UPDATED MARCH 12, 2018
To lesson or not to lesson? It’s a question that any parent comes across when teaching children to ski or to learn anything new.
Sometimes the answer is easy. For example, if I wanted Big E to learn how to ride a horse I would put him in a lesson, no question, for the very simple reason that I don’t know how to ride horses. But when it comes to skiing at a 4-year-old level, that is something I think I can do.
Teaching Your Child to Ski Yourself
There are many benefits to teaching your kid how to ski yourself.
You know your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
My son Big E needs a snack every afternoon. He’s shy when confronted with new people and situations but once he feels comfortable he’s excited to be involved. He is naturally high energy and has no fears jumping down the staircase from five or six steps up.
Because I know all these things about him, I can help him put those strengths to good use when learning to ski.
What motivates your child?
You’ve been raising your children since day one, so you know better than anyone how to get them to do what you want. My kids are motivated by:
- candy
- make believe games
- distraction from difficulty through songs, jokes or silly faces
- promised reward of extra electronic time or avoidance of chores
- sometimes money
You’ve known since the days of the potty-training chart what works for your child, so you can use that to help your child learn to ski.
Teaching your own child to ski saves money.
Teaching your own child to ski means you can save money on ski lessons, which are especially expensive for kids age 3-5. Skiing is already expensive with lift tickets, gear rental or purchase and buying snow clothes and while many resorts offer free skiing passes for kids age 6 or younger, that doesn’t help if your child is older.
If you can teach your own child to ski it can save you money on professional ski lessons which often cost more than $99 per child.
You will ski with your child more than any instructor ever could.
Finally, when considering whether or not to put your child in ski lessons, you should remember that you will ski with your child more than any ski instructor ever could. You may put your child in a two hour lesson, but you’ll be skiing with them for the rest of the day or in future ski days. Teaching your child to ski by yourself lets you adjust the learning to exactly what your child needs. Help your child gain ski confidence for those ski days when there isn’t a professional by your side.
Putting Your Child in Ski Lessons
The benefits of putting your children ski lessons are also worth considering.
Professional experience.
A ski instructor teaches children to ski every day, all winter long. They know what to realistically expect in terms of how much progress can be made during a lesson and they have strategies to help kids learn how their bodies should move in order to keep from careening down the hill.
Quick progression.
Professional ski lessons are also great for moments when you as a parent are stuck. Say I’m trying to teach Big E how to hockey stop on skis and he just. isn’t. getting. it. By putting him in a ski lesson, the instructor can help him learn that skill to really jump start his ski progression.
Online Family Ski School
Whether you sign up for lessons or not, you should definitely check out the Online Family Ski School. This online course that I developed with Alyssa from KidProject.org and Kristen at BraveSkiMom.com, teaches you how to teach your child to ski.
It offers real-life tips, tricks and games to get your kids to move on snow safely, whether you choose to put your child in ski lessons or teach them yourself.
The Online Family Ski School is designed to help you raise a life long skier through video instruction, printable pdfs, weekly email tips, and an exclusive Online Family Ski School facebook group.
Sign up for a FREE ski equipment checklist from the Online Family Ski School right here in the box below this sentence.
Teaching MY Child to Ski
At first I decided to teach four-year-old Big E to ski myself. How hard could it be? So what that I’m a snowboarder and haven’t downhill skied in over a decade?
We went twice for an hour and a half each time and by the end we hadn’t even gotten on the lift. My four-year-old was not interested in making a wedge with his skis in order to slow down.
All he wanted to do was race down the hill with me holding on for dear life. I decided that not only should he have a lesson, but I should have one too. That way I would be able to know what it was I wanted him to do.
So we signed up for lessons. Big E was in the Wild Bunch, a semi-private lesson for kids age 4-5. I was nervous leaving E on his own, but the fact that the Wild Bunch group of four and five year olds was limited to two kids maximum was comforting.
Ashleigh was Big E’s instructor and from the start I knew he was in good hands. She promptly got down on his level, helped him with his mittens and talked in an animated way about making “french fries and pizza slices” with his skis.
When I left for my lesson I told E, “You be good for Ashleigh, OK?” In response he went over and gave her a hug. A hug! For a stranger! From my ‘shy-around-new-people’ son!
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While Big E rode with Ashleigh, I took a lesson from Kelly, who quickly put me at ease. I happened to be the only adult signed up for the group lesson that afternoon so I got a private lesson. On the lift we discussed tips for teaching children to ski.
Five Tips for Teaching Children to Ski
1. Edgie Wedgies are lifesavers for teaching young kids to ski. This rubbery string connects to the tips of the child’s skis and keeps them from splaying their skis wide. I recommend them for kids age 6 and under.
2. Kids age 5 and under do not have the lower leg strength/coordination to bend knees, point ski tips together and roll both feet toward each other simultaneously. The best you’ll get is two out of three.
3. If your child always wants to hold your hand down the mountain, or ski between your skis, you can get a hula hoop for them to hang on to instead. This allows them to have proper body position while letting you control the speed.
4. Poles just get in the way for beginner skiers. Leave them at home.
5. Using a kids ski harness can teach bad form, specifically that the child leans too far forward. If you choose to use one, find one that attaches at the waist of the child so it doesn’t pull them off balance. We like the Lil Ripper Gripper for tentative kids age 3-6. Read the full review here
