ANOTHER Lesson Learned

[Dents]

Sounds like this past weekend was one of mishaps and lessons learned... My 6 year old finally decided that he is ready to kneeboard!!.. SO.. We get him set up for a beach start, got him strapped in and off we went. He did AWESOME!! I have never been more proud than i was at that moment! HOWEVER... I failed to instruct him on what to do either when he fell or we stopped. After his run which he never fell even over the rollers(about 11 mph was good for him..he is a little guy) we stopped and he came off the board but didnt let go of the rope and started to go under. In neutral but still not to a complete stop I jumped up and dove out the back and was to him within a few seconds. He was startled but thought it was kinda cool and was excited about his run. Oh yeah, and my Ray Bans are at the bottom of the lake now... Anyway so, within a bit he was ready to go again. This time I instructed him to let go of the rope but since he came off of the board just fine i didnt think of what would happen if his knees didnt come out... When the next run was over he let go of the rope and went under water STILL STRAPPED IN... I turned around full throttle and got back to him and jumped in to save him... at this point he was still strapped in and fighting for air and still going under water. We got him out and he was fine but VERY freaked out. My wife was in tears and so was he. One of the worst things my eyes have ever seen. LESSON LEARNED #1 Be sure to cover everything with a new rider especially the little ones. LESSON LEARNED #2 I am going to take a CPR course and make sure they cover drowning as well. I would urge EVERYONE reading this to do the same. And BE CAREFUL!!!!

[dogbert]

Sounds like this past weekend was one of mishaps and lessons learned... My 6 year old finally decided that he is ready to kneeboard!!.. SO.. We get him set up for a beach start, got him strapped in and off we went. He did AWESOME!! I have never been more proud than i was at that moment! HOWEVER... I failed to instruct him on what to do either when he fell or we stopped. After his run which he never fell even over the rollers(about 11 mph was good for him..he is a little guy) we stopped and he came off the board but didnt let go of the rope and started to go under. In neutral but still not to a complete stop I jumped up and dove out the back and was to him within a few seconds. He was startled but thought it was kinda cool and was excited about his run. Oh yeah, and my Ray Bans are at the bottom of the lake now... Anyway so, within a bit he was ready to go again. This time I instructed him to let go of the rope but since he came off of the board just fine i didnt think of what would happen if his knees didnt come out... When the next run was over he let go of the rope and went under water STILL STRAPPED IN... I turned around full throttle and got back to him and jumped in to save him... at this point he was still strapped in and fighting for air and still going under water. We got him out and he was fine but VERY freaked out. My wife was in tears and so was he. One of the worst things my eyes have ever seen. LESSON LEARNED #1 Be sure to cover everything with a new rider especially the little ones. LESSON LEARNED #2 I am going to take a CPR course and make sure they cover drowning as well. I would urge EVERYONE reading this to do the same. And BE CAREFUL!!!!

Been there, done that, with the exception of CPR (I probably need a refresher).

That's why we started off the little guys behind a jetski. It's a little easier to manuever and you can operate in relatively shallow water. This allows you to have a helper in the water to get them situated.

I always worried about the kneeboard for that exact reason. It doesn't take much for little kids to panic.

[skyski_tige]

I took off the kneeboard strap when my son was learning at that age. Once he gets more comfortable, you can put the strap back on.

You could also do some pool training with you 6 year old to make sure he knows how to get out of the board.

I agree! Everyone should know CPR.

Note to self... Wear cheaper sunglasses when teaching kids how to ski

[talltigeguy]

We took the strap off too. On my knee board the one side was sewn in, so I had to cut it off. It got thrown away. Now that they can actually jump a few mm, they need the strap, and I don't have one.

[skyski_tige]

Our was sewn on one side, I just removed the bracket and was able to slide it off.

[ragboy]

Y, I remember losing my $300 prescription sunglasses like that with my 2 oldest girls when they were like 4 & 3 on a little tube.

CPR and basic first aid is a good Idea, my wife and I are both certified. She almost died one year due to heatstroke while at Temple Bar, when it was about 120. That is another very scary thing, and something we should all think about more being in the heat.

[zad0030]

Is kneeboarding any fun? Looks like it would kill your knees.

[kko]

WOW glad it turned out ok. my little girl started on the kneeboard at 6 as well but i dont strap her in because of the fear of getting stuck. she goes everytime out and the strap is really not needed for their level IMPO. she can turn it just fine and even likes to bounce it up an down so untill shes a little older and a little more savy about the strap i will keep it off. the CPR is a good tip i was certf. at one time but not latley but my wife is a certified first responder through her job so we rely on here for that. but you do bring up a great point about CPR.

[kko]

Is kneeboarding any fun? Looks like it would kill your knees.

I grew up kneeboarding well because a wakeboard was not invented yet. as i got older it did start to hurt my knees so i stopped. i got a kneeboard for my little one ok and me i guess to see if the old man could still do it. i found a great deal on a hydroslide kaos. this board launches like no other i have ever been on and lands/rides so soft i could not believe it. way better than the old school hydroslide i grew up with. my knees never hurt after going. i do prefer wakeboarding over the kneeboard but i do kneeboard everytime out unless it total glass then i just w/b till i cant hang on anymore.i dare say without being banned i prefer to kneeboard over wakesurfing.

[G-MONEY]

Is kneeboarding any fun? Looks like it would kill your knees.

When you are kid nothing hurts you knees.

When I was a kid wakeboarding wasn't cool yet and skiing was for old people. So we kneeboarded all day.


As for the strap at that age they don't need to be strapped in, so just take it off or let it hang off the side of the board. I learned to kneeboard on a bodyboard.

[xpjim1]

That happened with my kids when they were tiny. Glad we pulled from the seadoos. They will not go near a kneeboard to this day!

[majestic]

Knee board can be scary! I have taking some bad nose first crashes.

I'm glad your boy is ok I can't imagine the horror of seeing that. My son is 10 months now and I still have a few years before I will be pulling him around.

[da.bell]

Glad that everything turned out okay. Scary things can happen but being aware like you were was the best thing for your kid. Now you are Super Dad in your kids eyes.

[Dents]

Not using the strap is the perfect solution. When I got home tonight I told him that I talked to some Tige friends of mine about his "crash"... told him that they said that you didnt need the strap at all and he would still be awesome without it... He was sooooo excited to hear that... like a HUGE relief!! He is ready to get back on it!!!! Without the strap!!!!!

[hoopykat]

Not using the strap is the perfect solution. When I got home tonight I told him that I talked to some Tige friends of mine about his "crash"... told him that they said that you didnt need the strap at all and he would still be awesome without it... He was sooooo excited to hear that... like a HUGE relief!! He is ready to get back on it!!!! Without the strap!!!!!

Doesn't sound like the experience fazed him at all...get right back on the horse!

-Mike