Yeah, this is arguably a bit showy, but hear me out. Loads of ski/board schools flat-out refuse to try to teach kids younger than about 8 - and yet Burton, Ride, Rome, K2 and others make snowboarding gear in toddler sizes. Probably just a fashion statement for rich baggy yuppie parents. I was pretty sceptical about a 3 year old's ability to 'get' snowboarding (speaking as a skier who later learned snowboarding, I found it a remorselessly painful and discouraging experience). I've been out skiing with this little fellow before, and he's been to ski school, and by all accounts done really well. But snowboarding's much harder, and only much older kids can do it, right?
Well, I'm a rich baggy yuppie c***(1), so we bought him some gear.
Call this parental bragging if you like, but honestly I'm posting this in case anyone is thinking "I wonder if our little so-and-so can do it". Chances are, he or she can, I reckon. We spent the whole of last season skiing with him on and off, today he boarded (for the first time ever) and skied on the same day. I'd say, he snowboarded better. Much more confidently, much less afraid of falling.
I think it's an instinct thing. Snowboarding is quite intuitive compared to skiing, which seems to be to be more 'learning to do what your body doesn't want to do'.
(1) "Chap". Wash your mind out.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
*APPLAUSE* Well done Lucas. Our eldest is a similar age and keeps saying he wants to snowboard like dad, but'll be on skis come January. Maybe see if I can snag a small setup from somewhere...
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?
Show off
I'm skeptical about my 3-year-old's attention span at the moment, which is why he's not coming with us in january. But the following year we'll definitely take him and it's something I'm relishing being part of, although I'll have to have a word with myself that the holiday objective will no longer be about me thrashing down slopes as fast as I can, and more about getting him into the sport.
Both my kids have been snowboarding regularly since they were that age. By the age of 6 or 7 they were keeping up fine with me, and now at 10 and 12 I don't even bother trying. The biggest challenge we now have is stopping them from doing anything too dangerous, usually fail, and have quite a few trips to hospital as a result. But they bounce back.
I've never understood why the schools say they can't be taught until they are much older. I see quite a few local kids that have been riding from young ages, some of them are seriously good by the time they are 6.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Chapeau to Piehole Jr. He'll be bonking a misty roastbeef in no time that's fersure.
One thing I have noticed in very little kids is that that they tend to fall onto hands rather than knees , maintaining a 90 deg. i wonder if this is because the bindings hold their legs rigidly much closer to the knee prototionately than adults preventing full knee flex.
that's very sweet indeed. One of the loveliest things I ever saw on a ski slope was a young father - a very competent boarder, by the look of him, with a little lad about 4. They were having an absolute ball, round and round the nursery slope, Dad fully focussed on making sure the little guy had a good time. No showing off, no pushing, just lots of encouragement and praise. And laughter.
Quote:
One thing I have noticed in very little kids is that that they tend to fall onto hands rather than knees , maintaining a 90 deg
But they do a lot of stuff that way. Littlies learning to walk tend either to plonk down backwards onto their bums, or do that forward onto hands 90 degree thing. They don't tend to fall onto their knees. They get up the same way. Hands and feet, then weight back a bit, hands come up off the floor. So it might not be anything to do with bindings. They do, of course, just hurtle sometimes, tripping over something invisible, or their feet, and then their knees get bashed.
What did Lucas think? Hope that last crash wasn't too painful. skiing or boarding from now on?
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Mix of skiing and boarding from now on. He never really moans when he stacks it. I stopped filming at that point to go and see if he was alright and he was just laughing and saying 'more'.
After all it is free
After all it is free
hang11 wrote:
Nice!
I've never understood why the schools say they can't be taught until they are much older. I see quite a few local kids that have been riding from young ages, some of them are seriously good by the time they are 6.
Its not that they cant be taught until they are older, its that they do not learn as quickly as older kids so could not go in a group with them and you dont tend to get enough young kids wanting to book the same week to make it financially work at group prices. So then you tell them the price of 15 hours of private lessons and most parents dont want to spend that much on their 4 year old.
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 think the OP is right to say that snowboarding comes more "naturally" than skiing. After all, plenty of little lads jump on skateboards and do pretty clever stuff on them without any "lessons" - they just copy their mates.
When you see a little snake of 4 year olds trying to get to grips with snowploughs, they don't look very natural and when they fall over in giraffe style it can look quite sore, and not always easy even for little kids to get themselves up. It's far easier to get up on a snowboard than it is when you've fallen over on skis, especially on the flat (I speak from bitter experience....).
So maybe it would be more logical to put little kids on snowboards; then there wouldn't be a problem getting group lessons for them. Sure, they'd learn faster at 6 or 7 - but then the little 4 year old skiers would learn faster at 6 or 7 too.
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