[Phantom]

Well DougNH -- did you get enough above?

Seems everyone is in general agreement that that boating with infants/toddlers is not really an issue -- it's all of the secondary (or in this case they become primary) issues like Mom's comfort level, truely think about YOUR comfort / confidence level as well in the event that something should occur, etc

I would like to add a couple of other personal observations to the mix that I didn't see above.

Let me preface it by saying that I (like Rinkerfam and others) have been boating Winni for many, many years and now our kids (who grew up as infants boating) have our Grandchildren (infants through age 4 now) out on a regular basis on the Big Lake.

Observations / experiances:

You will find it nearly impossible to find a Coast Guard Approve PFD that fits an "infant" securely!! Shop around -- I can't tell you how many different jackets we've bought and returned through the years (not counting the ones still stowed below, barely used). Our sucess came from Target of all places. I truely believe that the "Jacket" manufacturer's missed this target market

A lot of discussion above (that I agree with) centered on Mom. No one mentioned the baby!! No one said it would be easy -- but like anything else -- the child will tend to dictate wether you go out and for how long you stay out. Many a time we have simply turned around and returned to the dock.

A lot of discussion is raised above about PFD's while in the boat. I tend to take that one a step further. Granted this isn't "infant" but rather "todler" age grandchildren -- Jackets are "On" while on the dock!! There is (in my opinion) much higher risk of one of our cuties hitting the water as they are passed onto / out of the boat that while they are in it.

Finally, I think you will find the boat is even better than a car ride for administering "nap time". Seems like every time we ever go out -- Bam, one or both were sound asleep within 10-15 minutes .......

I am a huge supporter of getting kids comfortable with boating (and boating activities like tubing/skiing etc) as soon as they are ready.