Once they`re safe and having a good time, it`s amazing how much kids learn by copying and trying. If they look tired or have become calm, go grab a hot chocolate and take a break! When trying to speed up your child`s ski development, frustrated parents often find that their children hate skiing. The youngest children can start skiing is as soon as they can walk. We started skiing most of our children at 18 months, and almost all of them were able to ski alone on the beginner slope at the age of 2. Although children can start skiing at the age of one, their progress will be slow. None of our children were able to ski in the intermediate ski areas until they were at least 4 years old. Teaching your children to ski on their own will allow you to start them as young as you want. We started most of our young children at 18 months, but if you`re not hardcore skiers like us, I recommend waiting until the age of 3. A one- or two-year-old skier won`t be able to do much, so those early years will have fairly slow progress in ski lessons. Is it possible to go skiing with young children? Yes, it is quite possible! This section on the “good and evil” of skiing with young children, commented by Nathalie Bertholin, Corinne Mermoz, Pierre Espargiliere and Neile Combralier, all ski instructors in Tignes, illustrates this fact. I know from experience how difficult it is to want little ones to learn to love skiing as early as possible.
But the reality is that just because the ski school is available for very young children doesn`t mean that all kids are necessarily ready to start skiing at such a young age without their parents. It`s also worth noting that kids shouldn`t learn to ski too early, as it can be frustrating for them if it doesn`t click right away. A child who falls in love with skiing early on could risk ruining your future fun with the whole family. FALSE! You can put a child on a snowboard from the age of 2 and a half. Plus, it`s a great way to teach him how to get up. This is reassuring news for all die-hard surfers! However, according to Nathalie Bertholin, it is something that should be tried in addition to skiing. For many, it is best to wait until the age of 6 to 8 to avoid being exposed to asymmetrical sports too young, but if your child is very persistent, nothing prevents him from trying. Ski instructors for children`s ski lessons are specially trained and have experience with possible problems that may arise when skiing with children. They know how best to deal with it and also teach the little ones one or the other. This year we did a one-day private family lesson at Mammoth and let the teacher spend the first 2/3 of the day just with my 4.5 year old (with me checking in from time to time).
During this time, she went from skiing on the magic carpet of the ski school to the legitimate ski lift and skiing on the green slopes. It was nothing short of a miracle of snow and absolutely worth the high price. You should know that a child who learned to ski in just one week on their last ski holiday may have forgotten everything on the next trip. Until the age of about five, it`s best to put your little ones in a kids` ski school course until they`ve learned the basics. You may have heard of other young children who started skiing at the age of 1. Although there are people who put their kids on skis early, they are usually people who live in the mountains, and skiing is a way of life. Are there altitude risks? According to the president of the Association of Mountain Doctors, even with a (very) small child, you do not have to worry about a holiday in a high mountain resort. “There may be some minor problems, for example, some children don`t fall asleep as well in the mountains, the Eustachian tube – the small tube that connects the middle ear to the bridge of the nose and upper neck – can be easily blocked at the slightest cold, making the eardrum painful, especially if you`re driving on the road to take the station. to get to higher altitudes or if you take a cable car. You have to try to make the child swallow by offering him a drink or a pacifier to suck, “advises Jean-Baptiste Delay, who also suggests skiing on the low slopes of the resort rather than at the top.