when did you start wheeling with your kids?

[CardinalFJ60]

So...I might be jumping the gun...Griffin is only 10mo. old. But as I was driving in to Denver in the 40 today I gots to thinking how great it'll be to go "wheelin' with the boy".

For those of you with little ones, when did you start taking them on the easy runs?

I have visions of the TT article from a few years ago with the kid in the car seat with a bandana or something strapping his head to the carseat. I think the title was something like, "Let your wife take the wheel" or similar.

 

[FJBen]

Lets see...still in the belly count???

1.5 ~ 2 on anything serious. They are now 3 and almost 6 and love it...actually they are pestering me to get my seat belts in tonight so we can go drive around

 

[Groucho]

When did I start?

Emilee's maiden voyage was on the First Ghost Town Run at 3.5mos old. We slept at 9800 feet above sea level, 40 degree nights(It broke records in Denver for heat that year), and 3 Colorado passes(Hancock, Cumberland, and Tincup).

Then we went to Ouray that September.

Here are some photos of the trips.

Thie first is waking up the Sunday of the first GTR on 2005. Emilee was born in April 2005 and the GTR was in July. So 3 or 3.5 mos.

The next one is in the snugli in Tincup that same day.

Then at Tincup Pass and Cumberland Pass.

The last is in the bay window of the home in the Ghost Town of Animas Forks Colorado just outside of Silverton on the Ouray trip in 2006.

I am not sure what to expect at Moab since she can move about quite well and doesn't like to sit for very long.

 

[ginericLC]

At 8 months Gabe did the High Passes in CO. Black Bear, Imogene, etc... He also did Fins and Things. At 17 months he did his first Cruise Moab. Still easy trails, Poison Spider, Fins, etc... At 20 months he did his first overnight on the trail due to a breakdown. Well not quite overnight. We left our house at 7 AM to do the trail and we got home at 3:45 AM. By 3 he had done the stand on the lap driving in a couple of different Cruisers and he's got quite a few hard trails under his belt at age 3. At almost 4, he started yelling at people outside of the rig and shouting, "Dad you better not roll it on my side." It is very hard to drive a difficult obstacle when you are laughing so hard. He also told some friends of ours that aren't 4wd people that they better get ready in case I decide to roll the Cruiser again. Now at 4, he thinks he knows everything and is a backseat driver. My friend Creig was driving our Cruiser this Sunday and I was spotting. Gabe started yelling at me, "Dad you better get in and drive this hard section because Creig is going to wreck our Cruiser." During the young years we tied a sweatshirt to his head to keep his head in place and put cushions on each side. As long as he was cool he'd sleep on the trail.

 

[SROR/AKA 2BAD]

asher was minus 6 months or plus 6 months however you want to look at it.
or shauna was 6 months pregnant

even after he was just born we would go wheelin in the 40.
we'd secure his little melon head so it would'nt flop around.
he'd sleep thru most of the trails.

geez, you bring this up and in another 7 years he'll be driving the 40 ;-)

 

[nakman]

They should be old enough to hold their head up for sure, IMO. Other than that it's up to you. For us it was (is) more about not screwing up the nap schedule, or making them tired so they don't get over whatever sickness they have that day. Oh, and worrying he'll get some allergic reaction and will I be able to get to a hospital in time. I'm sure when the second one rolls around we'll worry a little less about that stuff.

But we did a daytrip last summer for the Ghost Town run, Gavin was about 1 year at the time. He also rode with me on a prerun of the spooky night run, probably 14 months by then. Pictures of both are in my bio thread.

I can't wait until he's old enough to sit on my lap & steer, that'll be a blast for sure.

 

[bh4rnnr]

Hopefully not in a long time So that was your 40 I saw today

 

[Uncle Ben]

You can judge by moms expressions! Example....my wife was 4 wheel ruined when she looked in the back seat of my 40 while I was decending Red Cone and witnessed my daughter suspended only by the straps of her car seat! Guess that might have been too soon!

 

[Romer]

I know it's a Jeep. It was between 40's

Rachel was 5 and Sarah was 3. They loved it.

 

[Beater]

6 mos I think. The best trick I know is the rolled up blanky around the back of the neck like an airline pillow.... and lots of wipes

 

[Hants]

Less than a year for mild wheeling... Camping is somewhat difficult while they're less than two... they get seriously DIRTY crawling around in the dirt, and if you're in developed camp sites, you'll be amazed at the junk (pull-tabs, bottle caps, glass, metal, plastic) they find in the dirt.

At 4 and 6, our oldest two have more wheeling experience than Mom.

 

[CBone]

If you count in-belly time, we took Madeline on this past summer's Ghost Town Run when Christa was 5 1/2 months pregnant with her. Needless to say, Christa was often using her legs and arms to handle some of the bouncing and by Sunday afternoon, stated she had put in enough trail time and was ready for pavement.

We "wheeled" with Madeline at 6 weeks old, taking her home from the hospital during one of our great snow storms this year. The streets had tons of accumulated snow and our neighborhood streets were really rough. I refrained from doing any donuts in the parking lots, but we both agreed it was Madeline's first wheeling trip. She slept through it all as Christa supported her head and neck.

 

[Hulk]

Maddie and Charlie have been wheeling since very young. My wife prefers the family trips such as the Ghost Town runs, so that's where they usually get their seat time. Both of them enjoy going on trips with me to the hardware store in the 40 too. If it's only one kid, he or she gets to ride up front.

Somewhere I have a picture of the two of them in the back of the 40, both in their car seats, asleep. The car seats are facing forward on my Con-Ferr rear bench seat. There's no top on the 40.

 

[corsair23]

I'm with others that it is best to wait till the child can hold up there head (neck muscles are developed enough). Although the towell deal around the head works great

Babies sleep alot so they tend to do fine on the trails, especially if they aren't hard core trails.

For me, my oldest was about 10 months old when she went on Ophir, Imogene, and Yankee Boy Basin in the Durango (I know, not a Cruiser but it is what I had ). My youngest was slightly younger when we took her out the first time up to the Georgia Pass area.

There is a line in there though, at least for my girls, where at a certain age they start getting bored if the trail is long and there aren't any stops. Last year in Ouray at 3 & 6 neiter was having much fun...But that might have been partly due to the rain and cold in an open air rental Jeep

Man I can't wait to get a Landcruiser on the trail for a change