101 Fun Things To Do With Your Kids
all year round. Girls and boys have fun, meet new friends, and learn to play tennis. Use of racquets and balls is included in the fee. All children need is their beloved trainers, tracksuit and a small fee which varies according to duration and venues. On arrival they will be greeted by local friendly tennis coaches. This is a huge opportunity to engage young people, not only in tennis-specific skills, but also in additional fundamental movement skills necessary for their physical well-being. Times and venues vary – log into parkstennis.com or contact parkstennis@eircom.net or call 01 8338711. Sponsored by The Irish Sports Council.
76 Go to summer camp There are hundreds of summer camps to choose from in Ireland. They cover activities as diverse as football, art, cooking and sailing, and the list of themes is virtually endless! You can go mountain biking, rock climbing, horse riding or swimming. Most are well supervised and relatively inexpensive. Remember to always check out the level of supervision and that the camp is registered and insured.
Children should wear lifejackets at all times
Lifejackets for emergency use are provided on all charter yachts. Check you have children’s jackets before you leave the marina. For anyone under 7, we recommend taking their own lifejacket that fits and that he/she likes wearing. Children should wear lifejackets at all times and you can tie your lifejacket to a central point in the cockpit so that while at sea, you can move freely but only as far as the guardrails.
77 Learn to swim
The skipper’s command must be obeyed quickly and without question, whether it is a parent or not.
We live on a small island; therefore we are surrounded by water, so knowing how to swim is very important for everyone. Children learn to swim much easier than adults; they are fearless and take to instruction quite easily. So this summer why not check out where the nearest lessons are available and give it a go. Swimming can be fun for all the family. If you know how to swim already, well done, and be safe this summer.
Take a look at the Irish National Sailing School website www.inss.ie for more information on sailing in general, as well as details of courses in South Dublin.
78 Learn to sail A sailing holiday is a wonderful experience for children. But for it to be equally wonderful for the parents, it does help to plan ahead. Some people have been sailing on the high seas single handed with children as young as 4 months. Children absolutely adore the romance and excitement of boats.
LIVING ONBOARD The motion of the yacht is quite soporific so babies/children are often drowsy while under way. Use a loose cotton beach wrap to drape over a sleeping child to give complete sun protection in the cockpit. It is essential that all sailors understand how to use a marine toilet. There is a rather distasteful rule: “Don’t put anything in the toilet you haven’t eaten first.” Use facilities ashore whenever you are on land. Long sleeved loose cotton shirts and trousers are useful for sun protection as well as high factor waterproof sunscreen. Sunhats are important (especially legionnaire caps with protection for the back of the neck) but need elastic under the chin or they soon blow away. For swimming (and especially snorkelling) a ‘swim T-shirt’ is useful as you may end up staying in the water for hours, especially on holidays, and young backs get easily burnt. Wet wipes and anti-bacterial liquid soap are very useful in the heat. Mosquito spray for ankles is needed going ashore, especially in the evening, and antihistamine cream is useful for bites. If allowed, why not try steering towards a point on the headline or on a compass setting, spotting buoys, tending the dinghy, even recording the ship’s log. Sailing is hungry work so have enough snacks to keep yourself going while on longer passages, e.g. crisps, biscuits, sandwiches. Ginger nut biscuits are said to help seasickness.
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