Seymour wrote on Apr 14^th, 2010 at 2:48am:

Okay, I'm fairly new around here - this site. I enjoy paddling is a canoe. I do not need to get into my background in the outdoors. I do not need to list my degrees, certifications, instructing and teaching experience, blah, blah..There is no need to prove this, etc and now I am a newer parent and will be enjoying paddling in a canoe with my son this spring and summer. I look to this site b/c its really valuable (enough to donate? yeah, maybe someday for this cheap guy) and numerous folks here have provided insight and experience into Q to help my trip planning and again the list can go on. Some folks here, no need to waste time, seem to waste others time and bring nothing of importance or relevant to this forum. I could now go into how my son will be banging his head against the gunwale and seat to get back to his 'wonderful' crib and how I will paddle in the full blown sun for hours on end as if there is no one that might be affected by the sun's rays. Which is why I purchased a space suit, equipped with its own bowel movement catcher  - come on! I am now waste your time too!? I do appreciate all parents and paddlers that gave me feedback with my trip planning thus far. As mentioned, safety, yes very important, proper planning can help mitigate. But not going at all b/c of a infant?!? We could go into the risks in car camping with infants to waste more time..But comments around NOT bringing infants, etc into Q should be seriously dealt with (?) and/or does this site actually condone these types of commentary? I started this and got great info and its interesting to see the extreme or wide open opinions folks have out there. I guess I asked for it? There's facts and opinions and there's being other comments all together.. Any how, Seymour

Seymour,

I have no doubt that with your vast months of child-rearing experience, that you know all you need to know. One of the things you will find at QJ is that when you seek advice, you will get it, perhaps even advice/opinions you didn't ask for. I have no doubt that all of us here have good intentions. I think it is safe to say that many of us have expressed concern for the well-being of your infant son. That doesn't mean we think you are not a good parent, but we know that often times things don't work out as well as we dream they will. Since you feel no need to disclose much about yourself, an obvious assumption is that readers will make a wide range of assumptions about you. Nothing inherently good or bad about that, its just how most are wired. So, I hope things work out as well as you hope...and that you will cut us a little slack, and I hope we will cut you a little slack as well. It's your call... 8-)