I'm interested in some tips on how to teach very young children to ski. My son is 3 and a half, too young for a lot of ski schools. We've done about 10 days this year - he's taken baby button lifts but generally rides the big buttons with me.
So far we've gotten to the stage where he can ski down quite long runs (we did a 2km blue the other week in one go) where he holds my ski pole at the handle and I control with the other end. Like this he can ski parallel turns across the slope to control his speed. However he would not be able to ski any significant slope unaided.
The problem at 3 - 4 years seems to be understanding concepts. He's ok with words like "parallel", "bend the knees" , "left and right", "traverse". However concepts such as weighting, edging etc are too abstract.
Should I spend some time on gentle slopes doing snow ploughs?
My reasoning this season was that he was too young to really learn the techniques of skiing and so I've focussed on having a bit of fun and getting confident on skis.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
davidof, You are entering a wondeful time of your life. Skiing with and watching kids learn to ski and enjoy the snow is rather special. Don't spoil it by changing what you are doing. Perhaps next year he will be ready for some technique.
What more could a 3.5 year old ask for in a parent than
Quote:
so I've focussed on having a bit of fun and getting confident on skis.
Enjoy.
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?
Wouldn't worry about it. I've taken mine when he was 3.5, 4.5 and recently 5.5. Huge leaps forward each year, without any skiing in between! You can only do so much at each stage, but the physical as well as mental progress happens naturally and you will be amazed what he can do next year in comparison. Like you, I've never forced it and just let him enjoy himself. This year (5) he can ski long blue runs on his own, with poles, and for first time had no problem picking up "weight on one ski", "plant pole" etc - last year would never have got it. He had a few morning lessons which made a big difference for traversing, putting on skis, herringbone etc - all the basics whcih made my job easier later! only problem now is that he is on full "20 mins for lunch" mode when I've got lazy and have got used to an hour...
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
davidof, echo that. What's your son's general co-ordination and spacial awareness like? In terms of catching a ball, that kind of thing.
davidof, dont worry about technique, at that age he will be sitting back and ploughing no matter what because his limbs arent strong enough to move around his (reletively) huge head...
I have been teaching a lot of 3-5 year olds this year and a few things that have worked....
lots of little ones look down so ski backwards crouch down flash up some fingers as you ski and get him to sing out the number of digits you are holding up...
again while going backwards plough have your boy give you a high ten or play patty cake. gets them more upright and hands forward...
play catch with a glove or ball as you ski down...
Get a piece of pipe insulation or one of those skinny floatation things for pools, cut it up into a horse and have hime "ride the horse down". again gets hands forward and stance more upright.
while skiing in a forward plough hold a glove behind your back to see if he can grab it without crashing into you.. once he can get it easily start to introduce a parallel slightly faster ski in tranverse to encourage plough parallel movements in him...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
davidof, Im with everyone else on this one! Have seen plenty of people teach their kids and untill they are 5 it just seems to be getting them used to skis and having fun
The ski pole technique is a popular one and you just have to make sure he enjoys it and when he falls teach him to laugh it off
Or you could just take my dads approach ther is the mountain get to the bottom of it
After all it is free
After all it is free
David,
On a slightly different take, at what age did you 1st take him out on skis? My daughter is only 10 months but already walking well (aided) and always wants to be on her feet. We plan to take her sledging on gentle slopes next season when the weather is good. I was wondering if it's a good idea to start her on plastic skis on the flat, just pulling her along slowly, or wait until the season after.
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.
I'm no expert - only just learning myself. However, I've watched my kids in ski school for the last couple of years and my youngest has done ski school since that sort of age. I ski school they focus on playing games as skimottaret, suggests. As well as his suggestions I've seen them play aeroplanes with their arms, ski down in pairs one on each end of ski pole. I've also seen them use a smallish plastic hoop - held flat like a bus or lorry steering wheel and they get them to steer the lorry down the slope, I've also seen them with a child at each side of the hoop coming down and also skiing backwards. They also seem to get the slightly more skilled kids to ski next to a piece of string facing down the slope and to step from one side of it to another and back again as they go along. The younger kids often ski with their hands on their knees and are encouraged to press down on the correct knee to do the turn - sometime they reinforce this by getting the child to put both hands on that knee. One thing I have noted is where the child is lighter than and adult they often need to have their weight more back on the skis than we do just to get along and keep going.
I don't know which of these exercises are good and which are not as I don't know much about learning to ski, but its what I've seen the instructors in their red and white jackets doing with my children in Switzerland if its helpful for giving you ideas. I'm sure the more informed here will let me know if any of these and completely wrong.
On a slightly different take, at what age did you 1st take him out on skis? My daughter is only 10 months but already walking well (aided) and always wants to be on her feet. We plan to take her sledging on gentle slopes next season when the weather is good. I was wondering if it's a good idea to start her on plastic skis on the flat, just pulling her along slowly, or wait until the season after.
girls seem to be ahead of boys on all these things don't they. JG could walk at 16 months and he went on "strap on" skis the following winter (last winter) then got real skis and boots for the start of this winter, so just over 3 years old. The problem is that he's right on the bottom limit of the binding release range at this age so I'm not sure going for real skis earlier is an option.
Thanks for the interesting comments. I see a lot of parents and kids on the slopes who seem to be doing a lot of detailed drills but it is hard to tell what age the kids are 3, 4 5? even?
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.
the ski instructors seem to mostly get the kids just to follow along, and copy - especially the "aeroplane arms" drill which (provided you bank the right way!) gets the weight onto the outside ski. I see a fair few parents round here whizzing down blue slopes skiing with kids between their knees, where the parent is doing the skiing and the kids just getting carted down the mountain. Fairly pointless really, and seems to be mainly to satisfy the parents' wish to get up the mountain. The kids would be better under their own steam; I notice how very rarely instructors pick them up - they let them sort themselves out. I did once see an instructor taking a very tiny child on a private lesson up a button lift between his legs. But mostly they make them go up easy lifts on their own, which seems 100% better. I have never, ever, seen an instructor skiing down a slope with a child between their legs. Holding a pole seems much better, but only if done at a speed approaching what the child could do on their own. One run snowploughing gingerly down on your own is worth 10 with your dad holding you up! Easiski is also hot on getting them to carry their own skis, too.
Poles seem completely superfluous for small kids (of beginners of any other age, come to that) and useful mainly for mucking around, poking your mate in the back, poking yourself in the eye, etc etc.
Quote:
Should I spend some time on gentle slopes doing snow ploughs?
Yes, yes, and yes again!!
I notice the instructors also get them skiing backwards down very gentle slopes very early on. the kids love it, and it's very valuable.
Stepping over a string sounds a great exercise - though not easy!
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
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
skimottaret, as an aside, what do you think of using the hoop as a steering aid? Turning the hoop in the direction you want to go....
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
davidof - a couple of suggestions.
Kids learn by watching and copying - not through understanding and internalising concepts as adults do. So the best thing to do is to lead your son down the hill as you'd want them to ski. So, start off a run with snowplough turns with a traverse and then tighten up the traverse to nothing - then switch to parallel - then switch to longer parallel turns with a traverse. Your son will just start copying the parallel turns when he is ready. And then switch back to snowploughs, etc.
Once you're confident that he can control his speed, get him to lead you - with you skiing behind shouting out when to turn if needed. He'll largely ignore you, but will eventually get the idea that he needs to make decisions. But only do it for a short stretch and switch back to him following you. Then you follow him, etc.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Wow I'd give it six months before you start arguing about inner tip lead and counter rotation.
His ability level already sounds v high and the ski pole stabiliser/tow thing is a thing I've seen a few parents doing then feeling when the kid is balancing fully for themselves and letting go for brief periods.
He'll be ripping as soon as ski school take him
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
My youngest son (3) really ski's pretty confidently now on blue runs, both the aeroplane drill and the hoop used as a steering wheel have been excllent to get him to this stage, turing, stopping plus the Pizza and Chips expressions. Like most young children he tends to take the fall line though now rather than be bothered to make wide turns and ends up snow ploughing and leaning back, the steering wheel helps to overcome his really well. However the best thing I've used for safety is reins. They really are the business ensuring junior is always safe (sometimes this season we started on reds that were too steep at the top but flattened out later). The reins come off once your on a comfortable slope but you leave the body harness on for easy reattachment. Just be a little careful with the harness on chair orT bars as its something else to get snagged. It takes FOREVER but he carries his own ski's - its the LAW
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Have a look at kidski: http://www.kid-ski.com/ and especially their teaching aids (ski-bar, tip-lock, harness (leash) etc).
We started son#1 on this as soon as he could stand up (holding on) - i.e. before he could walk - and now at aged 6 he's competent on any run - on or off piste - to the stage that he goes down things and I think "oh no, that means I've got to do it as well". In Canada this year, he was in the top kids group and they spent all week skiing untracked snow between the trees
We've just started son#2 using the same methodology - he had his first (snow) ski on his first birthday a few weeks ago: http://youtube.com/v/vgngUx0laBA since when he's progressed from plastic skis to the real thing (only 70cm long!).
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?
Rossfra8 wrote:
skimottaret, as an aside, what do you think of using the hoop as a steering aid? Turning the hoop in the direction you want to go....
i think they are fantastic if you have access to them
same with reins when in an open mountain environment
How does the steering wheel "hoop" work? With aeroplane arms you bank over to the right to turn left. Is the hoop horizontal like the steering wheel of a bus?
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
i teach quite a few young children and find it easier to keep thngs simple, use the words pizza and chips in stead of snowplough and parrallel. To get the children leaing forward into the boots at the start i put a finger between their shin and boot and tell them to squash it. You can then tell them to imagine it is a grape and to squash the grape as they are going down, thus keeping the leaning into their boots. The main thing it just put make it fun or you could put them off.
Def take unclip the reins when travelling on any kind of lift (you can leave the main harness on pretty safely).
I'm chuffed I've just worked out how to do the tidy link URL thing - only took me two years...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Our son is 4 and started skiing on those plastic strap on skis when he was 2.5years old just walking around on them really. when he was 3.5 yrs old he went to ski school for a 1hour lesson/ day which meant he got toplay and dance on skis. This year he was 4.5yrs old and he skied in january at la rosiere but only on a nursery slope and he managed his first poma lift. He went skiing again in March to sainte foy and managed all of the blues and a few sections of red slopes, managed to use chair lifts (although instructor or dad had to lift him up onto the lift). He is zooming along singing and dancing down the slope.
Our son is a very small 4, he wears 2-3 year old skiwear, so he looks alot younger than he actually is. I definately agree that technique doesn't matter as for us its just as important that he enjoys skiing.
The tip lock thing didn't really work for us as our son had already noted that the racers on ski sunday weren't doing snowplough and therefore he shouldn't either as it slows you down!
Will dig out the difference between our son in january and him in March and post some video links later
After all it is free
After all it is free
Quote:
our son had already noted that the racers on ski sunday weren't doing snowplough and therefore he shouldn't either as it slows you down!
fizz, Just wait till he's 12!
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.
I am a little bit scared to think what he will be upto at 12! (skiing and otherwise) I am sure he will have made us sell the house and move to the alps by then (or is that just wishful thinking!)
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
fizz, How did you find ESF in Sainte Foy for that age group?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
fizz, he'll be into something completely different. And probably worse.
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.
We actually used an independant instructor for both ourselves and the children in sainte foy. Bryan Hoog was an amazing instructor and guide for the adults and he also did some work with some friends 7yr old girls. However we hired an indpendant instructor called David via ESI who was amazing and the children all adored him. I have his details if you want me to pass them on PM me for details.
ESF instructors all looked fine but the groups were a little larger than i would like (about 12 or 13- but we went at easter!) whereas for only 100Euro more we had an amazing private instructor for the 3 children.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
, "left and right", "traverse". However concepts such as weighting, edging etc are too abstract.
