the same for you, too.This book is focused on kids-related sides of cruising, and is not intended to cover all general aspects of voyaging, and thus provides with a lot of references to other great resources to cover voyaging in general. Many side notes list others family blogs to explore for their experience.I hope that you would enjoy reading this book and find it useful as much as I did!

This book is a must-have for anyone cruising with kids, or thinking about doing so. When we first got our boat, I read a books and blogs about kids on boats. There was not much out there. What I found covered only a few topics and was quite lightweight. This book has real, actionable tips and checklists plus lots of insight. And not just about generic "kids" ... all ages ... babies and older, including teens.I have a zillion questions about blue water voyaging beyond our current cruising grounds in the Salish Sea. Kid issues are many of my questions. I want straight to the chapter about boat schooling because that topic is a great mystery and one of my concerns.The chapters: Chapter 1 Getting Ready Chapter 2 Choosing a Boat Chapter 3 Staying Safe Chapter 4 Staying Healthy (includes section on insurance & getting help) Chapter 5 Provisioning for a Family Chapter 6 Everyday Life Afloat Chapter 7 Learning Onboard (boat schooling) Chapter 8 Relationships: Afloat and Ashore Chapter 9 Passagemaking Chapter 10 Babies Onboard Chapter 11 Teens Onboard Chapter 12 Ending the Voyage Chapter 13 Former Cruising Kids (input from 12 people)

We are a family of 5 with plans to cruise in the near future. We have been saving and planning for our ocean adventure for about 7 years. Voyaging with Kids couldn't have been written at a better time for us. It is extremely informative as well as entertaining and inspiring. I appreciate the tips on communication within the family and also communication tips for staying in touch underway. The authors make the point that general disagreements on land are easy to ignore and forget. Being in a tiny space makes you actually deal with and solve these disagreements. I am happy to hear there are so many internet options regarding staying in touch with family and friends while cruising. Reading about the cruising families is very motivating and makes our goal of cruising seem achievable. Our children especially like seeing the pictures of what their rooms could like on the boat. Our 7 year old has told everyone that when she lives on a boat she will have her own little kayak to use. Thank you to the authors for creating this resource. While it is lovely to read the blogs, it is nice to have an actual book to explore.

The book is literally falling apart as I’m trying to read it. Great content but wish it was made better. Have tried contacting Amazon but can’t find anyone to speak to regarding this issue as over 3 months since purchased and literally have just starting reading it and it’s pages fall out each time I turn a page. Very disappointed.

Well written book by three authors from three families. Covers lots of essential details (including very detailed check lists of things to bring) for those actually in the planning stages of cruising with kids. For those of us dreaming it provides a lot of motivation and answered most of the questions about how kids are likely to deal with cruising full time. I would highly recommend it if you are planning to go cruising with kids, just dreaming about it or even if you are just interested in travelling the world with kids but not necessarily on a boat.

I cannot describe how very useful and inspiring this book is! When I finished reading it, I wanted to start over from the beginning right away. Tons of practical information systematized in a nice way, includes personal experience from many different families and an extensive list of additional resources.

Absolute necessity if thinking about cruising with kids!

Fantastic book, an absolutely invaluable source of information for potential cruising families plus an enjoyable read too.