Reply to kayak/canoe with kids under 7

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Canoing is easier with small kids. Easier to get them in and out, and more stable. Also, if the kid did fall out (unlikely), I think it would be easier to jump out of a canoe to grab the kid than to extricate yourself from a kayak.[/quote]
Kayaks for calm water are sit a top.  There is no extracating yourself.  You're just sitting there.

OP, we did a ton of kayaking with our 4 and 7 yos recently over spring break.  A few thoughts:

--Neither a 4 or 7 yo is going to be able to paddle effectively in an adult 2-person kayak because the kayak is too wide and their arms are too short.  A kid can only really paddle in a kid kayak.

--Two person kayaks are very heavy.  It is very slow for a single adult to paddle a 2-person kayak without a second person paddling.  You'll have to work super hard to get anywhere if you are trying to use a 2-person kayak for an adult and non-effectively paddling kid.

--We had good luck having our almost 5 yo sit in the "boot" of the sit a top kayaks behind the paddler and just ride.  It worked with either a 1 person adult kayak or a 2 person kayak with two adults.  She wasn't really interested in paddling, nor did she have any attention span for it.

--For our 7 yo we had good luck putting her in her own kid sized kayak.  She had a good time paddling around and exploring.  When she started to get tired, we'd tie a tow rope to the front of her kayak and tow her behind us.  She still paddled some, but it helped her keep up.  She found it much easier to paddle in a kiddie kayak that is narrow than an adult kayak.[/quote]

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