Question: Would You Consider Using A Ski Nanny?

[marzNC]

The OP's idea is to provide a service to parents who are advanced skiers who are parents of kids not ready for black runs yet. There might be another potential market. At Massanutten, there are a fair number of non-skiing/boarding parents who are getting their kids started on skis or snowboards. In some cases, the parents do ski/board but just don't bother at such a little hill. But in others, they don't. The place is small enough that kids age 7 and up can ski alone without issues. I can imagine such families exist at somewhat larger ski areas.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Quick question: does the $10 an hour include a lift ticket? Or is the potential customer looking at say $70 plus the ticket plus tip?

 

[K9hndler98]

Can I get one for my husband?

 

[SkiNana]

Can I get one for my husband?

 

[AltaEgo]

Thanks to all who responded with such great questions and ideas. I envision, at least initially, doing this in conjunction with my home mountain, where I can ski free because DH is a fulltime liftie in the winter. I know that my home mountain has allowed outside instructors to teach there in the past, without lift line cutting priveleges, provided they bought their own lifttickets. I know of one situation where the kid is an awesome skiing 6 year old, but neither parent skis. (Mom would bring him up in the morning before his afternoon kindergarden. He'd ski his brains out with an instructor, including learning to do rails in the park, then go to class. Jeez is that kid going to hate first grade!)

I picked $10 /hour because that is what "play care" is getting. I also have seen alot of kids whose parents really don't seem to care if they learned anything in ski school. (Unfortunately the same ones who arrive 15-30 minutes late to pick up the kids and then don't even tip, so I'm basically stuck with their kid for 15-30 minutes for no pay, because I only get paid for lesson time). If I take 3 skiing kids out and have a good time skiing with each other it could be a "doable" business model--either with the mountain backing it or not. (3 kids = one quad chair.) I also am considering pitching a service to the mountain as a "kid-friendly ski concierge" who would meet parents at the ski drop off point and facilitate getting kids and gear to the slopes and ski school. (I remember how challenging THAT was, and I only had one kid to deal with!)

And SkiNana--if my husband wasn't running lifts (where I can watch him) he'd need a sitter too!

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Keep us posted! You may open the door to others doing the same thing in areas that have traditionally been strongly against their potential competition.

 

[SkiNana]

And SkiNana--if my husband wasn't running lifts (where I can watch him) he'd need a sitter too!

Hey! That wasn't me!!
I was only responsible for the:

 

[vickiski]

No, we ski with other families and divide the children into two groups, 4 older ones and 3 younger. We hire two private instructors, expensive(-ish!) but works a treat.

 

[Mom of Redheads]

I think there are familes for whom ski school doesn't work and where the family can't or doesn't want to ski together all day for whom someone who can tailor childcare to the family would be very appealing. For example - "daycare" at mountains ends at age 6 at the latest and more often at age 4. Then, it's ski school either full or 1/2 day. If you have a 5 year old who doesn't have enough stamina or interest to do 2 at least 2-hour stretches (which is what most full day ski schools are), or if your kids are basically "done" after 2-4 hours - you cannot ski all day. Whether you choose 1/2 day ski school or ski with your kids is irrelevant.

While I think a "vacation nanny" who can ski would be an awesome idea, I think you'd need to be prepared to spend time with the kids coloring in the lodge or condo (or playing or sledding at the base if possible) as much as you'd be prepared to ski with them.

Anyway, I see this as a possible viable service at a resort where you're investing vacation time and dollars. But, $10/would be suspiciously cheap at that point... I'd exoect to pay a premium. Also, if your nannies were kids/adults who taught lessons or worked in the daycare and just did this on their off hours to augment their paycheck, there might be an "automatic" trust at least on some level by the clients.

 

[AltaEgo]

Mom of Redheads, thanks for the comments. I agree that playing in the snow or coloring in the lodge (in other words, meeting the kids needs) is most important. I also agree that most ski schools it's an all or nothing concept, meaning either the kids are in a lesson on snow or the kids are inside all day. The reality of most 4-6 year old is that they can't last 2 hours in ANY single activity. When my son was small and I was teaching, I could leave my son in play care, go to lineup, and if I wasn't needed I could go in, get him dressed, and take him out for 1/2 hour. Then bring him back to playcare, ski a run or two, and go back to lineup. It was a huge advantage for both of us, and it seems to me that there should be some way to offer the same to parents.

 

[Pequenita]

But, $10/would be suspiciously cheap at that point... I'd exoect to pay a premium.

I agree. $10/hour seems too little. I feel like that's what 14-year-olds get for a couple of hours of regular babysitting on a Friday night (and yeah, I think it's expensive, but apparently baby sitters are a hot commodity). Here's a recent article in the NY Times Magazine about nannies...I think on the "cheap" side, it's $15-$18/hour.

 

[Stowski]

I say, make it affordable and you'll get more business. I spend about $300 for my family of 5 to ski. I paid one ski instructor for a private lesson for my (then) 3 year old and all my DD did was do snow angels. $10 sounds like a bargain to me. Just my 2 cents...

 

[IceHeeler]

I really like this idea. I was "forced" to put my kid in ski school when he would have had a lot more fun skiing with a nanny. I selfishly wanted at least one day to myself on the slopes. Scandalous! Anyway, in my area the standard going rate for a babysitter is $10/hr. A babysitter on the slopes would have been a dream come true. He would've been able to play and ski without being held back by enormous groups of whiner babies. It wouldn't hurt to try for a season to see if you can make a go of it. Also, a dinner time babysitting service would probably be profitable. You might want to ask your local housing rental office if they get requests.

 

[Mom of Redheads]

Here are two (four) situations where we could have used such a service rtaher than what we ended up doing:

1. Two years ago, went to Shawnee in PA. I took all 3 kids. Skied with the boys and put DD in daycare - paid about $10/hour - can't truly remember - and extra for lunch. kids ages infant through age 6 or 7 running amok with whatever the legal requirement of adults was (just barely). Basically the older kids were left to their own devices. It was a daycare only, not allied with the ski school so they didn't offer lessons in tandem. Anyway, I stopped skiing - picked DD up at daycare - took her to the ski school for a private lesson - picked her up at the end of the lesson and returned her to daycare afterward (i.e. signed her back in).

2. Last year, neither Mountain Creek nor Belleayre had/have a daycare. So, other than a 1 hour private for DD - and that was too short but full day ski school would have been too long - there was nothing for DD. So, not really a good destination even for a day for our family. I took the boys to Mountain Creek for a daytrip once, leaving DH/DD home - and we skipped Belleayre as a destination altogether last year in favor of Windham (see below).

3. Last year - went to Windham because they were willing to accommodate us by putting DD (age 5) into their combo daycare+1 hour private package at a cost of $165. DD was at that point good enough/strong enough that she could have skied twice during the day for an hour rather than just once. Even worse, the private instructor they gave my daughter kept her on the magic carpet because she wasn't making a snowplow for him (hello, he was a teenager and they forgot to tell him she was mildly autistic AND he was calling her the wrong name).

4. This year, both Belleayre and Hunter - the boys had their fun and wanted to stop much earlier than we did! They like to ski a few runs and take a break. Repeat. But not much later than 1:30 or 2 pm!!! Anyway - if such a service were available in a future year - I'd consider having someone else ski with the boys in part because they just enjoy the day differently and it was frustrating to DH...


Anyway, I'd be willing to pay $15/hour for one kid. Maybe $15/one kid or $20/family?? Considering the other options available, that doesn't seem too uch to me.

 

[deannatoby]

I've read the posts, and the cons brought up are good points. But, as a mom of four, I can't help but think that having an alternative to
$100+/day slope care would make a big difference. Skiing is expensive enough without having to deal with slope care with multiple kids. Now all of my kids are 6 and above, so it's not as big an issue, but in earlier years I would have like it. One BIG BIG BIG pro is that with a ski nanny the kids would have gotten a lot more ski time. I was always disappointed that the all day slope care included only about 1.5 hours of ski time for the littlest ones. $10/hour for somebody to keep a little guy on the magic carpet most of the day? DEAL!! No trees to worry about, a veritable bastion of safety, and somebody is out all day teaching them. And, I'm not a lazy parent. I just knew nothing about skiing and had to have somebody else teach them. I tried teaching Littlest One, and realized it was a disaster. I would have hired you!

As for older children who are on blue and above slopes and can hit trees, I would think harder and want to know about the person's ability to be safe and knowledgable. Safety, safety, safety. You can do this the same way ski schools do this: show education in ski kid safety, credentials, etc. I tend to think the ski schools aren't exactly vetting for experts when they hire. I know the older lady that taught the little kids' lessons for my 4 yo was awesome, but the teens I see in the daycare program aren't exactly creating expectations for excellence.

So, two people with 4 kids, Mom of Reds and me, could see this working. Might be worth investigating it further as a business opportunity!

 

[deannatoby]

I notice your original post is for kids aged 6-12. Like I said above, I think it would be a great thing for smaller kids.

 

[Mom of Redheads]

I also think you'd need to clearly define your role. Are you a nanny? Or a ski companion? Or a ski instructor?

I know you have the qualifications, but surely having parents expect you to provide care AND qualified instruction at the same time is not in your best interests? If found out, you'd surely ruin any relationship you had with the ski school (if you're doing this where you normally teach) because you'd be undercutting them; you'd be inundated with families who just want a cheaper semi-private full day option. You wouldn't actually be helping families for whom specialized services are the real attraction. And you'd be opening yourself to the complaints of parents who expect you to teach their kids to be expert skiers when you thought you were providing them something else?

Hired Gun Ski Instructor and Ski Nanny are two separate things IMO - I'd just be careful about what you're offering and what your limitations are.

 

[deannatoby]

Good points. I assumed there would some type of instruction since you mentioned kids skiing in "death wedges" in the first post. I would think it would be hard to nanny kids in wedges all day on the slopes and not do some type of instruction. While many parents would love to have a day to themselves on the slopes, I would think it would be much more attractive to have a day to themselves and have their kids end the day with some skill improvement. Going up and down green slopes all day long would seem pointless if nothing was happening in the way of learning. For my situation it would have been unlikely for you to have nannied for us and not have done some instruction as the need was pretty obvious.

Thinking about all the details with the business model and the slope is very complicated. Starting out simple with people you know and recommendations from them, etc., is a great way to feel it out. The slope can't complain about people exercising their right to pay somebody like you anymore than they can complain about a family bringing their own babysitter or nanny. If the business grows to the point of advertising, etc., then the slope might have a legitimate claim and those issues would have to be tackled, but until then I would think you could operate with acquaintances freely. I would think the insurance issue would be one to consider, but somebody else already pointed out that you're probably not going to be taking care of kids going down blacks. A good helmet and some slow traverses on greens and easy blues sounds more likely.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Some interesting facts (https://www.nsaa.org/nsaa/press/facts-ski-snbd-safety.asp):
- helmet use has not reduced ski area fatalities, though it has reduced the incidence of mild head injuries.
- most fatalities occur on the sides of blue runs, not the black runs people think are so dangerous.
Data also shows that 2 to 7 injuries requiring medical attention happen per 1000 skiers on a given day.
Furthermore, while only 10% of accidents occur during ski lessons (or perchance paid for on slope nannying), 90% of ski injury lawsuits involve ski schools.
I would argue that liability insurance and conducting such a business legally is critical in this sue happy nation! Helmets and going slow on easy trails are sadly not a guarantee of an injury free day on the slopes.

 

[snow addict]

I thought that there already were ski nannies and they were called "ski instructors" - at least this is the case here, where most parents would drop their little ones at ski schools in the morning. Group lessons are cheap and most children are loving them. I think ski schools take kids as young as 3 y.o. and by 7 they ski double blacks often better than their parents. I was on a lift with this man and his two sons, the younger couldn't be older than 4 and they were discussing going to Tortin - which is an extremely difficult and long mogul itinerary, 40 degrees average pitch. Why paying someone to hang out with wedging kids on green slopes if you can pay someone for actually teaching them to ski? In other words another NO.