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Tips for adults skiing with little kids

Cruiser123

Certified Ski Diva
Kids learn by feeling and doing, you're never going to get them to stop and listen and watch for longer than a few seconds. Keep any tips or corrections short and very clear. Play games: Red light/green light, Simon Says and Follow-the-leader are all great. If there are cones set up in the learning terrain, encourage kids to steer around them. Watch the "keep your hands forward", sometimes it actually drives kids into the backseat more. Having them hold a snowball in front of them can be very helpful though. And finally, always bring cash for hot coco!
Yes I agree with this. To much information overloads my 4 year old and makes it not fun. She likes to ski with me near her and does not have the skills yet for turning. One day.
 

Cruiser123

Certified Ski Diva
I have a 7 year old girl who is in her 3rd season. When the littles say they're done and want to go in for the day, go. Don't try to make one extra run. Always end on a good note while the child is still in a good mood. If you have a really young one who just wants to play in the snow rather than ski...let them. They have plenty of years ahead of them to learn to be an awesome skier.

Give LOTS of positive reinforcement and try not to correct every little thing. Try not to make a big deal out of falls (unless there is an injury, of course). Try to stay behind your child if at all possible because, like someone else said, it's MUCH easier to ski down to a child that has fallen than it is to hike back up. It never fails...the second I decide to lead my daughter down, that's the time she'll fall and her skis will be everywhere.

Carry small snacks in your pockets (granola bars, etc.). These can be lifesavers for kids who get hungry between breakfast and lunch. Carry hand warmers on cold days for cold hands.

Keep it fun! If the child is not having fun they'll be much more reluctant to go out the next time. :smile:
Such great advice! 100% agree with all of it, I want her to have as much fun as I do.
 

artistinsuburbia

Angel Diva
Happens to be at a ski resort with conveyor loading. Massanutten installed conveyor loading for their beginner lifts in recent years. Alta added it for the Supreme lift. Definitely makes it easier for parents skiing with younger kids, as well as adult beginners. Have you run across conveyor loading? If so, what ski area?

We have conveyors here at Hidden Valley in PA. It is a GREAT mountain to teach kids to ski on.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
We have conveyors here at Hidden Valley in PA. It is a GREAT mountain to teach kids to ski on.
I think what you call a "conveyor" lift may be what is called a "magic carpet" at Massanutten. People stand on it to ride up a short slope. There are two in the training area, which is open to the public after 2pm when the kids' program is over. The longer one is used for the group lessons (ages 7 and up). The conveyor loading I mentioned is for loading a chair lift.

 

artistinsuburbia

Angel Diva
I think what you call a "conveyor" lift may be what is called a "magic carpet" at Massanutten. People stand on it to ride up a short slope. There are two in the training area, which is open to the public after 2pm when the kids' program is over. The longer one is used for the group lessons (ages 7 and up). The conveyor loading I mentioned is for loading a chair lift.

nope, both quads at HV have conveyor loading AND a magic carpet on the beginner slope
 

artistinsuburbia

Angel Diva
2008ish maybe sooner. When Blizzard lift changed from a double to a quad. Rumor has it that avalanche is going to change to a high speed six and that lift is being moved to the new territory to the left of charger not on the map, which will give the mountain three real slopes at min. There are only two that are true blacks. And they are so short they aren't real heart thumpers. Great for teaching kids. But since springs bought the place this year, it's hard to predict what they will do
 
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Albertan ski girl

Angel Diva
I can't second enough having a whole bunch of things ready in pockets. The three most frequently used items in my pockets are: granola bars (because you NEVER know when a kid is going to get a case of the grumpies and tears..and often, its when they are tired and/or have low blood sugar, so the granola bar does wonders!), tissues and some sort of multi-purpose balm. The balm has come in handy for lips, but also chapped skin on the face on windy or snowy days.

At this point, our 8 and 10 year old are totally beyond my skiing abilities -so we keep walkie talkies, especially if we're going to be on separate mountains. One of us though is always with the kids. And even though they are super skiers, I find that they still like it when their dad or I are bringing up the rear, just in case a snowsnake jumps out and gets them :thumbsup:
 

water.rat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Don't know if this has been mentioned already... if the resort has RFID gates and you lose your kids, you can ask the resort to look up which gate they last passed through. They can even suspend the pass so your little one(s) will be stuck at the gate of the next lift they try until you catch up with them!
 

Pinky Smash

Certified Ski Diva
Kids are awesome.

My daughter, when she was 8, so bummed the lift line was closed, hiked up the mountain to get another run in. I tried to stop her, but she was quicker than me...

The little one, I think she was also 8 at the time, snowplowing her way down a mogul field on a black run where the moguls were taller than her!

It's just all pure inspiration.

My only tip: Make sure they have helmet. My kids now, 10 and 11, ski with phones, just in case.
I think not only helmets, but proper skiing gears as well.
 

Pinky Smash

Certified Ski Diva
Don't know if this has been mentioned already... if the resort has RFID gates and you lose your kids, you can ask the resort to look up which gate they last passed through. They can even suspend the pass so your little one(s) will be stuck at the gate of the next lift they try until you catch up with them!

Unless the resort has RFID, what if there's none? Oh no! That's always what I'm afraid off! It's still good to not left your teenagers alone, but if you can't control them, I guess it's more better to place a secret tracker on them. Wiser Mom for silly and hard headed kids. :D
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Some great stories about rides with young ski school students in the U.S. and Europe. Click here and keep reading the next few posts as well. The situations come up when an instructor has a larger group so other adults waiting in the lift line are asked to accompany a student or two.
 
When DH and I ski with our friend's 8 year old daughter its rather funny. She's been skiing since she was 3 so she's a good little skier. DH and I get off the chairlift with her and off she goes. I yell to DH go, go, go, keep up with her don't worry about me. He's Mr. Fall line skier so he catches right up with her. We are working with her along with her mom to constantly tell her to turn more and not be a deadly mini human torpedo.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
When DH and I ski with our friend's 8 year old daughter its rather funny. She's been skiing since she was 3 so she's a good little skier. DH and I get off the chairlift with her and off she goes. I yell to DH go, go, go, keep up with her don't worry about me. He's Mr. Fall line skier so he catches right up with her. We are working with her along with her mom to constantly tell her to turn more and not be a deadly mini human torpedo.
Try playing a game where the goal is to see who can make the most turns from the starting point to a point that's easy to see looking down the slope.

Red, yellow, green light was the best thing I learned about from my daughter's first day on skis at age 4. Works with any age kid who loves speed . . . assuming the adult going along can keep within earshot. My daughter was, and is, a social skier. She was happier skiing with a friend who wasn't as good a skier than skiing harder terrain. Made it easy to be a skiing parent who didn't have to pay close attention once she could ski Mid-Atlantic blacks.
 
Try playing a game where the goal is to see who can make the most turns from the starting point to a point that's easy to see looking down the slope.

Red, yellow, green light was the best thing I learned about from my daughter's first day on skis at age 4. Works with any age kid who loves speed . . . assuming the adult going along can keep within earshot. My daughter was, and is, a social skier. She was happier skiing with a friend who wasn't as good a skier than skiing harder terrain. Made it easy to be a skiing parent who didn't have to pay close attention once she could ski Mid-Atlantic blacks.

Great idea. Thank you. It will even more fun skiing with Brianna this year.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Great idea. Thank you. It will even more fun skiing with Brianna this year.
I've had great fun skiing with my friend and her kids the last few seasons. Girl LL started at age 5, her brother AY started at age 7. He was a natural since he's been playing ice hockey for a while. Plus he's the type who preferred to follow me when we were free skiing. I actually started suggesting he go first last season every so often because he needed practice figuring out where to go next. He was skiing the Mnut blacks, including the seeded bumps, last season. We always talk about where we are going to ski on the lift ride up. LL also prefers to follow me but will lead her mother since Mom skis relatively slowly.

Reason I learned to at least do a 180 was so I could turn, slide backwards to look back, and then turn back, all without stopping. That way I could always turn the easy way.

Note that I don't teach the kids, just as I didn't teach my daughter to ski. When their mother picks them up, I go along and ask their instructor for one thing to help them practice. Then I may remind them a few times later on, but not every run. Mostly just praise them when they do something well.

The family is going to ski with me at Massanutten for the two holiday weekends again this season. Going to be much more fun now that they can all ski blue runs. Another friend who knows them is joining us. She's skied in the past but not in a long time. Her daughter is 5 and I expect that girl to learn quickly.
 

AltaEgo

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
When DH and I ski with our friend's 8 year old daughter its rather funny. She's been skiing since she was 3 so she's a good little skier. DH and I get off the chairlift with her and off she goes. I yell to DH go, go, go, keep up with her don't worry about me. He's Mr. Fall line skier so he catches right up with her. We are working with her along with her mom to constantly tell her to turn more and not be a deadly mini human torpedo.
Other games: draw a line in the snow with your pole as you ski. Tell the child it is a white line and they can make it a ( their favorite color) line by skiing over it. Or make a wedge turn in the snow and have the kids stay on the road made by your skis. Or at the top a uncrowned slope have the two kids stand about 20 feet apart. They agree to make a turn to the right or to the left. One says go to start them downhill and one yells turn. The one who gets the furthest back up the hill wins, then they do it again with.a turn the other way. ( be careful where you do this and. Monitor for traffic.). Or pretend they are James Bond and the bad guy and the best way for the hero to escape is to not allow the bad guy to get his gun aimed at them by turning lots. One kid can be the bad guy, then they switch off.

Most important, quit while they are still having fun. You may miss getting that last couple of runs in but having the experience end on a high note and them wanting to come back is more important. Think of it as an investment. It will pay off later when they are teens and the only time you can get them to talk to you is on the chair!
 

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