 Poster: A snowHead
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For the first time since the kids were babies, we're doing Christmas with just us and the kids. 5 of us. Kids are 6yo, 8yo and 10yo. I used to LOVE skiing growing up. I went to lessons once a week with my school for 3 years and skied most weeks for another 3 years. Then I moved to a place without ski hills, got married and had kids. I've missed it so much! My selfish Christmas present to myself this year is to drag my husband and kids skiing with me over the Christmas holidays.
Fortunately, no one is against the plan. Last year, I brought up the idea and my oldest freaked out in terror. She's always been a high strung worry wart. I sent her to ski lessons for a week on a tiny bunny hill without any mountains nearby. That built up her confidence because now she can't wait to go on this trip. Her younger brothers are curious but last year preferred hockey over skiing lessons with their sister. My husband has been skiing a few times as a kid, but I don't think they were very good experiences. His mother is as high strung as my daughter and I'm guessing she kept it very 'safe'.
I'm hoping to make sure that this is fun for them, so that they'll want to do this with me again. If four of us enjoy skiing, it shouldn't be too difficult to corral my husband into going skiing with us.
Any suggestions to make sure that I keep this a positive experience for everyone? I'd really like for us to go skiing together often. It's taken a lot of convincing to make this trip happen. I'm admittedly eager to sell them on it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to snowheads, myhairhurts 
Where? Europe, North America? Budget? Your kids are at a great age to start to learn to ski.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I have a deal through work on a ski resort in Quebec. Location won't be changing. I'm more curious whether I should insist on putting them in lessons? Or only do half day skiing? Or limit the time? I mean, as a kid, I had no shortage of enthusiasm for skiing. I skipped meals in favour of staying out on the hills. I don't know that they'll be as enthusiastic as me. I don't want to push them too hard but I don't want to bore them either.
Thanks for the welcome!
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myhairhurts, my first time in skis on real snow, was in all day group lessons at the age of 12. They were fantastic fun and being part of the group of other children added to the enjoyment (a very competitive age and not prepared to be the one to wimp out of anything). ,we started with dry ski slope lessons before doing the first holiday on snow. That made the experience on snow feel so much easier when we got there.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Sorry and welcome as well 
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NickyJ, Cool that you can remember your first time. My parents started taking me once a year when I was 4 or 5. It wasn't until later that I started going every week. I don't remember not knowing how to ski. You think it's better to put them in lessons with a group?
(thank for the welcome.  )
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OK, just my experience (our kids are now 6 and 8 and we're all itching to get back on the snow for their 3rd season. My Swedish wife has skied since she was 3 and lived for 16 years on the edge of the Alps, so is an expert. I've skied since 12 and have 6 years of living on the edge of the Alps too, so we're a bit fanatical).
Try to introduce your younger 2 to skiing before you go. Snow dome or dry slope. Do NOT try to teach them yourself (lesson learnt!). This could result in putting them off for life and result in total family breakdown. My wife may be a brilliant skier but neither she nor I know a damn thing about teaching skiing, that is quite clear!
Lessons for everyone in the mornings. Some children will want to be together, some will need an English-speaking instructor. As a rule, I'd recommend this. However, our 2 have learnt at a small resort in France where their first week was mostly in French, in a largely French group and they had no problems. But that's them.
Afternoons should be flexible and, even if you think that pootling along a green run with your children as they learn might be boring, it's not. It's a fabulous experience seeing them pick it up. They will learn quickly and it's brilliant to watch it happen every day.
Be prepared that some afternoons may not have everyone wanting to ski, so having a swimming pool, ice rink, alternative entertainment, etc is very handy. Skiing is tiring, so even some sledging as an alternative is fine (be prepared to do a lot of hauling!)
If you can get to the end of the week and even if you haven't skied as much as you'd like, but everyone has enjoyed it, you've won! They're hooked and the job is done.
Our first year wasn't all skiing, bar the lessons in the morning, but they were hooked. Last year, our second, and they wanted to ski, ski, ski and boy do they pick it up faster second time around. Our son (now  is an absolute addict and will ski until the last lift. Our daughter (now 6) did get tired during the afternoon ("my ski legs are tired" is a sweet quote), so either my wife or I would ski on with our son and the other would drink hot chocolate with our daughter, play in the snow or perhaps head back to the apartment and go swimming.
Be flexible, don't expect to ski non-stop and you should have a family of ski fans by the end. Hope that helps a little and wishing you lots of luck!
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| myhairhurts wrote: |
You think it's better to put them in lessons with a group?
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Welcome to Snowheads. I think that kids do really well if they have other kids of a similar age to interact with, so my advice would be to put them in group lessons and see how they go. They'll probably have a ball and progress very well.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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grazzenger, thanks! Sounds like good advice. I'm not too worried about language. My husband and kids are bilingual. I'm not. My kids speak French when they're conspiring against me.  I really need to learn French already. I'll make sure we have morning lessons at the very least for the younger two. I'll probably add for my oldest. She stresses herself out. I'll look into what other activities they have nearby. Hopefully ice skating because all three have been skating since they were 2-3 years old. I really thought we would have started skiing already but somehow it just hasn't happened.
Thanks for best wishes!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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NickyJ and geepee looks like the theme from posters is find group lessons for kids. Thanks!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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myhairhurts, yes, morning lessons for everybody, with the relevant age group, with the best ski school (local advice). Including your husband - if his earlier experience wasn't great, that might be down to poor teaching. For the rest of the day, let them do their own thing - which might, or might not, be skiing.
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pam w thanks!
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You know it makes sense.
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What I have learnt over quite a few years : 3 sets of gloves each - one for ski-ing in the day, 2nd for playing in snow after lessons and 3rd will be completely dry for the morning.
And bring or buy bum boards and make them keep helmets on when playing on them or anywhere where there are kids hurtling about.
Then back off and let them get on with it .
And enjoy what for us has been the best family holidays ever.....and our 20 year old is still coming with us eg this Christmas sharing with her 13 yo sister as she won't miss it ( OK a free holiday too ).
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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alltnaha 15 sets of gloves then?  That ought to go over well.
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Poster: A snowHead
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myhairhurts, sports direct, Lidl or Aldi are good for cheap childrens gloves. I bought a pair of lid, ones, planning them just to be an extra spare, they were better than our main pair in quality
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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NickJ I'll be sure to check them out!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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myhairhurts, I'm guessing you might be in Canada?
As far as lessons go it is worth your while booking private lessons, at least for the first day. If all your kids skate then they "should" pick up skiing fairly quickly and easily and will probably only need a couple of days (if that) before they are happy skiing around in control on the green slopes. It is most likely that your 8 and 10 year olds will progress at about the same pace, you may find that the 6 year old is a little behind, especially after the first day, but it really depends on the type of child that each of them are. Your husband will also benefit from a couple of private lessons, before trying a group situation, and I'd suggest that he aims to ski only until mid-afternoon, unless he is really fit to start with. Does he skate too? If so he'll find it easier to learn to ski than none skaters. Once they can all turn and stop in control (on demand), and use a chair lift safely, then go ahead with the group lessons.
Some resorts will be happy to accommodate all of them in one lesson - a family beginner lesson, it just depends on the resort.
I realise this is opposite to what others have suggested, but my opinion comes from having taught hundreds of adults and children of all levels, especially beginners!
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Hi, I found that meeting up with my kids straight after their lessons and getting them to take me on the runs that they had been doing with their instructor gave them great confidence in being able to lead the way and show what they were capable of.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I would second getting private lessons at a Dome. Works out cheaper in the long run especially if you don't live near an indoor slope.
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skinanny - yeah I'm in Canada. My husband is in excellent shape. I exercise, but I haven't kept up the same sort of regime he has in years. The older two are in great shape, the youngest has average fitness. He's more interested in clowning around than sports. We'll look at what's available and decide. Although, I'm leaning on the majority advice here. Thanks!
Thanks Gary and Russ e!
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Hi. A first post here.
From our experience with kids (and adults) you should have lessons and private lessons are the way to go. Much faster improvement which is key to enjoying the whole experience and when you compare the time and attention you get per $ vs "cheaper" group lessons with 6 others minimum (maybe more, 10?) then you get to see the value. Also you may get the 6 & 8 year old in the same private lesson given their level, even better value. Teacher should speak the same native tongue as your kids (remembering my first lessons), but sounds like you have that sorted. Morning lessons best when energy levels high, then take them with you if they still have some energy left in the afternoon.
Think about group lessons when they get a good base.
Don't look to teach them yourself, just because you know how to ski and have had lessons doesnt mean you know how or what to teach. And as we all know they dont always listen to parents too well, boys especially, ours anyway. javascript:emoticon(' ')
Get the best kit you can, they need to stay warm and dry. Yes, take spare gloves. Not fun trying to get a wet cold glove on a youngster. They can get them so saturated than they dont even dry out by the next day. Buy new and correct fitting and helmets for all, they wont wear theirs if you dont wear yours.
Other bits - Take time getting boots fitted properly. Get everything well organised the night before each day as getting kids and all that gear out the door all in time to get to an early morning lesson takes a bit of doing. Take food/choc. with you on the slope, and use for bribery if needed. Let them take plenty of breaks in a warm cafe. Stay close to accommodation in the afternoon if it all goes pear shaped then you dont have far to get back with tired kids.
They should love it. I wasnt sure about how ours would like it but even our 3 year old loves the slopes and getting her skis on.
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my experience is with only one child, so I can't imagine corralling 3 of them. But I started her at 3 or 4. Just went to a small hill with a magic carpet and she "skied" from one parent to another less than 10 meters away. Stopped buying the magic carpet pass after a while and just walked her up, let her go and let my wife catch her below. Did that a few times a season and for a few years, longer and longer runs.
That led to skiing with me and just letting them learn to parallel (maybe when she was 5). When she was 6 or 7 we put her in lessons a few times that she didn't really like. Here is my issue with lessons. One or 2 ok ski instructors teaching 10 kids how to wedge and turn while wedging. They are so flexible at that age, that they can effectively get those short skis completely horizontal, which teaches them nothing. I had my daughter somewhat paralleling and it took a few seasons to un train the over reliance of wedging. So now she just skis with me most of the time and it's a blast. I would say the most fun I have had in life is watching her explore and come to love skiing.
It's a bit of an investment to teach them properly, but I think they naturally want to copy (then try to beat) you. Now I can go through the gates with her (she is 11), will take her off piste this year, and listen to her complain that her friends don't want to ski the hard stuff.
Oh yeah, get all the rental stuff done well before the first morning. That process with kids is insane. Also, we always took a lot of breaks, especially if cold. Lots of hot chocolates and end of day belguim waffles. I would also say my little one is not overly aggressive, so I wanst working with someone that was out to prove anything. Just likes to be with her parents, as I think most kids like.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Our experience earlier this year with grandchildren of 6 and 7 was that they definitely benefited from 3 lessons at the Hemel Hempstead Snow Dome prior to the holiday. They got some experience of sidestepping in boots and skis and doing snowploughs etc. Much more effective to get these basics under their belt this before you go away - they had a real head start over others who were starting from scratch.
They had group lessons with ESF in La Rosiere (which exceeded our expectations) and were skiing well in control by the end of the week, and confidently taking the drag lift up. We were very pleased with their progress.
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