top of page
Search

Skiing with Kids

By: Meg White, To the Mountain Shuttle


Are your kids ready to ski or snowboard?  Of course!  They are ready if you are.


My daughter demanded to ski at 18 months old.  Here is her first run!



I’ve been a professional ski instructor at Summit Snoqualmie for 18 years, and there is no wrong age to start skiing.  Of course, if your kiddo is tiny, “skiing” might be sliding down a snowbank and drinking cocoa. The most important concept to impart in their hearts is that skiing is FUN!  Never push too hard.  Each year your kids will naturally develop their strength, coordination, and mental grasp of skiing.  Keep reading for specific tips for teaching.


First, your kids need the gear to keep them cozy.  Wool socks for kids are essential.  Do not wear any cotton, please.  Cotton will get very cold because it is conductive when damp and will suck the heat right out of little bodies.  It’s true for adults, too!  Wool socks, wool socks, wool socks.  My favorite brand is Darn Tough — made in America and guaranteed for life.


Base layers are your next concern.  Again, No Cotton.  Here’s the ones I get for Ani.  They are cozy and fleecy inside and come in lots of sizes and colors.  XS has fit her for years, but size S is also fitting her now that she’s in second grade.  She wears them everyday with a dress over the top.  That works great on ski bus days when she heads straight from school to the mountains.  For boys, you could layer the base layers under light weight pants for school like this or just pick cozy performance pants like this.  Here’s a performance T-shirt to layer over the base layers.


For outwear you have lots of options.  I also recommend asking on your Buy Nothing group and looking at ski swaps for used gear.  It’s cheaper and better for the environment.  One-pieces are super cozy but less versatile.  An option for less investment if you are just trying it out is to layer up performance layers and fleece under a rain suit that you can use for other activities.


Four more accessories you’ll want are a helmet, goggles, face gaiter, and mittens.  Helmets are required for most ski lessons.  I love helmets!  They are warm and dry and protect our brains.  Plus, you can cover your helmet with stickers!  I highly recommend mittens instead of gloves because they will keep their hands much warmer.  Avoid mittens that layer over liner gloves because it defeats the warmth of having their fingers together.  This pair has a string so they won’t lose them, which is nice.  Even without the string, most mittens have a wrist strap.  Teach your kids to always use the wrist strap and to always hook their mittens together when they take them off.  Losing one mitten is so sad.


What else will you need?  Well, boots and skis/snowboard, of course!  Looking at ski swaps for used gear and asking on your Buy Nothing are great options.  You can also get a season rental from several area ski shops. Seattle Ski offers our customers a 10% discount until 11/1.  Even if you are just going for the day, it may be worth it to rent in town so you don’t get stuck in a long line on the mountain.  Ski boots should be as snug as possible but not hurt.  Warming them up before you put them on will make them easier to put on.  A heated boot bag is pretty luxurious, but car boot warmers are also nice.  Skis should come up about to your kid’s nose so they are manageable but have a little room for growth.  If their old skis come up to chest height, that still works.  The bigger a ski is, the more stable it is.  The shorter the ski, the more maneuverable. I don’t know as much about snowboards, but the internet tells me that the same ideas apply.


I don’t introduce poles until any beginner skier is making the transition to intermediate terrain, but I’m old fashioned.  Whenever you decide to introduce poles, adjustable poles are a good option for growing kids.


Once you get to the ski mountain, your first plan will be the magic carpet.  On their very first day, your goal is simply to be able to stop and go with control.  It helps to stay in front of them and have them reach towards you. Try to get their hands up in front of them so that their weight stays forward.  Keep their eyes looking forward, too, instead of looking at their feet for the same reason.  Little bunny hops help get them balanced on their skis.


The next skill to master is turning.  Sometimes young kids will turn without even trying.  You can walk backwards in front of them in a curving line and see if they follow you.  To help them more, have them put their hands on their knees (keeps their weight forward) and point the direction they want to turn.  It’s a trick!  The pointing is just to take pressure off the inside ski of the turn and keep pressure on their outside ski because they are resting their hand on that leg.


Once your child can stop and go with control and turn each direction down the magic carpet, I add a few more “tricks” they need to master before we head to the lifts.  I make my students bunny hop, ski on one ski for five seconds on each leg, and ski the whole magic carpet run backwards before we go to the lifts.  A big part of these tricks, which are all excellent ski drills, is building confidence.  If you know you can ski backwards, then it won’t be so scary if you get turned around on the big hill.  Skiing on one leg really helps with turning, especially if one direction is more difficult to turn in than the other.


Is it time for the lifts?  How exciting!  Make sure to watch people loading and talk about chair lift safety — seats on the seat and backs on the back on the chair.  It’s nice to have two adults for your child’s first time up the lift.  Then you can play the same “ski to me” game you started with on the magic carpet.  Remember that the first time is the hardest.  The second run down the big hill will be way easier than the first!  Once you kid can make it down, look for terrain to help teach them.  Talk about turning up hill to slow down and stop.  Show them that they can turn their skis uphill without ending up backwards if they always keep their hands downhill.  Look for piles of snow around the lift towers to “jump” over.  Jumps and bumps are fun!  Jumps build confidence while training your child’s body to stay centered and balanced.


Lastly, make sure to reward a good day in the snow with a warm cup of cocoa.  Talk about what was fun and what they learned from any challenges.  Let them know they did a great job and that you love skiing with them!  See you on the slopes!




Comments


bottom of page