A Guide To Introducing Your Kids To Surfing

Whether your children are showing an interest in surfing or you’re about to embark on a family holiday and want to have a go at the sport together, knowing how to get your kids involved can make the process much simpler. Regardless of your reasons, it is important that a child’s early experience in the water is positive, so they can enjoy the sport in years to come. As a result, it is important that you introduce them to surfing the correct way. We’ve put together a simple guide to help you do exactly that.

Don’t Force Their Decision

The ocean is huge and can be an incredibly daunting place for your children, so it’s important not to force them to take up surfing if they aren’t ready. If they are excited to get started, it's important to remember that a child’s mood or attitude towards something can change quickly. For this reason, if you are out on the water and they suddenly decide they no longer want to be surfing, it is important that you respect their wishes and take them back to the beach.

Choose The Right Beach

Every surfer with experience knows that waves come in all kinds of different levels. For this reason, picking the best beach for your child could simply come down to finding the best beginner spot in your chosen area. You’ll want to choose a beach that has an excellent surfing school or a highly-recommended guide or teacher, or a beach that has beach breaks, which are often renowned for their sandy bottoms.

However, it’s also important to try and avoid a beach that is overcrowded. While a busy beach isn’t always a bad thing, when you’re trying to teach your children a new sport, the pressure of keeping them safe in an overcrowded beach can often turn a fun experience into a stressful one for both you, and your kids.

Remain Positive

Surfing for the first time is difficult for adults, so it’s understandably just as difficult, if not more so, for children. However, it is important that you remain as positive as possible and bring a smile to their surfing experience. Don’t rush their progress or make them feel pressured and let them improve at their own speed. Support your child and encourage them every step of the way. Every milestone they make with the waves, however little it may seem, is going to be huge for them, so cheer them on and let them know how proud you are of their achievement.

Utilise Surf Schools

Even if you are a very experienced surfer yourself, by enrolling your child into a surf school, even just for their initial lesson, can help them to progress further and enjoy the sport with other children. The school will have a number of techniques and ideas to help them to improve and keep them engaged in the water. What’s more, you can ensure that your child has the appropriate wetsuit and equipment, especially if you are not a surfer yourself.

Hopefully, these top tips have given you some insight into ways to introduce your kids to surfing. Allow your child to get acquainted with the sport gradually, ensure that there is no pressure from you and before you know it, you will be paddling out to catch a wave with your little one right beside you. For more information about introducing your child to surfing, contact our team, today.