Those of you with children...

SteezethePirate

SteezethePirate

Member
I have a 1 yr old little girl, love her to pieces, just wondering, to those of you whom this applies, when did you start your little one on the mountain? I've seen videos of kids but I'd like to know what you guys have to say, and what sort of difficulties you've faced.

Thanks in advance!
 
I started when I was 4, but the hill that I teach at starts them at 2. I'd say it depends more on the kids ability to stand/balance on their own, then on their age.
 
topic:SteezethePirate said:
I have a 1 yr old little girl, love her to pieces, just wondering, to those of you whom this applies, when did you start your little one on the mountain? I've seen videos of kids but I'd like to know what you guys have to say, and what sort of difficulties you've faced.

Thanks in advance!
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I'd say the biggest thing first off is to not set expectations. Don't look at videos of some dude shredding with his 2 year old and they crush it. Its your kid, they'll go at their own pace.

Second - teach fun first. I dragged my son around the back yard on plastic skis when he was late 1 early 2. Just swished around and had fun. When he was 2-3 we would go over to the sledding hill around the corner and take a run or two on the skis and then just go sledding for a while. When he started going to the hill, sometimes we'd only make it 2-3 runs and then he'd be cold. I'd just leave.

Now that he's 5, we can actually ski together. Starting it all over with my Daughter who is 3. Lessons definitely help, but make sure they want to go and then it won't be a problem to get them out.

I found lessons extremely helpful. Though I even used to be a ski instructor, and taught kids... I found my kids sometimes just listen to the instructor a bit more when they have to learn a bit of form. Plus, you can just have fun with them vs. working on too much skill.

Really though, I find the most important thing you can do again is make it super fun. The more fun you can make it, the more that when they finally get that skill going they will want to go out. If they don't want to go to the hill, its far more difficult to actually make any progress.

Skiing with your kid is the single most rewarding thing I've ever experienced. Be patient, don't worry about what anyone else is doing and just have a fantastic time.
 
13773714:Mr.Bishop said:
I'd say the biggest thing first off is to not set expectations. Don't look at videos of some dude shredding with his 2 year old and they crush it. Its your kid, they'll go at their own pace.

Second - teach fun first. I dragged my son around the back yard on plastic skis when he was late 1 early 2. Just swished around and had fun. When he was 2-3 we would go over to the sledding hill around the corner and take a run or two on the skis and then just go sledding for a while. When he started going to the hill, sometimes we'd only make it 2-3 runs and then he'd be cold. I'd just leave.

Now that he's 5, we can actually ski together. Starting it all over with my Daughter who is 3. Lessons definitely help, but make sure they want to go and then it won't be a problem to get them out.

I found lessons extremely helpful. Though I even used to be a ski instructor, and taught kids... I found my kids sometimes just listen to the instructor a bit more when they have to learn a bit of form. Plus, you can just have fun with them vs. working on too much skill.

Really though, I find the most important thing you can do again is make it super fun. The more fun you can make it, the more that when they finally get that skill going they will want to go out. If they don't want to go to the hill, its far more difficult to actually make any progress.

Skiing with your kid is the single most rewarding thing I've ever experienced. Be patient, don't worry about what anyone else is doing and just have a fantastic time.
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Agreed, it shouldn't be anything but fun at that age. As soon as it becomes a struggle at that age they lose interest.
 
I started my girls at 4 years old, and they are now on their 6th season of skiing at 9 years old in USSA U10 racing. We started doing it as a way to keep the whole family active and outside during the winter months. We started them out directly in the kids day camp program at our local mountain so they were going out twice a week for a day camp from age 4. They did the kids day camp for ages 4 and 5. They then did the lowest level introductory racing program at ages 6 and 7. At age 8 they progressed to the next level introductory racing program and now at age 9 they are racing in USSA U10.

They liked skiing but were not super into it their first season. We really didn't give them an option not to do it but we also didn't yell at them or pressure them. They are good kids and toughed it out. We made sure to select a well run program and made sure they were rested, warm and fed. We also gave them time skiing with us for fun.

They really started to enjoy it more towards the end of the first season and into the second season. They love skiing now especially skiing for fun and with us and with their friends. They especially love ski vacations and we're travelled to Jay Peak, Mont Tremblant and Breckenridge with them. They aren't super into racing but they do like it and understand that they need it develop strong skills. They were comfortable on the blacks out at Breck and Jay including glades and bumps though I didn't take them on any double blacks.

What they really want to do is learn to ride park. They love hitting jumps and features and want to learn to do it better. I can't teach them as I'm a snowboarder and not a skier so I've been thinking about sending them to camp at Windell's. Any thoughts on that or any other way to help 9 year olds progress in the park?

The funny thing was that I had very little experience skiing/riding before the kids started and I started learning again as a way to keep up with them. Now I'm super into snowboarding and ride as much as I possibly can.
 
I would say on average no child is really pressuring their edges before they are around 5 (at least none of my kids did). Watching the 2-3 years old out there being taught with those leashes or hulahupes is cool just to get the exposed to skiing. In the end it's all about making sure they are having fun. I tell them we will do as many runs as they want to as long as they are having fun we will stay. Most times we will stay until they get too cold and then we leave. It's all about making sure they have positive experiences while they are learning.
 
4.5-5 years seems to be some kind of average age when kids start to picking up it by themselves. But it varies a lot, some get it already at 2.5-3 years old (but not most..so don't stress it...your kid can still develop to be the next Candice, even if she/he will start at the age of 6-7 or so...)

I have to girls, now 9 and 12 years old. They both figured it out around 4.5-5 years old (how to "pizza" and take lift rides on kid's lifts etc). Now I can ski even some moderate off-piste/powder with'em. They're not that much into park but developing into pretty capable all-mountain skiers. Best feeling in the world to ski with them...as already stated.

Take your time, it will take a lot of patience from the parents but as said concentrate on the fun part and you'll have good times in the future too!
 
13774030:aggro_skidad said:
What they really want to do is learn to ride park. They love hitting jumps and features and want to learn to do it better. I can't teach them as I'm a snowboarder and not a skier so I've been thinking about sending them to camp at Windell's. Any thoughts on that or any other way to help 9 year olds progress in the park?
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A lot of places have freestyle programs, some even run through the freeskiing wing of USSA, others are more of a D-team - chiller atmosphere, more about having fun than winning competitions. Also, I've been to summer camp on hood twice - super fun, but the youngest one out there was accompanied by her parents (she was 8). I should probably mention that it was a race camp, so we were getting up at 4:30am etc., the freestyle camps are run a lot differently, but they still seem super fun. Summers out there have been some of my best memories ever, and if you have the means, definitely send your kids.
 
Started my kids at 1, we go pretty frequently, it's a slow learning curve. If you don't live real close to a resort it's probably not worth messing around at that age. My daughter, 3yo, has her first real lesson today.

I found tip connectors to be a crutch, you think they're doing so good, then take it off and it's a big step back.

One thing you should do is get your kid a season pass, they are free under 6 pretty much everywhere and they are a cool keepsake.
 
Another thing that I used to hook my boys is that we always stop at their favorite bagel joint on the way up the canyon and they look forward to that just as much. It's simple but it works.
 
Anyone have experience with helping a kid (9 y/o) with ADHD learn to ski? Is it better to set them up with private lessons or to teach them yourself?
 
I took my step-son out first when he was 10. I told him I wouldn't take him until he stopped whining just trying on ski boots. That took him 3 years. He loves it now.

I took my daughter out for the first time last year. She was 7. She wants to get back out again this year.

I plan on taking my son this year, at least for a couple runs in the bunny hill befire I hsnd him off to my wife so they can hit the lodge. He turns 2 next month.
 
13775992:Mingg said:
Anyone have experience with helping a kid (9 y/o) with ADHD learn to ski? Is it better to set them up with private lessons or to teach them yourself?
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It's really up to you, but it depends on how the kiddo responds to authority figures. If, for instance, it would be better for the kid to get math homework help from their actual teacher because of the authority thing, than their parents/sister/brother etc, then go with a private lesson. If they respond better to someone they know, teach them yourself. Another thing to take into account is how criticism will sound to the kid. My dad coached me for years, and it always felt a lot more personal than when other coaches who I'm not related to told me the same exact thing. Best of luck and hope he has a great time!
 
I don't have any kids but my mom started teaching my how to ski when I was around 1yr old. I also skied on little plastic strap on skis in the back yard.

The kids I coached we took age 3+ I'd coach 3-4yr olds in the mornings, then 5-6yr olds in the afternoon. From what I remember, I'd see parents taking the younger siblings of the kids we coached, out on skis and they were 1.5-2yrs old.

At that point, even the youngest kids we accepted didn't require all that much teaching, the most difficult part of that was actually watching out for other skiers on the mountain. Kids are very VERY small compared to the biological missile that is a 170lb 6' skier with about 40lbs of gear on. Many adults do not watch out for little kids so we had one coach in the front, one in the back, it was still a task and a half to make sure nobody was cutting off any of the kids. The lift was usually fine, once they get the hang of it, lifties are usually happy to slow it down if needed and the kids become more independent with loading which is awesome.

My old freeride team now takes kids 8 yrs old and up, I had one kid I coached that would point at all the big jumps and cliffs and go "I wanna do that". So it was cool to tell his mom about the freeride team and get another kid going where they should be going. It was a lot of work but honestly it was pretty fun watching all these little kids go in the baby park with me and do the tiny jumps and a short table top box. I had fun, they had fun, it was interesting cus I can remember having awesome coaches when I was that little too.
 
13775992:Mingg said:
Anyone have experience with helping a kid (9 y/o) with ADHD learn to ski? Is it better to set them up with private lessons or to teach them yourself?
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I taught privately a 10 year old with autism and the parents were honestly super thrilled to have me teach him. In 8 weeks he went from not being able to step into the binding, to chasing me on the larger hills and going on the chairlift (our bunny hill used a carpet).
 
13776569:ColaPhoto said:
I taught privately a 10 year old with autism and the parents were honestly super thrilled to have me teach him. In 8 weeks he went from not being able to step into the binding, to chasing me on the larger hills and going on the chairlift (our bunny hill used a carpet).
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To continue ..... I do agree above what was said in the sense of how the youngling will react.

My guy was super awesome and we progressed slowly and patiently and it was a warm feeling knowing that the parents saw something they didnt think someone with challenges would be able to do.

I would try it yourself but really if you talk to the resort and you ask them to pair him up with a really awesome instructor they will 110% hook you up
 
13776571:ColaPhoto said:
To continue ..... I do agree above what was said in the sense of how the youngling will react.

My guy was super awesome and we progressed slowly and patiently and it was a warm feeling knowing that the parents saw something they didnt think someone with challenges would be able to do.

I would try it yourself but really if you talk to the resort and you ask them to pair him up with a really awesome instructor they will 110% hook you up
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Thanks for the reply! That would be my biggest concern is getting her with someone who like actually gives a shit and has the patience to help her. I know a few instructors, and while they're great people, they just seem like they dont care (talk bad about kids, complain about stuff etc.) and I would hate to put them or her in that situation. I will definitely have to get in contact with the ski school and see if we can set something up.
 
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