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6 Year Old Surf Board


DAI

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My 6 year old has been talking about trying surfing this season.  I want to make it a positive experience for her so she keeps trying.  I was looking at getting the Phase 5 Scamp for her, but curious if there are any other recommendations.  When I searched, I see most references to this board is with kids in the 100 - 130lbs range.  She is only about 50lbs, so looking to see if there might be a better option.

TIA

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17 minutes ago, DAI said:

My 6 year old has been talking about trying surfing this season.  I want to make it a positive experience for her so she keeps trying.  I was looking at getting the Phase 5 Scamp for her, but curious if there are any other recommendations.  When I searched, I see most references to this board is with kids in the 100 - 130lbs range.  She is only about 50lbs, so looking to see if there might be a better option.

TIA

I am right there with you.  I have a six year old daughter that is getting closer to wanting to try surfing also.  She wants to get on the board with me finally.  I have heard great things about the scamp so that is what I am considering as well.  I going to follow this as well for the same reasons you are.

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We purchased a Hyperlite Grom for the little ones. It was inexpensive and is perfect for teaching young children the basics of surfing. All our kids began surfing by riding with an adult, then progressed to solo on the smaller Grom.

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We did co-surfing with one of us from when they were 1 year old.  When he was 5 I bought a P5 Scamp and we just practiced by pulling in the pool.  By far the biggest obstacle to the little ones surfing is the length of their feet.  They're too short to be at a balance point on the board, yet still have the leverage to pop it down at the right time.  Learning that behind the boat is too frustrating.  In a long pool though it's very easy and gives them more confidence.  In the lake one of us would float with him at the start.  During the start the only thing I'd do is have a hand underneath the leading edge of the board and give it a few pounds of upward pressure while at the same time give his upper back a few pounds of pressure to get him up into a sitting position.  Then off he went.  We've taught a bunch of kids this way and it's very easy.  Starting them in the pool gives them a lot of confidence and takes the surprise out of it as well.

Pool_surf_start.png.b93e2d504f5d1a66f4e511fd33ca753f.png

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I should also mention, that you should repress your desire to find the BEST board for the little kids.  Go for good enough.  It's going to get BEAT UP fast as it bounces off everything learning.  Since it's theirs they'll also want to carry it around and smack it into everything.  Very three stooges.

Good enough for a 4' kid is going to be skim style, light, and narrower is better than shorter.  Most boards for groms are within an inch of each other's dimensions.

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13 minutes ago, Slurpee said:

We did co-surfing with one of us from when they were 1 year old.  When he was 5 I bought a P5 Scamp and we just practiced by pulling in the pool.  By far the biggest obstacle to the little ones surfing is the length of their feet.  They're too short to be at a balance point on the board, yet still have the leverage to pop it down at the right time.  Learning that behind the boat is too frustrating.  In a long pool though it's very easy and gives them more confidence.  In the lake one of us would float with him at the start.  During the start the only thing I'd do is have a hand underneath the leading edge of the board and give it a few pounds of upward pressure while at the same time give his upper back a few pounds of pressure to get him up into a sitting position.  Then off he went.  We've taught a bunch of kids this way and it's very easy.  Starting them in the pool gives them a lot of confidence and takes the surprise out of it as well.

Pool_surf_start.png.b93e2d504f5d1a66f4e511fd33ca753f.png

Very interesting... We just got our 1 year old grandson on the boat last week for the first time.   He LOVED it...  While we were surfing, he was standing near the tower hanging on to the window frame (and mom hanging on to him), watching over the side at the water going by with this BIG grin on his face.   I think he is going to be a lake kid... at least I hope so.

So Im curious, how are you pulling the rope?   Hand over hand, or did you rig something to give him a steadier pull?

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15 minutes ago, JeffC said:

Very interesting... We just got our 1 year old grandson on the boat last week for the first time.   He LOVED it...  While we were surfing, he was standing near the tower hanging on to the window frame (and mom hanging on to him), watching over the side at the water going by with this BIG grin on his face.   I think he is going to be a lake kid... at least I hope so.

So Im curious, how are you pulling the rope?   Hand over hand, or did you rig something to give him a steadier pull?

Hand over hand with a rope on the thicker and more easily gripped side.  That also takes some practice and strength to do it smoothly.  DON'T offer to let kids over 70lbs try unless you've got some serious deltoids.  

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1 hour ago, Slurpee said:

We did co-surfing with one of us from when they were 1 year old.  When he was 5 I bought a P5 Scamp and we just practiced by pulling in the pool.  By far the biggest obstacle to the little ones surfing is the length of their feet.  They're too short to be at a balance point on the board, yet still have the leverage to pop it down at the right time.  Learning that behind the boat is too frustrating.  In a long pool though it's very easy and gives them more confidence.  In the lake one of us would float with him at the start.  During the start the only thing I'd do is have a hand underneath the leading edge of the board and give it a few pounds of upward pressure while at the same time give his upper back a few pounds of pressure to get him up into a sitting position.  Then off he went.  We've taught a bunch of kids this way and it's very easy.  Starting them in the pool gives them a lot of confidence and takes the surprise out of it as well.

Pool_surf_start.png.b93e2d504f5d1a66f4e511fd33ca753f.png

That's a great idea.  I think I'm going to have to order the board and give it a try in our pool.

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Another vote for the phase 5 scamp. My daughter is 8 and has tried 2 different boards. The other is a CWB Dash. The dash is smaller with bigger fins so I thought she would be more stable on it. She does better on the phase 5. She had a harder time getting the dash to flip up when getting up on her own. We also started with tandom surfing to get her comfortable and moved up to pool and beach dad pull practice sessions :) She is now riding ropeless and carving a little on the phase 5. Her 18 year old cousin rode it last week and loved it. She was doing 360's with ease. I think it's an awesome board for young kids but gives them lots of room to progress quickly with it.

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One more for the P5 Scamp.  My daughters (now 15 & 13) started on it 6 years ago & my youngest, which still only weighs 90 lbs, still rides it.  They love the board & as a previous poster already mentioned....lots of room to progress with it.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

We've done the pool practice and she rode with me yesterday - and loved it.  She looks to be giving it a try solo soon.  Best comment was 'this is more fun than tubing'.

20190719_183001(3).jpg

Edited by DAI
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