An Escalating Timeout

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So yesterday Gavin got thrown off the boat as a parenting last resort. Sounds terrible I know, but before you judge let me explain…. Like everything living on a boat requires adapting all aspects of life including parenting. Gavin (5) had been bullying his younger brother about what to eat for lunch. Miles wanted a grilled cheese and Gavin wanted Miles to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich like him ( as a side note Gavin loves being able to eat peanut products all day long). Gavin kept saying Miles wouldn’t be his best buddy anymore if he didn’t have PB&J for lunch. Poor Miles didn’t know what to do and kept wavering back and forth between his choice and keeping his best buddy. After numerous warnings, Gavin was sent for a timeout in our V- berth with the door closed. He was hysterical by now and was kicking the door.

Again after numerous warnings, he didn’t stop and his timeout was moved to the dingy behind the boat. He kept crawling back onto the sailboat and again after numerous warnings, he climbed onboard; so Paul picked him up and dropped him into the water. He was wearing a life jacket and Paul immediately jumped in after him because Gavin was a bit shocked. And I should point out that Paul is mortified that I am sharing this story. We are hoping the next time he has a timeout in the V-berth he will stay put and really 99% of the time Gavin is our calm cooperative middle child.

When we shared this story with some of our family boat friends, two other parents mentioned that one of their kids had been thrown overboard in the last week. So apparently this is a tried and true cruising parenting strategy. We are just hoping we don’t have to use it again. Living in such a small space does create challenges and it can be hard for every one to get the space they need. At home, we can send kids for a timeout in another room, we can take a breather behind closed doors…but on a boat there is really nowhere to go. We are with our kids almost 100% of the day, which can be really intense. That togetherness was something we really wanted on this trip, but it can also be trying at times.

One of the great things about parenting here in Georgetown is the community aspect of it. I love the quote, “it takes a village to raise a child” and at home, I find we have strayed from this community/shared parenting (except for maybe cottage weekends with nine kids). Here I know that there are lots of other parents and non- parents that are always looking out for our kids. Paul and I often will both play volleyball while the kids are at the beach playing with their friends. We put Miles in a life jacket for peace of mind, but I know with 350 boats in the harbor there are lots of eyes to keep an eye out. I would say most cruising kids are given quite a lot of freedom, which is refreshing. The kids run free and are very independent.

Up next, we will fill you in on the Cruising Regatta that has been keeping us busy, the town of Georgetown and answer a few questions we have been getting. I will also post some comparison photos from my time here in the ’90s as a teen and now. We are working on videos as well, but uploading them would use all our internet…stay tuned, they will come.