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Skiing with children

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi, off in March to Val Thorens for our first holiday with our two children (went once before when the now 9yr old was 2 but he went to nursery). There is a group of 9 of us - myself, husband and 2 children (will be just 5 and 10), my parents (both avid skiiers in their 60s) and my brother, sister-in-law and their 7yr old. The 3 children will probably be going to Prosneige ski lessons each morning but I am just after any tips on how to maximise the adults ski time, whilst juggling ski school pick ups and also watching the children. How much time do people spend watching their little ones at ski school? Also, the afternoons? I have no doubt that my parents will have the children for an afternoon and myself and my brother will share children. I am not expecting to ski as much as normal and also hope to go out with the children for a little bit on a couple of afternoons, after a lunch break/chill time, and more than happy to have afternoons where we just go for a swim, or a wander, snowman making etc but I was just after any hints/tips/dos/donts from those of you who have skiied with little ones before to try and be as prepared as possible. thanks very much.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Once you drop them off with the Ski School you get outta there asap and enjoy the peace.

Seriously, parents observing group lessons can be a nightmare, as the kids often just play up to them and won't pay attention to the instructor. In private lessons it's more common, but unless your kids are very nervous I'd still recommend that you just leave them to it. (I speak as an instructor, not as a parent).

Afternoons I think you'll need to play by ear, but you may want to have a designated sitter each day, in case any of the kids needs taking home or supervising while the rest of you are out. Take turns - the grandparents may be happy to volunteer but it's not fair on them to take up their offer all the time.
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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?
Thanks for the reply - I was planning on dropping and going at ski school but then read things about people watching!! My children will be much better when I am not there. Would rather get there a bit earlier and watch the last 10 mins than hang about at the start. My mum and dad are great skiiers and go every year so whilst they are certainly happy to do an afternoon, they will be whizzing off more than us!!
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Chaletbeauroc wrote:
Once you drop them off with the Ski School you get outta there asap and enjoy the peace.

Seriously, parents observing group lessons can be a nightmare,


I agree with this.

One thing to bear in mind is thatfor young kids - particularly the 5 year old - it can be quite tiring just getting to the ski school - with heavy boots, carrying skis or poles etc. so, anything you can do to minimise their effort first thing in the morning can be a big bonus in terms of increasing their staying power.

Also at that age they may prefer to only have a half day on the snow and have the afternoon in the chalet. That would make child minding easier as one adult could supervise indoors and the other 5 go skiing.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Don't expect to be doing much afternoon skiing with the kids if they haven't skied before. Maybe just a quick extra run or two after their lesson, to start with.

Also think twice about buying the big area ski pass (3 Valleys?) because you probably won't be able to make use of it.
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my son wanted always to be there...i have spent a winter with 3 x 7 days Skiholidays, standing near the magic carpet, watching how he tried to manage the snow plough...(pizzzaaa).
Everytime i wanted to go a little bit away (WC etc), he didt do any more....absolutely nothing...when i was back , again everything was perfect...
unfortunately the first two weeks (in the row) where extremely cold, and after 10 days i hat pain on the foot toes...i realised later that that was a 1st grade of frostbite, and i had my first experience with the Austria Health system....

i was the only parent there.... Skullie

However , i didnt regret it. Sometime in the past, I took the decision that i will do everything so that he will be able to skiing even better than me...
one year later from this "nice" experience, as we manage to go down together for the first time a blue slope, was the best time of my life....
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
You have a good sized group where I'm assuming everyone knows and trusts one another and sounds like your thinking's spot on. Some days all do everything together but others just agree 'designated parents' to handle the pick-up and afternoon entertainment, letting the rest of the group do a full days skiing. With 3 sets of 'parents' each pair could easilly have 2 full days, one with parents/one with inlaws and 3 family days.

The main "do" I'd highlight is - make sure you have some form of sugar in your pockets for ski school pick-up! Amazing what a difference collecting a child from ski school and shoving a lump of meringue in their face, then going for lunch made to the following 8hrs vs. just trying to go to lunch Smile

As for the "How long to watch at ski school?" question - It's school so how long do you hang around watching them after dropping them off at normal school...?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@LeanneLlew, have you considered putting the kids into some sort of childcare in the afternoons? I think there are offerings in VT for this if that is something you were interested in. Chances are you could possibly book all 6 days or maybe a selection?
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Tip 1: Do not bother with a 3-valley pass for yourself and husband. There is precious little joy in having one eye screwed to the clock if you head off into the other valleys to dash back to collect the kids in time. Top up with a 1-day extension if you/Hus want to go ranging further afield with the others, but keep one-man back to collect the Jnrs.

Tip 2: If one of the others in the group is going to pickup, make sure that the school is aware - they don't like handing the Jnrs over to some random person they've not met even if the kids say so.

Tip 3: DO NOT stay and watch - I have genuinely hidden myself in snowbanks to avoid being seen by the Jnrs in lessons because if they see you, they will want to be with you.
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Richard_Sideways wrote:
Tip 2: If one of the others in the group is going to pickup, make sure that the school is aware - they don't like handing the Jnrs over to some random person they've not met even if the kids say so.

Prosneige didn't seem to have those sensibilities when I picked up a friend's daughter after lunch at the EoSB. They initially offered me a small boy and I definitely got the impression I could take my pick from the kids available. I settled for the child I'd come to pick up, though Toofy Grin
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I'm sure other replies are similar....

From experience in taking my two kids away as a single parent when they were 7 n 5.

Stay away from ski school unless you want a serious telling off by the instructor. It causes so many issues.

You really do have to change you expectations of your holiday..... I had to go from carving up pistes with my long term ski partner to waiting for the kids to eventually finish their spag bol and then going for a snow ball fight or carrying their ski and if I was lucky I'd ski backward while they showed me what they'd learned that morning....
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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.
Hiring sledges for an afternoon is great fun, and the kids might enjoy it as well Very Happy
The sweet idea is a good idea, and a card in there pocket with your telephone number, I know the school will have your details but the instructor may not.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Agree with all other comments, but in addition couple of suggestions.

Do a series of dry ski slope lessons ahead of your holiday, so they are familiar with kitting up and get a bit of the basics. This will maximise likelihood of moving of the nursery slopes and maximise their enjoyment on the real stuff. Cant see where you live so don't know if anywhere near you but the kids lessons at Snowtrax (near Bournemouth) are very good and very reasonable.

Another is I put old phones in kids pockets with a GiffGaff sim with a 1 month goodbag. Ran ski tracks apps and used apps which allowed me to check where they are. Ski tracks apps meant I could work out where they had gone to make sure if we did afternoon skiing we didn't take them onto runs they haven't done before.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
sugarmoma666 wrote:
Richard_Sideways wrote:
Tip 2: If one of the others in the group is going to pickup, make sure that the school is aware - they don't like handing the Jnrs over to some random person they've not met even if the kids say so.

Prosneige didn't seem to have those sensibilities when I picked up a friend's daughter after lunch at the EoSB.


Didn't have any issues/wasn't questioned collecting my friends eldest, while she picked up the youngest from the complete opposite side of the ski school area from EFS at half term either.


sugarmoma666 wrote:
They initially offered me a small boy and I definitely got the impression I could take my pick from the kids available. I settled for the child I'd come to pick up, though Toofy Grin


Did you come to regret that decission...? Very Happy
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@NickyJ, I like the phone idea - I'm assuming giffgaff is a UK phone operator, and that 'goodbag' is some sort of trial or cheap offer? And that any other cheap PAYG type SIM would work equally well, assuming that you have some mobile data allowance on it.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Mjit wrote:
sugarmoma666 wrote:
Richard_Sideways wrote:
Tip 2: If one of the others in the group is going to pickup, make sure that the school is aware - they don't like handing the Jnrs over to some random person they've not met even if the kids say so.

Prosneige didn't seem to have those sensibilities when I picked up a friend's daughter after lunch at the EoSB.


Didn't have any issues/wasn't questioned collecting my friends eldest, while she picked up the youngest from the complete opposite side of the ski school area from EFS at half term either.


TBH I doubt very much if any instructor anywhere has demanded proof of identity/parenthood when handing back kids after a lesson; I know I never have. If the child doesn't recognise the picker-upper it would be quite obvious, I'd have thought, so as long as they know whoever they're expecting it will be fine.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Chaletbeauroc wrote:
@NickyJ, I like the phone idea - I'm assuming giffgaff is a UK phone operator, and that 'goodbag' is some sort of trial or cheap offer? And that any other cheap PAYG type SIM would work equally well, assuming that you have some mobile data allowance on it.


Yes GiffGaff is PAYG but the Goodybags mean they behave like a contract but you can just buy one month. This means you get roaming which you dont always get with PAYG. Now my girls are walking to school on their own I pay monthly for a small amount of data but up to higher amount of data for holidays to ensure it doesnt run 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?
I have a couple of tips which may or may not be useful to you.

Since you have 3 kids you might find private lessons aren't a great deal more expensive than group lessons. From memory earlier this year when we had 4 kids in lessons (I think we did 3 full days and 2 half days lessons) it was only marginally more expensive than group lessons. The added convenience was worth its weight in gold. The kids really bonded with the instructor and their skiing came on leaps and bounds. She was also happy to drop them off to meet us anywhere in the 3v which meant we could roam a bit more freely.

The other tip (which I think i got here) was to dig out your old phone and get a cheap sim card for it. We put one in each kids pocket so they could call us if they needed to but primarily so we could find them if we needed to.
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monkey wrote:

Since you have 3 kids you might find private lessons aren't a great deal more expensive than group lessons.


Good idea, but if they're complete beginners it could be very difficult to manage a 5, 7 and 10 year old together and there's a risk that the elder one might get bored or want to start skiing more freely, i.e. doing runs on a baby slope on his own but still where the instructor has full sight of him, which can work well in a very controlled environment but may be problematic.

Best thing, of course, is to ask the ski school what they think, giving them more information about the relative size and confidence of the kids to help them best advise you.

Edit: on checking, I realise that the OP didn't say the older one was a boy, I misremembered. But there's more info there as well to take into the calculation, also of course how well they know and get along with each other.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
monkey wrote:
I have a couple of tips which may or may not be useful to you.

Since you have 3 kids you might find private lessons aren't a great deal more expensive than group lessons. From memory earlier this year when we had 4 kids in lessons (I think we did 3 full days and 2 half days lessons) it was only marginally more expensive than group lessons. The added convenience was worth its weight in gold. The kids really bonded with the instructor and their skiing came on leaps and bounds. She was also happy to drop them off to meet us anywhere in the 3v which meant we could roam a bit more freely.

The other tip (which I think i got here) was to dig out your old phone and get a cheap sim card for it. We put one in each kids pocket so they could call us if they needed to but primarily so we could find them if we needed to.


Definitely worth checking this out. We put our 8 and 5 year old girls into ski school in Tignes this year. Must have been a quiet week as there was only 1 other boy in the group. So they basically had private lessons. The 5 year old did really well but was tired in the afternoons. She did do some skiing with us on the last 2 afternoon. The 8 year old did a lot of skiing on the last 2 afternoons.

In relation to hanging around during lessons - as everyone else says, get out of there asap. Also, it will maximise your skiing time in the morning!
I would be less inclined to put them into some kind of childcare for the afternoons. At the age they are at, it really is just one trip when you are really sacrificing your afternoon skiing. By the second trip they will be doing blue runs etc with you. For the first year, just play with them in the snow, sledge and go for treats. Don't focus on the time you are losing out on - treat and skiing you do in the afternoon as a bonus and make the most of it.
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Chaletbeauroc wrote:
monkey wrote:

Since you have 3 kids you might find private lessons aren't a great deal more expensive than group lessons.


Good idea, but if they're complete beginners it could be very difficult to manage a 5, 7 and 10 year old together and there's a risk that the elder one might get bored or want to start skiing more freely...


I'd almost always say ski school:
1. One of them will pick it up quicker than the others/one of them slower. In a family group at best this means only the middle one's happy, one of the other's being held back so not advancing as much as they could and the third being/feeling rushed or like they are holding everyone up, which means they also won't progress as fast as they could. At worst the 7yo picks it up better than the 10yo so the 10yo is in grump for the rest of the day while the 5yo is in tears because the 10yo snapped at them! In ski school they will be split up and in a group with others they don't know/don't know each other so generally better behaved as they don't want to embarrass themselves.
2. Most children don't have our adult hang-ups so will make friends easilly. While an adult in ski school might end day 1 with a couple of names and that one of them's her with their partner a child's likely to come back knowing the name of everyone in their group, where they come from, their favourit colour, and details of what they each did last night Smile
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
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I've been bringing my little one on ski holidays since she was born (she's nearly seven now) and these are the things we found works for us:

We stick around the ski school the first day and meet her for lunch just so she knows we are around. We give her little waves as we ski past the school. Some kids will play up with this but we found it made our daughter feel happy that we were around. The days after that we just dropped and went until it was time to collect.

Keep lots of snacks/treats handy. We give her some to bring with her in her pocket and then have some ready for when she finished.

We always bring her for a hot chocolate at collection time. The sugar does wonders for the spirit!

If we wanted to do a "ski away" day which would make us late for child collection then sadly we couldn't do this together. My husband and I would take it in turns to collect herself so the other could ski longer. We know this won't be forever and I'm sure sometime soon we'll all be doing ski away days together.

Try to have a few fun activities planned for the week. It can be great fun, but equally hard and tiring on the little ones when they are learning to ski, so having some fun downtime activities such as swimming or rodelbahn will make their holidays all the more fun.

Most of all just try to take everything in your stride. Skiing with kids a totally different experience than doing it without. I was so upset and despairing when my child was three and HATED the snow, but thankfully that all changed and she really really loves the ski holidays now. Very Happy
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