I have a 2 year old son. Being keen on skiing I'd like him to start at an early age. Anyone with experience of this? A good age? Good resorts/operators? Bad experiences?
2006-09-05 10:07:11 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Winter Sports
Here is what you do, coming from someone who has skied for 30 years, and has two daughters skiing now, ages 7 and 9.
Two is way too young. The bones are not nearly developed enough to handle the stresses of the sport. Three is ok, as is four or five. Obviously you want sooner than later, and I don't blame you, but you should wait until at least three years of age.
Now, how to:
You need to buy a pair of edgie-wedgies. Sounds gay, but they are a life saver. Those are the little fellas that keep the tips together. There are several different designs, they all work fine.
Then you need to buy what's called a "Racer Chaser". The link below is from Amazon.com. I was suprised they carried it...the picture is exactly the same as the one that I have. You can probably find it cheaper though. Heck, I'm looking to sell mine (and the edgie-wedgie). email me if you want at:
brass_b@yahoo.com
and we could work out the details maybe.
Anyways, the Racer Chaser is a harness that the kid wears like a vest, and a strap hooks to it on either side. You trail the kid, and if you hook it up right, a left tug on the strap initiates a left turn, and same for a right tug.
I'm sure you have seen the parents holding their kids from behind. That is a huge mistake. The kid doesn't learn how to maintain a centered stance...they are inclined to lean back, which is not the correct habit to form at a young age. You also see parents bent over skiing backward, holding the tips of the skis. This is ok for the kid, but painful for the parent!
When using the Racer Chaser, I always tried to keep slack in the strap, so they were standing on their own, and just applied tugs to get them turning left and right. The only time I ever applied back-pressure was to brake them (for obvious reasons!)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000COFALS?v=glance
Hope all this helps! Good luck...next season, it's probably too soon for this season!
2006-09-05 11:49:41 · answer #1 · answered by powhound 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
3 or 4
2006-09-05 10:12:26 · answer #2 · answered by jack_daniels 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That age is fine. You wouldn't want much younger. But the kid might not take to it. So, like somebody mentioned, be prepared to leave them in daycare service. Use the full day ski school so the kids can enjoy their day, and you can enjoy yours. At that young age, there are two tools that a parent who takes their kid up the chair without ski school help will need: 1) an edgie-wedgie. Basically, they hold the tips together. Youngsters cannot do that on their own. 2) a racer chaser. Harness that attaches to a vest that the kid wears. The parent holds the rope to slow the kid, and control their speed. You can google both of those if interested. I used to ski instruct, so I was able to teach my daughters using these tools. If you don't have the instructor experience, I highly recommend leaving that to the professionals.
2016-03-17 08:50:05 · answer #3 · answered by Michele 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Aged 3 onwards.
I went skiing with the school when I was 13 and one of the memories I have is of these young kids probably 3 or 4 who were fab and putting older kids and adults to shame! I think the younger they learn the better, as they have no fear.
I would try Crystal & Inghams and maybe First Choice Ski for prices and resorts recommdations.
2006-09-05 10:18:58 · answer #4 · answered by deana1307 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
im a ski instructor and the youngest age ive taught was 4. i started skiing when i was 3, but my dad was a ski instructor so he taught me. if you are looking to take lessons from a ski school, many of them require the child to be at least 5 years old...sometimes 4. if you are planning on teaching him (its really not hard at all as long as you yourself are positive that you are skiing with the right technique) then by all means start as young as 3...but at age 2 its too difficult to get skis and boots to stay on, being as his feet are going to be soo tiny!! good luck
2006-09-05 12:25:09 · answer #5 · answered by runlikeagirl19 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Honestly, when they show an interest. My husband is a snow board instructor and my son started when he was 3. He totally rebeled and would not do it because we wanted him to do it so badly. However, my daughter started at 2 1/2. My son saw her having fun and that made him try again. Now snowboarding is everything.I know that you said skiing, but I figured this was close enough. skiing is so hard
2006-09-05 11:39:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
young i started ski school at like 3 or 4 even though i switched to snowboarding i still got like 5 years of skiing in
2006-09-05 10:10:45 · answer #7 · answered by tthoops1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
2 is a bit young. My brother was 4, and i was 5 when we started skiing - I would say this is about right - while they still bouce! Earlier than 4 or 5 and they have trouble understanding what is going on and why they are doing it.
2006-09-06 06:14:42 · answer #8 · answered by sara 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I started as a three year old, with my dad teaching me. If you want them to be really good, and maybe make a carreer out of skiing, start him at three. If you want them to just enjoy it, than 5 or 6 should do.
2006-09-05 14:23:37 · answer #9 · answered by Skidude 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋