Ski club stay or not?

[frenchgirl]

Hello! My son (11 yrs old) will be a part of the ski club from his school on Wednesday night. He will go directly from school by bus after school and come back at the school around 9:00 PM. I will be taking some lessons(it's a ladies class) every Wednesday at the same place from 10 until noon. Would you stay until he arrives and make sure that he is "set up"? He is very familiar with the mountain as it is is our home mountain. But he does not buckle his boots very well and the kids will be on their own as far as "putting on gear" is concerned. I also would like to meet his instructor. Would you stay until he arrives and make sure that he is "set up" or leave after your class thinking he should be independent?

 

[ski now work later]

I'm not really a "helicopter" parent (one who hovers) but if my kids participated in a ski program, I would be at the mountain whenever possible, in case I'm needed, though I would stay as much out of the way as possible. I think that the ski programs are great but really tire kids out on a school night, and I'd rather drive my kids directly home than have them take the bus back to the school (probably leaving some of their stuff at the mountain) and then going home from there. At least I would go up the first time or two to check out the supervision and see how comfortable my child is with the scene. Just be low key and more of an observer, and you kid won't resent your presence nor will you be a nuisance to the coaches. In fact, they might appreciate an extra set of hands!

 

[Swamp Dog]

hm, tough call. How about you ask him how he would like it done? You could always stay and ski until he gets there, watch from afar, and let him give you some pre-decided signal if he wants you to help. Of course if he wants to be Mr. Independent you can just leave whenever you want.

I went through the same thing with my son when he played hockey. I only had to go in the locker room to tie his skates, but when do I stop tying them for him? He let me know when he thought he could do it himself. And if he needed an adjustment, one of the coaches on the bench would help.

Maybe one of the ski club adults can fill that role for your son?

 

[skihub]

I would be there for at least the first time and observe how he does with his equipment. Then I'd ask him if he wants you to continue to come. I bet after watching the first time, it will be obvious whether or not you are needed.

Good luck.

 

[Robyn]

I'd stay the first week and meet his instructor and make sure he's set to go and then walk away. Unless the instructor invites you to watch you can be VERY distracting to both the instructor and child if you watch from afar. Some parents and kids deal well with this but most don't. In 4 years of coaching I've only seen 1 family do this really well. I have asked other parents to leave.

In our program at 11 years old you are not invited to be with the group except on race days. We as coaches/instructors can help your child learn to do things for themselves. In fact, even with 5 year olds I am better at getting them to do things for themselves than their parents are and I often witness them reverting to getting mom and dad to do things for them that I know they can do themself.

As far as sticking around the mountain but not with the group that's up to you. I have parents that do and we'll see them through out the day. I have other parents that never do but I have them available by cell phone in case of an emergency.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Does he rent boots, or are these his? If the latter, it might be good to do a little practicing beforehand? Tough call on an 11 y/o, as that is the emerging age of independence. Ultimately, I think he'll be just fine, not sure how to advise except to do a little practicing at home if possible. Echoing Robyn's sentiments about how the kids tend to pick up stuff quicker from other adults than someone in their own family. Surely was the case @ my house....

 

[frenchgirl]

His boots are his so we can practice tonight. I have decided to stay until he shows up, help him if he needs to , meet his instructor and leave after his lesson is over. I think that he will be OK. The ski shop off the lodge knows him and really like him too. It's always nice to have someone friendly around. I just got him some new ski socks and his skis waxed too.

 

[SkiMo]

Well having just come home from supervising our local ski club trip with 12 and 13 year olds...I can tell you that the kids are in it for the candy in the lodge, the Energy drink without a parent telling them they can't have that at night because they have a game tomorrow morning, and the slight chance they might sit kind of close to a cute (girl/guy) on the bus ride home in the dark. (We make boys sit on one side of the bus and girls on the other)
They have a wonderful time feeling kind of independent in a safe, supervised environment. Those of us who take the time to go with the kids make sure that we are around to buckle boots, check to make sure they put shoes in lockers, and don't leave gloves on the snack table.
Don't get me wrong...we love it when parents come to watch. But the kids won't spend much time with you, and they will probably ask if they can ride the bus home anyway. That's what we find. We would really like more kids to go home with parents from the hill, makes for a quieter bus ride home for us! Anyway, I hope your son has a great time. The kids we take love it and we all have fun too!

 

[Robyn]

Can I ask why you seperate the boys and girls? It's not like they're sharing hotel rooms so I guess I'm confused as to why?

 

[itri]

Hmm. You clearly haven't been around middle-school aged kids recently, Robyn. You would not believe the things they get up to on buses!

(I'm not kidding, either...there was a big scandal in the school district I used to work in a few years back when several couples were caught doing things of a very sexual nature on the bus.)

 

[Robyn]

Hmm. You clearly haven't been around middle-school aged kids recently, Robyn. You would not believe the things they get up to on buses!

(I'm not kidding, either...there was a big scandal in the school district I used to work in a few years back when several couples were caught doing things of a very sexual nature on the bus.)

Um, actually, I'm around them every week. And they regularly ride in ski team vans comingled.

 

[SnowHot]

Well having just come home from supervising our local ski club trip with 12 and 13 year olds...I can tell you that the kids are in it for the candy in the lodge, the Energy drink without a parent telling them they can't have that at night because they have a game tomorrow morning, and the slight chance they might sit kind of close to a cute (girl/guy) on the bus ride home in the dark. (We make boys sit on one side of the bus and girls on the other)
They have a wonderful time feeling kind of independent in a safe, supervised environment. Those of us who take the time to go with the kids make sure that we are around to buckle boots, check to make sure they put shoes in lockers, and don't leave gloves on the snack table.
Don't get me wrong...we love it when parents come to watch. But the kids won't spend much time with you, and they will probably ask if they can ride the bus home anyway. That's what we find. We would really like more kids to go home with parents from the hill, makes for a quieter bus ride home for us! Anyway, I hope your son has a great time. The kids we take love it and we all have fun too!

In the school situation where i volunteer, we encourage the kids in this age group to mingle together, even on the bus. Our theory is that its great to mentor this age group on interacting with each other, in the hope that it prepares them for future interactions.

His boots are his so we can practice tonight. I have decided to stay until he shows up, help him if he needs to , meet his instructor and leave after his lesson is over. I think that he will be OK. The ski shop off the lodge knows him and really like him too. It's always nice to have someone friendly around. I just got him some new ski socks and his skis waxed too.

It sounds like you have a good handle on this. Let us know how it goes.

 

[SkiMo]

Proably the biggest reason we separate the boys and girls is that the bus seems a little quieter that way. The kids are still able to talk to each other and have fun. It also just protects us, the teachers, from any possible issues. This is an elective club, and we don't want it to be taken away from the kids for something stupid.

I do have a question for anyone else who has taken kids on ski club outings. Do you do equipment checks before the kids go out? We had a kid break his leg and ankle this Friday. We think his boot might not have been buckled up correctly to break like that.

 

[SnowHot]

Proably the biggest reason we separate the boys and girls is that the bus seems a little quieter that way. The kids are still able to talk to each other and have fun. It also just protects us, the teachers, from any possible issues. This is an elective club, and we don't want it to be taken away from the kids for something stupid.

I do have a question for anyone else who has taken kids on ski club outings. Do you do equipment checks before the kids go out? We had a kid break his leg and ankle this Friday. We think his boot might not have been buckled up correctly to break like that.

We only do equipment checks for the really young kids. By the time they are 10 ish, we assume that they are capable of donning their own gear.

I do, however, always take extra mittens, hats and socks.............Inevitably, someone needs one or all of the above.

 

[SkiMo]

Thanks, its good to have input from other people. We have never done them, thinking the same thing, but when a kid gets really hurt you tend to second guess yourself.