 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It's a shame this thread has been resurrected. I am not sure what the pizza death wedge kid adds to the debate. We have no idea if the child was being ski schooled or not. All we know is some dumb ass parents took their kid out on a slope, seem to lose control and freeze up, and the parents didn't seem to make much effort aside from shouting pizza to prevent the situation. I am not trying to defend them but maybe it started out as a bit of a "joke" that got out of hand. Maybe they thought the kid was actually capable of handling it and only late on realised they couldn't. How many adults have we all seen lose it on a slope. Should we all only ever ski under certified supervision? Should we be licenced to ski? Anyway no more on that video from me, apart from yes, you wonder why they would stick it in the public domain.
I think it is worth reiterating the split between teaching your kids and skiing with your kids. Whilst it's I think it's totally understandable and acceptable that the majority don't want to teach their kids. I don't understand why you would not want to ski with them. You can have so much fun and what better way to spend some time with them than chatting on the lift, cruising down the mountainside, picnicking or lunching on the hill.
In terms of teaching young children to ski I think there a two questions to be asked:
1) Are you able to teach and demonstrate to a sufficient level.
2) Do you have the patience and temperament to do it.
The answer to either of those questions are not black and white, nor do they hold true at all times. Everyone has their limits.
Beyond that it comes down to a combination of money, attitude, culture, selfishness even plus probably a good number of other individual factors.
I also think it's worth thinking about age. Our kids are pretty young. The capacity for discussing the nuances of technique, doing drills, is limited. And their interest in skiing extends to how much fun they are having. As they get older I've no doubt this will change.
In terms of advancing your ability I think for older children and adults it is always a case of small amounts of instruction followed by practice. Effectively the former will always be one to one because even if you are in a group lesson the instructor will pick out individual faults, or next steps. All you are doing then is effectively practicing with a peer group as opposed to a "social" group. I think the difference is probably less than we think.
It's also worth bearing in mind that this is not a one way for life, or even a one way for the week thing. It seems perfectly reasonable to me to mix things up according the circumstances. Is good instruction available, can certain groups work well together, etc.
Above all, it's meant to be fun. Some may have fun teaching their children, some may have fun skiing with their children, some children may have fun skiing with other children. Sometimes one or the other has to forego some of their fun for the sake of the other. It's not necessarily cruel or irresponsible either way. And occasionally things do go wrong. It doesn't black ball the principle. People have had bad experiences in ski school, some people had bad experiences of teaching or even skiing with children or friends.
When you are talking about children things can quickly get very personal. What can be more insulting than being told you are parenting badly. The responsibility for your children is immense. So criticism is magnified and it's hard to have an amicable debate on the subject.
Anyway, this thread has certainly made me think. Nothing has changed for us right now but it who knows it may do in the future. Certainly it's a subject to tread very carefully around.
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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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Crikey, I totally misunderstood the pizza thing. I thought the adult was tryig to encourage the child with the promise of a pizza at the end of a run. Much like shouting "drink" to father Jack.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
In terms of teaching young children to ski I think there a two questions to be asked:
1) Are you able to teach and demonstrate to a sufficient level.
2) Do you have the patience and temperament to do it.
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You missed the most important one - can you keep it safe.
And the second most - can you make it fun.
Ski terrain is often deceptive. After a few weeks you look at a lot of blue slopes and they seem all but flat - but not to a newbie with poor control. Pretty sure that's what happened in the video, poor terrain judgement. Saw a similar thing in Saalbach over Christmas. We were running the kids end of week race, and some Dad was teaching his kid, on the nursery slope by the Thurm chairlift. Within 2 metres of the top it was in it's death wedge, travelled half the length of the slope accelerating all the way, then smashed into our safety netting. Could have been a lot worse. Most people looking at that slope would think it's ideal newbie terrain, not so.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Maybe you instructors need a reciprocal arrangement of 'I'll teach your kids if you will teach mine!!!' 
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Inside Out Swinging.
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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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Stop sniggering at the back of the class!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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