Staggered at people teaching their own kids

[OneOutdatedDiva]

Perhaps until he's earned a bag, he can devise some kind of carrying system with something he's got around -- another good challenge for him!

Karen in Boise

I think this would be a great project for him Karen!

Ruth I understand your concern based on my comments, but please understand that I do expect quite a bit from him. (part of the expectation comes from my experience, and the fact that after a 13 year break I was terrified that I was gonna be run over on the other hills. I couldn't turn w/o looking behind me b/c the young ones on this particular hill have no common courtesy) The normal hill we ski is tiny and the greens are so packed on the weekend they in themselves are an obstacle course. I'm actually not fond of escorting him down them b/c of fear of others. He's able to maneuver in and out of the many road blocks when I thought for sure there would be collisions (day 1). I think he could stop successfully if he wanted to however; don't think he wants to stop at all...think he wants the run to keep on forever. Most of his balance issues come when trying to get from the bottom of the hill to the lift or the magic carpet. Bottom line I do not want my child to be the one that everyone is afraid of, I would much prefer he be the example of what to do.

Though he is green when it comes to ski etiquette he is a very helpful courteous young man, and I have had two parents tell me on the hill what a great help he is and how they wished their children had the manners he has. (picking up other people's poles and helping them when they fall, yes-no maim/sir etc-I have a military background-therefore respect and normal courtesy are a must in my household) Your six year old would have nothing to worry about with him my issue is that he thinks he knows everything and he is very dangerous on the blues..I think with more self control/guidance, my son will be a role model for others on this tiny and in my opinion already outta control hill.

Terrain park lessons are a good idea for future reference if he is interested in it....I wanna get through this week with success first but will keep it in mind.

 

[Kano]

...after a 13 year break I was terrified that I was gonna be run over on the other hills. I couldn't turn w/o looking behind me b/c the young ones on this particular hill have no common courtesy)

Use this with him!

Bottom line I do not want my child to be the one that everyone is afraid of, I would much prefer he be the example of what to do.

Your six year old would have nothing to worry about with him my issue is that he thinks he knows everything and he is very dangerous on the blues..I think with more self control/guidance, my son will be a role model for others on this tiny and in my opinion already outta control hill.

Actually, the six year old -- and the sixty year old -- may very well have something to worry about. It sounds like he is showing good control of the skis, and it's good that he's not scared -- but especially on the green run, and on the blue ones you're taking him on as a beginner, THE PEOPLE HE'S ZIPPING AROUND may well be scared out of their skins by his zipping. It's important that he know and understand that.

It's not necessarily that your son may crash into the other skiers, but someone coming out of nowhere nearby can cause a pretty serious startle reaction in me, and that in itself could have serious consequences. Because I know how it makes me feel, I try to consider a good sized personal space bubble around myself and those around me -- bubbles don't merge unless it's unavoidable. If there's some way to relate the shock of someone speeding past to something in his experience in a way that will help him to understand that even though he "knows exactly what he's doing" the other guy doesn't know that, and could be very frightened. Since it sounds like you've been working on a good base of respect and consideration for others at all times, hopefully he can understand that slowing down and behaving in a more predictable manner shows that respect and consideration to fellow skiers. There's the additional benefit that in going a bit slower, his runs will last longer!

Another nifty challenge -- the perfect carve, some beautifully shaped line down the hill...

Karen in Boise

 

[OneOutdatedDiva]

Update!

I must say my child has once again shocked me and this is a good thing!

Yesterday, he had a private lesson and did extremely well. His instructor said that he not only did everything she asked him to, but did it well. She had him on the blues for 1.5 hours and I only paid for an hour lesson. I by no means expected her to do such a thing but will probably utilize her services again. She said that she enjoyed skiing with him and she figured she'd keep him busy as he was like a sponge. By the end of the lesson he was starting to hockey stop and she urged me to invest in poles for him as pole plants were next on the list....she said she would have gone through that with him had he had poles yesterday.

All and all he did well! After my last post he made a friend in school whom is on the PTA's ski club. He desperately wanted to join the club and I told him he could, if he proved himself yesterday. So, immediately following the lesson he got his wish, he is now in ski club which is actually a pretty good deal. They get 5 lessons, and ski for 5 Sunday's from 5-9pm. Following the last club meeting they can ski at anytime on Sunday w/o a lift ticket by wearing their club tags and as an added bonus they receive three lift tickets for any other time. This is fairly cheap in my opinion....$127 b/c he owns his own equipment.

The ironic thing is that the "agility" course that he so desperately wanted to complete is how they determine the skiing level of the children in the club. His instructor said he is a strong intermediate yesterday....but we will see. I wanna see consistency....he does the course this evening during club hours....I can't wait to see how he does....they will not let him ski blues if he doesn't pass this course and.....if he breaks the rules which include all of what we've discussed earlier in this post and more there are consequences.

I have a happy child, I am a hopeful mother and life is good right now!:D

 

[2ski2moro]

So happy you found a ski instructor who clicked with your son. It makes all the difference!

 

[Mom of Redheads]

We've had the 5 and 7 year old in lessons, thinking that by day 2 or 3 they'd have it down...well that hasn't happened! ....

Anyway, it just doesn't seem that the lessons are "working"...maybe Loveland isn't the best place to learn, or maybe my kids just aren't naturals How long does it typically take this age kids to "get it"? And what can I do to help them? .

Maybe you've solved your problem by now - but if not, have you asked their current instructors what they think would help? Maybe they each need a private lesson or two to get them over a hump...

Our #2 son got nowhere in group lessons and we are trying a couple of private... one reason group won't work for him, for example, is he can be lazy and is skilled at getting others to help him (get him up, for example) - and in a group, they can't easily tailor to each child's personality and so on...

Just a thought! It's expensive, but it couldn't hurt, right?

 

[Mom of Redheads]

I have a happy child, I am a hopeful mother and life is good right now!:D

Wonderful! I am the mom of a gifted/Asperger's kid and know the roller coaster well. Days/moments like this are what I live for... wallow in the moment and be proud of yourself for finding the right reinforcement for your son. You did good!

 

[OneOutdatedDiva]

Thanks! It's not fun trying to find the thing that works when it seems nothing else will work....we had an even more wonderful breakthrough today. Last night after ski club which he enjoyed tremendously, he decided he was gonna throw a fit b/c he was tired and didn't want to carry his skis. I tried to tell him how to carry them correctly and showed him, but he was tired and wasn't hearing anything.

This morning when we left the house I had him take his equipment to the car while I got my shoes on. He came in the house after completing the task and said mom "you were right" your way works well. Then the rest of the day on the hill he took pointers like it was nothing. I was more proud of his progress today than I have been through the whole process, he skied in control on the blues while I skied next to him on the black hills. I'd watch him ski down before I'd leave the top and he waited patiently at the bottom for me.

This was so reasurring that we are finally making real progress...he did it on his own w/o following someone.

 

[skidoc120]

Thanks for keeping us posted, I really enjoyed the story, and am glad your son is doing well. Good suggestions, all. Gotta love theSkiDiva.com!

 

[OneOutdatedDiva]

Thanks for keeping us posted, I really enjoyed the story, and am glad your son is doing well. Good suggestions, all. Gotta love theSkiDiva.com!

Yes, Thank You all for the suggestions/constructive criticism. I am enjoying the site and find it extremely useful.

 

[Muppet]

I get on the slopes nearly every day and I can't believe some of the things I see. The worst I've ever seen was last week - someone racing down a steep blue with a child on their shoulders, actually sat on their freaking shoulders. I couldn't believe it. I was on the chair at the time or I'd have said something to them.

The leashes seem quite popular here and I'm seeing more and more people using the clips that attach the front of the children's skis to your own. The instructors we use aren't a fan of them though, if anyone asks about them.

I co-ordinate children's lessons for a tour operator in my resort and we take them from 3 as long as they are toilet trained. I was freaked out 2 weeks ago when one of my guests asked ski school if they would take in their 2 and a half year old and they said yes. I strongly objected as their insurance didn't cover her for skiing, but they weren't bothered. I wouldn't let her in my group lessons, so they got her private lessons. They are the only ski school I have ever known to take them so young.

 

[gardenmary]

Yes, Thank You all for the suggestions/constructive criticism. I am enjoying the site and find it extremely useful.

That's so great your son found an instructor he resonates with! I think it's like any subject - when you find someone with whom you connect really well, it just takes everything to a completely different level. My opera lit professor in college was like that - she was so passionate about the subject that she had us all hanging on her every word.

It will be interesting to see if this positive experience on the hill has a positive effect on other things off the hill. I noticed that would happen with some of my choir students when I was teaching music in a K-8 Catholic school.

So glad it's going well!

 

[Suds]

I too was wondering where you were that they don't take kids for lessons until 5 or 6. Here in Vt I think most areas take kids at 3. I know at Smugglers Notch where I ski, they have a 3-4 year old group and they'll take 2yr olds in private lessons!

 

[geargrrl]

I too was wondering where you were that they don't take kids for lessons until 5 or 6. Here in Vt I think most areas take kids at 3. I know at Smugglers Notch where I ski, they have a 3-4 year old group and they'll take 2yr olds in private lessons!

My local hill is a small nonprofit in Eastern Washington. Maybe it depends on whether a hill is a dedicated resort catering to the needs of vacationers, or a local hill? No kids under 5 in the ski school here.

 

[valli]

Around here most of the lesson programs take kids starting at 4, although a few mix daycare and skiing at 3, but they don't learn much skiing. As a younger sibling, my younger daughter started begging to ski when she was barely able to talk, at 18 months. We told her she could ski the following year, when she was two, and she remembered. We thought she would ski briefly and then want to come in, but she skied the entire day. She has great balance and could turn on easy greens, but she still needed work stopping at 2 and 3 and was fairly fearless, so DH and I would use the leash. Now she's four and is taking lessons, and can stop on her own, so the leash is gone. Her sister is seven, and we put her in a lesson (under protest!) at Squaw Valley yesterday. My husband ran into her on KT-22, which is the advanced/experts only lift. She was on her fourth lap with her ski instructor. We were very happy with her instructor, he got her comfortable skiing advanced terrain and really using her poles, so today nothing seemed intimidating to her. Soon I'll be hearing, "follow me, Mom!" But I do teach her some of the time, since she doesn't like taking lessons all the time and they get expensive. We try to mix lessons and family skiing, but lessons are really helpful when they need to learn a new concept or bump up to the next level.

 

[newskier378]

Ski school is such an important part in teaching kids how to ski, I wish all parents understood. As a little girl I was pretty much one of the girliest girls you would ever meet. I remember thinking that I didn't want to participate in any sport where you weren't required to wear a leotard or a skirt. But I forgot this rule of mine when I went to ski school. I got to spend half the day playing dress up in the ski nursery and the other half doing fun things such as obstacle courses outside with a super nice instructor named cowboy ( this was WAY before helmets, instead of a beanie he wore a cowboy hat). And now because ski school made skiing such a fun experience for me and I didn't rule it out as not girly enough I am fully addicted to skiing after 18 years, with it being without a doubt one of my very favorite activities.

 

[2ski2moro]

A friend is trying to teach his two kids (8 and 9) to snowboard. The kids look miserable when they come in - no smiles, no enthusiasm. He is a wonderful dad and a really good snowboarder, but apparently not a very good teacher/motivator.

I feel for the kids. They need to be in Ski School and I have no way to make it happen.

This is what I said back in January.

Now, in March, I have to eat my words. Can I have some ketchup, please? The kids are AWESOME on their snowboards. They can ride any Blacks at Gore. They aren't just scraping the snow off the slopes, they are pointing the boards down, putting them on edge, and going with style and flair. They are making jumps and doing glades, following their friends who have been skiing for years, run for run.

When we skied together, the dad was laughing and throwing snowballs. The kids were happy and giggling.

I have to give kudos to this guy. He found what works for them and made it happen.

 

[gr8outdoors]

I didn't want to start a new thread on this topic, so I thought I would just add to this one. Over the last two days, i saw three people taking their kids down slopes the kids really didn't belong on. Yesterday, it was 2 different parent/child combinations on one of the easier blues and today it was a mother with her daughter on a black. Yesterday, a man with his daughter (maybe around 7 years old) was yanking at her legs and arms when he was getting her back up from falls so badly that my husband & I thought he was going to pull a limb from a socket. Today, the mother on the black told me she had been skiing for 37 years and her daughter had been on that trail last year. Well, today the trail was full of moguls and much more difficult than it normally is - the poor kid was very nervous and kept falling. I realize the kids have to eventually go down more difficult trails, but if they are falling every few feet, they don't belong there.

I have a son who is now 12 and skis way better than my husband & I. When he started skiing, we put him in some lessons, but most of the time was spent skiing in between me and my husband (I wasn't a very good skier when we began skiing as a family) and my husband would give him instructions as to what to do, how to get up, etc. The first time we took him down a blue, he was scared, but made it down without a fall, so he was definitely ready for it.

As a parent who enjoys skiing, I just can't understand why people put their kids on a trail too difficult for them. If they want the kid to like skiing, that's the wrong way to go about it.

 

[Snow Saskia]

(Recovering) Clueless Parent

I'm going to confess that as a first time skier, taking my 5 yr old to the slopes this winter, I've made lots of mistakes. If I'd read Ski Diva first, I might have avoided some of them.

I think that there should be a guide book or pamphlet handed out to parents of young ones at the lift ticket booth. You would think that safety concerns would be resolved with common sense, but if you are completely clueless (as I was) there are a lot of things that can be missed.

I still feel that it's okay to fall on the bunny slopes. On our first run, I was picking up my daughter every few feet. By the second and third, she figured out how to balance herself and now she is doing great wedging down the easy blues. She honestly learned through a process of falling down, and by default, is able to pick herself up.

I am just not sure there is a completely risk-free way to learn how to ski. I was very surprised my ski instructor was told not to teach how to recover from a fall, because then that assumes that you are going to fall. In my very limited experience, I fall every time I try a new skill.

 

[B.E.G.]

Yesterday I was on the lift, and the run directly below me was a mogul run. I've been down it by accident and it is Not Fun At All. I can't imagine what it was like yesterday - it was icy and cruddy and that run looked terrible. Saw two little girls, neither could've been older than 10, going down it. Well, it was wedge, turn, fall, wedge, turn, fall all the way. I saw them at the top and I felt so bad for them - it's a long mogul run. Later, on the same run I saw two young snowboarder boys falling down it. And off another chair lift, I saw some older skiers who were clear beginners falling down an even harder, steeper mogul run. I don't get it. I know you should step out of your comfort zone and attempt harder runs but moguls?? And where were those kids' parents?!

 

[smartjingle]

I never liked being taught by those close to me... they just try to push me off higher hills with no instruction, and then complain later when I raise the issue of zero guidance that even if they did instruct me I wouldn't listen.

I guess that's why relatives and friends are not good teachers. :(