 Poster: A snowHead
|
| Quote: |
Make it clear that it's non-negotiable, they're going, and they don't get a say in it.
Then give them a false choice - "Are you going to get yourself ready, or should I help you with it?"
|
This.
Meltdowns, at any age, are best ignored. Which doesn't mean being cruel or unfeeling or tantrumming back. Just being 100% consistent that your mind cannot be changed by tantrums.
But poor little bug with his finger crushed in the door.... nasty bad tempered stomping daddy. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Both my son and daughter did ESF ski school at age 3 and it was fine. However when they were 5 & 4 we sent them on private lessons together and they preferred it, so we stuck to that. I’d estimate that between age 4-11 my daughter made 50% of the lessons and my son made 100%, me or my wife going with him when my daughter wanted to stay home. We never worried about my daughter missing out and knew that she’d become a good skier in her own time and that she’d enjoy it more in the long-term if she was never made to ski. Seems to be working out ok and daughter still loves coming to the mountains and skiing on the day she chooses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Gosh, it would have been nice to have had parents with enough spare dosh to do what a lot of Snowheads do for their kids. Not that I was a deprived child - we travelled abroad in the summer, I had piano lessons outside school, and was taken to masses of plays and concerts, all of which cost money. I just can't ski very well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
I think it's very difficult to ski really well unless you have learnt (properly) as a child, unless you are a really athletic sort of person. We had a visitor once who was a professional cricketer (wicket keeper) and by the end of his first week he could ski quite a bit of a simple blue run on one leg - something which had taken me AGES to be able to do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| Hurtle wrote: |
| Gosh, it would have been nice to have had parents with enough spare dosh to do what a lot of Snowheads do for their kids. Not that I was a deprived child - we travelled abroad in the summer, I had piano lessons outside school, and was taken to masses of plays and concerts, all of which cost money. I just can't ski very well. |
Must admit I think we were lucky in having kids when we did from a skiing point of view , it was a bit of a sweet spot of low cost travel and readily sourced cheap accommodation and much of it before the financial crash when the pound went south. Some of my early skiing holidays with my kids were really very reasonably priced indeed . Under £100 for an apartment for the week at first. Very cheap lift passes when they were young. Don't think my parents could have done it at anything like the same relative cost though we didn't ski. I think it would be much more difficult now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@Origen,
| Quote: |
it's very difficult to ski really well unless you have learnt (properly) as a child, unless you are a really athletic sort of person.
|
Quite. And I'm not!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@T Bar,
| Quote: |
I think it would be much more difficult now.
|
One wouldn't think so reading some of the threads on here. Or there are loads of very wealthy snowHeads.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The trouble with skiing is the better the kids become, the more expensive it gets. Yes they can get to good British holiday maker level quite cheaply, but to get to a good level compared to locals is going to cost a lot unless you live in the mountains.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Well, two days in and all well so far. i think the two pieces of advice that have stuck for us from above are not calling it 'school' and making clear its not a negotiation.
Reflecting, this is week 3 for them in 12 months and think thats made a fairly big impact - I did two weeks instructing them, drumming up enthusiasm without worrying too much about technique and i think that probably made a difference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@tpc, excellent!
Have you had to play the pony card yet? Or are you keeping that under wraps till later in the week?
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
There is no way my parents could ever have conceived of a ski holiday when I was young. In general living standards have improved enormously. Many people have a FAR better objective standard of living than people did in the 1950s. I certainly do. But ski holidays, and in particular lots of private lessons, are still the preserve of the well off. Snowheads are not a representative cross section!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Anybody know if the people who live in or around ski areas have the same amount of professional tuition that holiday skiers have, or do they just get on with it (kids and adults) ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well the kids do afternoon school skiing. And my French neighbours who lived in Geneva and had three young girls ALWAYS had them in ESF classes, each winter, and if they failed to reach the relevant standard, they had to repeat. The top ESF levels are really good - they were good little skiers, obviously, far better than almost any British "holiday skiers" of the same age, but the locals whose talent is spotted are in the local ski club. Serious race training, loads of pressure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| Gitty wrote: |
| Anybody know if the people who live in or around ski areas have the same amount of professional tuition that holiday skiers have, or do they just get on with it (kids and adults) ? |
Most hills will have once a week programs for local kids.
These lessons will depend on the family of course. I grew up half an hour from a ski hill and had 10 Sundays a year, I think it was with YMCA or similar. We were an ordinary family, not a ski family. And that was a long time ago! It got me to a very good intermediate standard, my brother did a little racing as a teen but only for fun.
Others will ski more, especially if they're in a ski family and have a seasons pass. Those in a skiing family will likely be finished ski school and join a club or freestyle program by the age of 8 or so.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
In the Savoie lots of the keen kids also did XC skiing and the local race club trained quite a lot on XC skis because it hones the balance skills. One of the local events I attended was a kids XC competition. Hundreds of kids, all weekend, with lots of races but also kids just mucking around on skis with extraordinary skill. Marvellous to see
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
For a decade my son point blank refused to go to ski school and wanted us to ski together or he'd rather not bother. To be fair he's now a better skier than me and we've had some great times on the slopes over the years learning stuff as we've gone along mainly by instructional videos and watching how better skiers do it.
Surprisingly he asked this season if he could have a few private lessons and after 4 hours of those he made some serious improvements. Expensive but worth it at 75 euros an hour and it was someone recommended to us which definitely helped.
Now just got to sort myself out after 45 wasted years of being self taught.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Quote: |
For a decade my son point blank refused to go to ski school and wanted us to ski together or he'd rather not bother
|
Perhaps you should have gone to ski school together!! They weren't "wasted years" if you had fun together, but it's a shame. I'm afraid that if one of my kids, when they were young, had "refused point blank" to go to ski school I'd have left them at home with a grandparent or aunt, as we did with youngest when we went on some sailing holidays. It wasn't a punishment, she enjoyed being with them, but she was too young (4 and 6) to enjoy sailing and would have been a moaning liability at times! Later she became a good sailor, with excellent instruction, and is now an instructor herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| Origen wrote: |
| Quote: |
For a decade my son point blank refused to go to ski school and wanted us to ski together or he'd rather not bother
|
Perhaps you should have gone to ski school together!! They weren't "wasted years" if you had fun together, but it's a shame. I'm afraid that if one of my kids, when they were young, had "refused point blank" to go to ski school I'd have left them at home with a grandparent or aunt, as we did with youngest when we went on some sailing holidays. It wasn't a punishment, she enjoyed being with them, but she was too young (4 and 6) to enjoy sailing and would have been a moaning liability at times! Later she became a good sailor, with excellent instruction, and is now an instructor herself. |
Totally agree and on our first ski trip remember nearly killing him on some early morning ice in Zurs, but hey we've got some brilliant memories as well. Such as when he did his first red a couple of days later and then learning to carve a few years after that and so on.
Most important thing though was that he always enjoyed himself and so wanted to go back for more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| doddsie wrote: |
| Both my son and daughter did ESF ski school at age 3 and it was fine. However when they were 5 & 4 we sent them on private lessons together and they preferred it... |
Hah! When 8-year-old-with-5-year-olds was being moved to a new group our greatest fear was he'd end up in the same one as his 11 year old sister as that would have put out one fire only to light another 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
As with above, 'not optional' was our approach. Ours started last year age 7 and was at the time a bit clingy, even at normal school drop off. Key thing was a clear introduction to the instructor on the first day, then walk away.
We're normally a bit softer in our parenting style, but this was critically important stuff... the route to us having a few hours proper skiing and a child-free beer in the sun each day on ski holidays for the forseeable!
Luckily she really took to it but this year the issue after the first day was 'ski school is boring' as they were mostly assessing their levels within the groups on the nursery slope. Our stance was if you want to come on a ski holiday and ski with Mummy and Daddy, you HAVE to go to ski school. Was all good as the week progressed and they got into similar ability groups.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Hurtle wrote: |
| Gosh, it would have been nice to have had parents with enough spare dosh to do what a lot of Snowheads do for their kids. |
One of the reasons our kids didn't "need" to do ski school. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I just told mine they were going, end of story.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I didn't really put my son into group ski school for years after a really bad experience with ESF when he was 4 years old. It wasn't my plan but it turned out very well because I have always skied together. When they are young it can be a bit frustrating sticking to easy slopes and skiing slowly but the shared memories are worth it.
Also slow skiing is great for the technique (I'm told by various folk on here).
He has had private lessons which in my opinion have been far more successful in improving his level and he has always been very enthusiastic about doing 1-1 because the instructor can really focus on keeping him engaged and happy.
Now he's 10 and he happily did group lessons on our last trip (UCPA Flaine) but this was mainly for the social side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
