To say to DH that our 2 year old shouldn’t be doing this activity?

[Yeqpll]

DH has booked a lovely trip for us. He does minimal parenting day to day due to work and i can tell he’s booked nice lunches and activities to make an effort

Last night he informed me he’d booked a boat trip for 1.5 hours, for today. We are in the UK so this will be a windy and choppy event and it is open to the elements. I think DS is going to be extremely bored after 15 mins.

My main concern however is that DS is not yet potty trained and obviously there’s nowhere to change him on board.

I feel strongly this is a bad idea but maybe I’m being dramatic… thoughts very welcome!!

If it's like the boat I went on there is not much room for nappy changing, everyone just sits round the edge of the boat, it was quite full.

I would check it is OK for very small children, 'boat' covers a HUGE range of vessels, some would be no different to being on a bus or a train or a huge ferry, and some would be super dangerous with a mobile and active tiny child and parents with no boaty skills/knowledge.

I've been on several half day fishing trips on small boats (very bumpy bouncy rides, much puking), sight-seeing trips (larger boats, more room to move around, less puke-tastic), ferries...

I very much doubt the small bouncy fishing boat trips would permit tiny toddlers - they were a bit uncomfortable with my younger sister one time, she was old enough but she was pretty small and very lightweight and they weren't sure the lifejacket would stay on her (it did, not sure how, possibly Mother stapled it on).

If little kids are allowed then it's really not likely to be an issue, though reins would be highly advised - stand up change, if he's bored well thats a life lesson you can't NOT do stuff like this because a kid might be bored!

Just be wary of seasickness. We took my then 2.5 year old on an hour long boat trip last summer. We thought he was just a being bit cuddly and sleepy with the waves until he sat up and vomited all over the boat. Our fellow passengers were very polite but I felt awful!

Some people are so up tight, before my son turned 5 he had been on;

• gondola for 45 mins in Venice - aged 3
• katemeran for an afternoon in Santorini aged 4, which include jumping off and swimming in the ocean
• a small sight seeing boat aged 3, off the coast of Northumbria in January
• a self driven small boat aged almost 5 in lake como for a full day
• glass bottom boat tour in the canaries for 2 hours aged 4
• lifeboat tour off the coast of Whitby in October aged 4

he is 12 now and is still alive! I wish people wouldn’t be so anxious and deny their children amazing experiences. Some families LIVE on boats

What if he's sick?

Dangle him over the side to vom in the sea?

Or, like any sensible person, take a carrier bag.

I thought ywbu to start with but, i was assuming it was a boat large enough to walk about on. I'm less convinced a child that she would be happy to sit still that long.

God no thanks. Couldn't think of anything worse. No way would have mine stayed still for 90 mins. U have to stay sitting?

It sounds like it will just be utterly stressful.

(Also never changed a nappy on a lap, can't see how that would work, and my son had toddler diarrhoea and did 8 shitty nappies a day.)

It never ceased to amaze me the shit people spout on here, failing to grasp that because heir child was like X it doesn't mean all of them are...

Boat trip was absolutely fine and no nappy change needed.

i however was horrendously sea sick! Didn’t expect that…!!

thanks for all the thoughts on this, it helped my initial panic!

Just go and get on with it. You dont know that he'll be bored and you work to avoid that in anycase. Take him anywhere and everywhere. It's called experiences. Positive thinking always required.

I've taken mine when age 1 and 2 on many different boat trips and it's been fine. The paddle boat for an hour with both (and DH) was quite an experience but it was fun in the end. A fishing boat would definitely be an easy experience.

You are being VERY dramatic. Like a jobsworth. You don’t need to worry about changing a nappy on a boat for 90mins. And are you telling me your toddler has no interest in transport or boats? This will be a great early experience for them

I'd be more concerned to check if they have a suitable life jacket for an infant. Nappies not a problem, just change on your lap.

I would definitely sit this one out and let it be a daddy and son bonding trip.

You are being overly dramatic. Your DS will call me to know harm if he can’t be changed for an hour.

OP's update that they went and it was fine (apart from her getting seasick) is literally half a dozen posts up 😂

Not something I would have wanted to do to do with mine when they were that age. Mine were both crazy toddlers and the thought of chasing them around a boat for an hour and a half making sure they didn’t dive in wouldn’t have appealed to me 🤣🤣 don’t think the nappy part would have come into it. But all children are different so your the best judge.

The good thing about being seasick is the pure delight about 20 minutes after being back on land. Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday!

It’s not ‘spouting shit’ it’s just their kids are different to yours, a 2yo who can’t be taken anywhere to expected to sit still and does 8 explosive nappies daily isn’t actually the norm and most people wouldn’t factor that into their thinking