Alexis Webb, National Safe Boating Council Program Manager
This season of motherhood feels like life in fast-forward. There are music lessons, upcoming school schedules, activities, appointments, meals, rides, deadlines, and a hundred little things competing for our attention. We’re busy. We’re often rushed. And, like a lot of moms, I carry that familiar mom guilt – the feeling that I should be doing more. Slowing down more. Soaking it all in a little better.
Having teenagers makes you especially aware of how quickly the years move. The days when everyone is under the same roof suddenly feel numbered, and the opportunities to get away together become more precious. This is one reason why making memories matters so much to me right now. A day at the lake, a camping trip, or even an imperfect family adventure becomes a chance to put everything else aside and simply be together.
I want my kids to remember these days. I want them to remember laughing, exploring, being outside, and spending time together; even if getting everyone packed, out the door, and into a kayak requires what feels like a small logistical miracle.
I grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado, near a reservoir where outdoor recreation was simply part of life. Camping, heading down to the lake, spending long summer days near the water; these are some of the memories that shaped my childhood. I’ll always remember watching a rattlesnake glide across the surface of the water in front of my kayak. New fear unlocked. (And in case you’re in a climate similar to mine and didn’t know – fun fact – rattlesnakes tend to swim across the surface of the water; water snakes dive and swim.)
When I look back, I realize that boating and open water safety weren’t ever really a part of the conversation. We went to have fun. We packed the food, the towels, the fishing gear, and whatever else we thought we needed. But conversations about water safety? Life jackets? What could go wrong and how to be prepared? Even peer pressure. Those things weren’t always front and center.
Now that I’m a mom, I see the water differently.
I still see the adventure. I still see the laughter, the camping trips, the kids splashing along the shoreline and the memories families will talk about for years. But I also see how important it is to make safety part of those memories; not as something that takes away from the fun, but as something that protects it.
Safety on the water is needed. It is necessary.
It matters for my three children. It matters for your children. And it matters for the next generation of families who will experience the same beautiful places, camping trips, lake days, boat rides, and adventures so many of us grew up loving.
Teaching children to respect the water, wearing the right safety equipment, paying attention to changing water and weather conditions, and making responsible decisions shouldn’t be viewed as helicopter parenting. It should simply be part of what we do.
As parents, we spend so much of our lives trying to give our children great memories. Water safety helps make sure they get to keep making them.
I want my children, and someday, perhaps, their children, to experience the joy of being outside and near the water. I want them to paddle, swim, camp, explore, laugh and tell stories about the things they saw along the way. (Even the occasional swimming rattlesnake.)
Most of all, I want all of us to come home safely, ready for the next adventure.