What age can baby start skiing?

[NWSkiGirl]

I have a newborn, and I'm wondering how soon I can get her on skis! I love skiing, but I'll be working full time at home and we'll only get up to the mountain on the weekends. My ski school starts them at age 4, but I'm thinking of starting her at age 2.

Here's a 1 year old who's killing it!

 

[MissySki]

I think it really depends on the child. I have friends who tried to start their kid at 2, but she just couldn’t hold herself up fully when sliding. So they would go out with her for a couple of runs and said it was completely exhausting to hold her up the whole way. I don’t think they had the best fitting boots, but she just kept wanting to sit when sliding. I’d just say to aim to start whenever you want, but don’t have high expectations so you aren’t disappointed.. and you could be pleasantly surprised and have a little ripper like the one in the video.

 

[marzNC]

As with starting to walk unassisted, it depends on the toddler. Also depends a lot on the parents. I waited until my daughter was old enough for ski school, which was age 4. She was walking at 13 months. But we live 3-4 hours from the nearest slopes and my husband is a non-skier. Read stories of parents who started around age 2 but they were willing to get on the slopes for an hour or so and then pack it in, at least for the kid. There are some ski schools that start at age 3 with group lessons. Most, if not all, ski schools will do a private lesson for a 3 year old.

 

[KWlovessnow]

We started one at 4 and one at 3. FYI- skiing with young kids can be terrible (and also can be amazing at times). The first year with my 3 year old I rarely put on skis but instead ran up and down the small beginner hill with her in my snow boots. Just be aware that the first years skiing with young ones is an investment for skiing with them when they’re older (mine are now 9 and 11 and I Love skiing with them). Many of your days will be short, tantrums will happen, etc. We paid for ski lessons a lot, both to help the kids but also to give me time to actually ski. Good luck!

 

[elemmac]

I think it very much depends on the kid and where you live (in comparison to a ski mountain) ...I have friends with twins that are 2 and a half, they have skis, and their parents will tow them around the yard. They're hoping to take them to a local rope tow or mellow sledding hill this year. But they don't want to drive an hour to the closest "real" hill. They're toddlers with the attention span of a goldfish, so spending that much time in the car only to have them potentially lose interest after 10 minutes on snow would be tough.

Another friend with a ski condo has an (almost) 2 year old. I think they had some hopes that he would be on skis this winter, but realistically they'll probably wait until next year (he's a peanut, and I'm sure they won't be able to get boots that are even close to fitting for this year). Most mountains have a "must be potty trained" for ski school....and I think they're really hoping that they can get him into a program next year.

 

[marzNC]

They're toddlers with the attention span of a goldfish,

Great description! My daughter is teaching in the 2.5-3.5 year old class at a private pre-school right now and will appreciate it. It's the group that isn't potty-trained yet. She spends a lot of time in the restroom cleaning up messes.

 

[marzNC]

We paid for ski lessons a lot, both to help the kids but also to give me time to actually ski. Good luck!

I made use of ski school or group lessons from age 4 through 11. At least one lesson or day at ski school at the start of a holiday weekend. Made a difference that my daughter was social and enjoyed group lessons. Since I was an advanced intermediate, helped to know a key point or two to remind her about when we were skiing together.

 

[RhodySkiBum]

Here's a 1 year old who's killing it!

That's adorable! Love how he just sits down or puts his head down on his skis.

We did ski with my daughter a little when she was a toddler, just with my husband holding onto her. Never really got her into lessons until she was about 8 - we were young and poor and didn't ski much ourselves back then! But she took to it very quickly, and as we got back into skiing, and she advanced, it challenged me to improve and keep up ;-)

Now, I have a 4 month old granddaughter - can't wait to teach her. In a few years of course ;-)

 

[newbieM]

That’s so cute! I wish they didn’t an outtakes and meltdown video to go along with it. What a cute trooper.

 

[NWSkiGirl]

We started one at 4 and one at 3. FYI- skiing with young kids can be terrible (and also can be amazing at times). The first year with my 3 year old I rarely put on skis but instead ran up and down the small beginner hill with her in my snow boots. Just be aware that the first years skiing with young ones is an investment for skiing with them when they’re older (mine are now 9 and 11 and I Love skiing with them). Many of your days will be short, tantrums will happen, etc. We paid for ski lessons a lot, both to help the kids but also to give me time to actually ski. Good luck!

Oh wow! I didn't even think of that. :-( I taught kids as an instructor a few times and one of them just wanted to roll down the hill rather than ski every week. The parents were up skiing, of course! lol

 

[Moonrocket]

My daughter got those strap on nordic skis for her second birthday. For a while they were house skis - we would play chairlift and I would swoop her around the house in a kitchen chair then she would ski across the carpet. That winter we got outside a bunch - sledding- a bit of cross country skiing- but not a ton. Lots of hot cocoa from a thermos.
We put her on the Magic carpet in alpine gear right before her third birthday. She loved it. But she was used to the cold and having sticks strapped to her feet. Our mountain has a 3yo ski program- but most of the kids could not even walk in boots. Every time we brought her (like 3 times when we were stuck teaching a skill) she got a private lesson all day because none of the other kids wanted to be out skiing all day.
So, I suggest laying the foundation early but not pushing it- knowing how to move with skis on carpet and not fall over made the transition to snow a whole lot easier.

She just turned 13 and can ski anything on the mountain now.

 

[geargrrl]

That’s so cute! I wish they didn’t an outtakes and meltdown video to go along with it. What a cute trooper.

or the parental potato sack carry off the hill....

 

[brooksnow]

That video is an excellent example of how to ski with a little one. In no particular order:

1) There were 2 people with the kid, one uphill to send him on his way and one downhill to catch him when he didn't stop on his own. I don't think he stopped himself intentionally in the video. They also caught him from behind when he headed off in the wrong direction
2) They were on very very gentle terrain where he wouldn't get going too fast even if he straightened his skis. The snow conditions were soft - no slippery spots. On the one section that was steeper they held on to him.
3) They followed his energy level
4) There was an edgie-wedgie on his skis to keep the tips together. He may fall backwards if his feet get too far apart but his tips won't splay and send him into a painful split
5) They just let him slide. The only instructions I heard were "can you make your skis big" "wiggle wiggle" and "stand up buddy." They didn't chastise him when he didn't do what they asked
6) They picked him up when he fell and didn't make a big deal about it
7) They let him slide independently
8) There was a lot of laughter and encouragement

Clearly he was comfortable sliding and was having fun.

One of my kids claims she'll never forgive us for not taking her out on the slopes the day before her first birthday. We had been planning on it since it was a beautiful sunny day, but she had a fever that morning. We were good parents and kept her inside. We were bad parents because we denied her the bragging rights of having skied before she was 1. She had already been walking 2+ months.

 

[geargrrl]

that kid has to be an "almost 2" and not a "just turned 1".

 

[marzNC]

that kid has to be an "almost 2" and not a "just turned 1".

Agree. He walks quite steadily in ski boots.

Reading the associated website, the parents are both ski instructors. They had experience with toddlers before having kids. Got 4 out of 5 of their children started well before they were 2 years old. The video is of their youngest, so by then they had "been there, done that." I bet the kid was eager to be on snow with his siblings.

 

[NWSkiGirl]

My daughter got those strap on nordic skis for her second birthday. For a while they were house skis - we would play chairlift and I would swoop her around the house in a kitchen chair then she would ski across the carpet. That winter we got outside a bunch - sledding- a bit of cross country skiing- but not a ton. Lots of hot cocoa from a thermos.
We put her on the Magic carpet in alpine gear right before her third birthday. She loved it. But she was used to the cold and having sticks strapped to her feet. Our mountain has a 3yo ski program- but most of the kids could not even walk in boots. Every time we brought her (like 3 times when we were stuck teaching a skill) she got a private lesson all day because none of the other kids wanted to be out skiing all day.
So, I suggest laying the foundation early but not pushing it- knowing how to move with skis on carpet and not fall over made the transition to snow a whole lot easier.

She just turned 13 and can ski anything on the mountain now.

Thanks great advice! Do you have a link to the skis?

 

[NWSkiGirl]

Agree. He walks quite steadily in ski boots.

Reading the associated website, the parents are both ski instructors. They had experience with toddlers before having kids. Got 4 out of 5 of their children started well before they were 2 years old. The video is of their youngest, so by then they had "been there, done that." I bet the kid was eager to be on snow with his siblings.

Yes, I love the mom - it's clear she's an instructor! And I think that means they get many days on the mountain each year, which is easier than being a weekend mom trying to get a kid on skis.

 

[NWSkiGirl]

S

or the parental potato sack carry off the hill....

So cute - he fell asleep on the chair and was done for the day!

 

[NWSkiGirl]

That video is an excellent example of how to ski with a little one. In no particular order:

1) There were 2 people with the kid, one uphill to send him on his way and one downhill to catch him when he didn't stop on his own. I don't think he stopped himself intentionally in the video. They also caught him from behind when he headed off in the wrong direction
2) They were on very very gentle terrain where he wouldn't get going too fast even if he straightened his skis. The snow conditions were soft - no slippery spots. On the one section that was steeper they held on to him.
3) They followed his energy level
4) There was an edgie-wedgie on his skis to keep the tips together. He may fall backwards if his feet get too far apart but his tips won't splay and send him into a painful split
5) They just let him slide. The only instructions I heard were "can you make your skis big" "wiggle wiggle" and "stand up buddy." They didn't chastise him when he didn't do what they asked
6) They picked him up when he fell and didn't make a big deal about it
7) They let him slide independently
8) There was a lot of laughter and encouragement

Clearly he was comfortable sliding and was having fun.

One of my kids claims she'll never forgive us for not taking her out on the slopes the day before her first birthday. We had been planning on it since it was a beautiful sunny day, but she had a fever that morning. We were good parents and kept her inside. We were bad parents because we denied her the bragging rights of having skied before she was 1. She had already been walking 2+ months.

Yes, they did a great job! I love the mom in the video. I agree - you were good parents! Health before skiing... Live to ski another day, as we say!

 

[Kathy Bennett]

Having worked at Cranmore for over a decade (a mecca for kids learn to ski programs) I can't say enough about the value of seasonal snowsports programs for kids, or at the very least, group lessons. I recall the youngest was an age 3 "I wanna ski" program which was more about snow play and getting kids used to skis than truly learning to ski. An added value is that mom and dad get to ski when junior learns from people who KNOW how to teach skiing and not just putting a kid on a leash. Money well spent. And before you know it, the kid(s) will be outgunning you on the slopes.