Paddling with Kids | When Can Kids Start Stand Up Paddleboarding?

With the appropriate safety gear and a calm body of water, you can start your kids stand up paddling at almost any age. When we talk about safety gear, this means everyone is wearing an appropriate Coast Guard-approved life jacket and a leash is used to ensure the board won't get away.

Small children who don't have the coordination to control the board and paddle themselves and who aren't confident swimmers will need to start as a passenger on your board. In this case, you'll probably want to choose a bigger and more stable board than you'd use on your own.

Depending on the child, they could be ready to put on a leash and paddle their own board as young as five or six years old. But don't be surprised if they're not ready for a few more years The trick is to wait until they're asking for their own. As a prerequisite to captaining their own board, a child should be a confident swimmer and good at following directions.