The kid is growing up

I've been trying to get her on her little solid Gladiator ski, but she always wants to wakeboard with Dad now.

thats sooo rad!!! haha i love it!

haha, that's hilarious.... How old is she? I have an 8 month old but I don't think he's ready yet.

I've done that with several kids and its a blast...however, how do you keep them from slipping off the board? My little riding buddies complained when I made them stand on the edges of my binding plates...but it was the only way to give them traction of any sort.

that is awesome! super cool that you dont have to hang onto her, she just grabs your legs.

She'll be 4 in July. She actually did it last year once for the 1st time at the end of the season but seems to really love it now and asks to go, which is great. I just today added some non-skid tape type stuff to the middle of the board to help her keep her grip. It wasn't a problem before unless we hit some bumps, and I just held her with one hand at those spots so she wouldn't fall off. She should be good to go now, though.

I swear I remember some awesome pics on here before with a girl wakeboarding on her very own at an even younger age.

Brett That is awesome. Keep it up she looks like she is having a great time

thats awsome man. how do you get up with her? i would think there would be a big pull of water that would wash her away...

cool man. I have a bud that had his lil girl doing it early as well. Now she is 6-7 and wakeboarding all by herslef. It is funny but she digs it. Ill se eif i can find the pics from last year.

Dangerous or not, those pics are really cool for sure!

Dangerous only if you are jumping wakes. It's pretty easy and I've never had a problem with my son or my nephews/nieces when riding like Brett and his kid. It's given them all the itch to ride by themselves.

I have thought of trying that with my kids but I saw a water patrol stop a boat from doing that with their kids last summer. I assumed there must have been some regulation against doing it. I was anchored at the time and the other boat took off before I had a chance to go ask them what the patrol said. Does anyone know?

I don't see how it could be illegal...as long as everyone has their life vests on and aren't riding in a prohibited area or recklessly. I guess that is probably where subjectivity comes in...perhaps the water patrol viewed it as 'recklessness' and warned/ticketed them. Brett...here are some of those pics for you.

I sure hope that mine likes it that much.... She is 7 months now and I can't wait til the day that she can ask to go...

That is awesome.

I'm also curious how people taking kids out with kids between their legs get up or start?

I've not done it with really little kids, but as long as they are big enough to respond to your instructions, simply have them sit in your lap as you are relaxing in the water and have them put their feet just to the insides of your bindings. I struggled getting up 1-handed, so I simply had them kind reach backwards to wrap their arms around my upper leg and had the boat pull me up as usual. As soon as we popped out, I used my off-hand to help support them and off you go.

Those pics are great, Loren. How old was she in those pics? The one with her backwards is amazing at that size. And she was the one I remembered seeing pics of before.

As far as getting up - the 1st time or two I just held her with one arm and held on to the rope with the other arm, which is a bit tough, given the extra weight. But basically, I now just get up with her just like she is on my board. I have her put her feet on the board and wrap her arms around the front of my legs and just make sure you're leaning back throughout the start. I've also since added some non-stick tape to the top of my board to help her with her grip.

And it's perfectly safe in smooth water while not jumping. My daughter likes to zig zag up to the wake and back, which is all I do with her. I've also had her sit on my lap on my hydrofoil while going slower than normal in calm water, and she loves that as well. The problem seems to be now is that she likes riding with me and hasn't pushed to go on her own yet. She says she will but then doesn't and asks to ride with me. I've tried to bribe her, by showing her new boards in the store and letting her know she can have one anytime she wants, after trying her ski on her own 1st. I think I'm going to drag her back to another store soon. The lure of a new toy will do it, I hope.

bribing a kid with there own board and they dont take it? thats unheard of........

that little girl riding is the fricken cutest little thing in the world.

Man, this makes me want to get my son out there so bad. Only 10mo now so he'll have to wait until at least next season.

Great pics.