Private lesson for a nervous 3 yr old in Hemel snow centre?

A snowHead

We are going to Tignes on December 17 ( can’t wait!) and I will be taking my 7yr old for a refresher group lesson in the Hemel Snow centre a few days before we go. The question is should I consider a lesson for my 3 yr old ( almost 4 but looks/behaves very young) too? For this age they offer 30min private sessions only but at over £50 it seems a bit expensive for what is likely to be a bit of snow walking...The little one has “skied” last year on holiday - he was in a ski nursery but that was mostly just playing so he has not learned anything. This year I still don’t have any high expectations of him actually getting it, I just want him to be comfortable with the snow/ equipment and he is not great with changes... so the aim of a private lesson would be really to hopefully minimise upset and crying when we drop him off for his morning ski school on the first day.. but maybe there is some cheaper way to do the same?

A snowHead

Personally I’d wait until you are out there in the Alps. You might minimise first day tears by having a lesson at Hemel, but I think there’s a marginally greater risk you put him off for life.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Half an hour at a dry slope would likely achieve the same outcome at a fraction of the price. However the biggest challenge is likely to be the weather in Tignes in December - wrap him up well!

You need to Login to know who's really who.

imo he is still to young. May even have trouble finding a school to take them.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I’ve put 3 into ski school at 3.5.
The ski school we use is very good with the children. Two of them did quite a lot of hot chocolate and videos with a bit of games in the snow on skis. One was a really up for it child and loved it.
3 is very young. They tire very quickly and get cold very easily..
At this age they aren’t really learning to ski but trying to discover whether they like playing out in the snow, which happens to be on skis.
If your child is a young 3 be prepared for a lot of tears and reluctance. Success will depend on how nurturing the ski school is.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Then they start crying again when they spot you at the end of the lesson, to try and make you think they've been wailing the whole time. Even though you were spying on them and know better!

I've had a child of three do a bunch of about six private lessons at Hemel. He has autism, so it was important for him that he was more familiar with what was going to happen on holiday. Obviously it depends on the instructor, and to be fair we did have Snowbility instructors, but the lessons weren't about walking about at all. It was going up to increasing heights and trying to hit the padded snowman, and at the end the instructor took him up to the top of the training slope and skied down with him between his legs so he could see what fun skiing could be. You should have seen the huge grin on his face after that!! He absolutely loved it and really looked forward to his lessons.

Sadly when we were out there, Tignes, coincidentally, the teaching was absolute rubbish. They just left him to cry in the snow as he struggled to understand the instructions (despite us explaining about his additional needs and needing to be "shown" not just talked to) and when they got fed up of him just lying there, took him back in the hut. He barely skied at all, and started to dread it.

Fortunately the next year we went when he was just turned five, and this was in Arc1950. Whilst the tuition for our then three year old was dreadful because there were about twenty sobbing children to one adult, our son's was a lot better and he was doing blue runs with us by the end of the holiday with that massive grin back on his face again, this time under his own control snowHead

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

3yro's vary a lot in ability, from flying down the main slope (in complete control, turns, doing little jumps), to just happy having a run down straight over a small distance just having fun - usually because not quite strong enough to get a turn in without falling over yet.

I make my 3yro lessons all about fun, and making sure expectations are set at the beginning of the lesson with parents.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Absolutely - we were delighted with the Snowbility team. Best of all it meant we didn't have to worry about if he did present any challenging behaviour. However, he didn't because he was enjoying himself so much and they knew exactly how to keep him engaged! When it became clear he was motivated by wanting to bash in the soft snowmen, that's what they let him do, with great result.

If only we could have taken a Snowbility instructor with us to Tignes..

That said, even though the tuition was better in Arc 1950 (when he was five) he got the most out of a two hour private lesson midweek. We asked the ski school (Spirit) to give us somebody gentle and understanding rather than try and explain the whole autism thing. The absolute highlight of my holiday (and quite possibly any skiing holiday) was when I heard my daughters yell "There he is!!" and me looking around trying to spot a slow small boy snowploughing clumsily, and then realising that the little boy shooting past in (mostly!) parallel at high speed flapping his arms in joy off to the side of the piste with the instructor skiing backwards in front of him was my son!

Never underestimate the benefits of a private lesson!

snow reports

You know it makes sense.

Whoever said wrap him up warm in December was right. Ours were in ESF Jardin de Neige from 3.5 years old, and never any tears. Seems that the ones that cried were those with no glove liners, wrist warmers and not wearing a balaclava. Mind you the Jardin de Neige in Les Carroz is brilliant. That man has a spine of steel. Imagine spending all winter bent over picking up small children?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thank you all for your advice! I have just had a chance to read it all. @sparklies, how do you arrange lessons with snowmobility? I am asking because my son does have some additional needs , not autism but mild language/motor delays and possibly some sensory processing too. So it is important for him to know what to expect. Last year he did cry on drop off at ski school but seemed quite happy after ( they were amazing in supporting him) .. so maybe I should book him that lesson then.@Cheesie168, will wrap him up warm ( we have been there in December last year too) and anyway he is only in ski school in the morning

A snowHead

@Bella2015, my youngest has a number of issues - she shows some austistic spectrum symptoms, some ADHD, she has a slow processing speed index, speech issues and the ed psych report suggest dyspraxia as well as dyslexia.

We found she formed the habit of just sitting down during lessons when she was 3 & 4. We tried group lessons over at snowtrax (local dry ski slope) and found she was getting nothing from them. So I booked her private lessons (they do much cheaper ones before 5pm) and explained the issues. The guy was brilliant with her, made t a great game and she “got it”.

Do you have a dry ski slope near by who may do similar?

She is now 8 and doesn’t want to do lessons any more. I don’t think I will be putting her in group ones again and they don’t work well for her. However she is now also a reasonably competent skier.

A snowHead

@Bella2015, when we did it a few years ago, you could ring them or email them. Their website is here: http://snowbility.co.uk/ They do cost slightly more than the regular lessons at Hemel, but if there are any sort of additional needs I think it is well worth it. Whilst most instructors at Hemel are great (especially those who deal with the little ones) it can be worth it for peace of mind knowing that anything "unexpected" will be taken into account by the instructor and not flummox them! And presumably they have a lot more tricks up their sleeve to try when children don't learn in a conventional manner too.

My three year old cried at ski school at drop off and pick-up but she did the same thing at nursery at home. We knew for a fact from the teachers (and from spying!) that she stops as soon as she thinks we're gone and actually has a brilliant time so we don't feel too guilty. She just wanted us to stand and watch for three hours instead of going off skiing ourselves (um, no..)

My little boy still can't swim at 6.5 now, despite having pretty much weekly lessons since he was four months old (and over the last few years, private 1 to 1s with a wonderful, gentle teacher) as he just can't work it out, so the fact he was able to achieve at skiing is priceless. His sense of accomplishment and boost to his self confidence is beyond measure. I can't wait to see what he manages this season! We're planning on taking him for at least one refresher lesson with Snowbility before we go again to minimise issues.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@sparklies, your son sounds so similar to my daughter. She is 8 and has managed her 10m swimming badge but the she coordination required to swim is a massive challenge and it is the difficulties of coordinating arms, legs, head, body etc. However is finally making progress with the one on one support.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Niece with ADHD and autism managed to learn to ski with no problems at all but ...... She started at 7 yrs old we only had tears when her favourite instructor broke his arm and she had to change to someone else. ..
We were in BC and in group lessons of no more than 4 and half the time only 1 other. She still cannot read a piste map and having been to the same resort for 10 yrs still cannot find her way down to the bottom on her own and always eats the same lunch in each place we stop.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@joneski, @NickyJ, @sparklies, it's unbelievable how similar your kids sound to my oldest! He is 7 and has ADHD and dys-everything! He has been having so much difficulty with swimming , still can't get it after 2 years of semi private classes! With ski it has been a much better experience so far- he was able to be in ski school last year and the year before but maybe it was because he was always there with a group of friends he knew. Last year really improved skiing greens and blues almost parallel..

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Thank you will try Snowmobility

Help!!

Private lesson for a nervous 3 yr old in Hemel snow centre?

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste