When to start kids

[BackLoafRiver]

Hey all,

I couldn't find a thread on this so, I thought I would ask some opinions.

What is a good age to start kids skiing? I have two twin 4 year old sisters. They are so cute and, being the good big brother I am, decided that I wanted to get them out in the snow for Christmas, preferably on skis. So, my present to them is going to be to get them into a ski program.

I foresee a few problems with this.

1) Rental Gear vs. Owning. I know this has been debated for adults. Wondering what about kids. I am not able to buy them boots and skis but some places do a lease thing. I don't know. Gear seems to be the biggest obstacle.

2) Where to go - They live in Kittery so, a lot of places are relatively near by. My original thought was Sunday River. I have heard great things about their kids program. Not having kids of my own, I have no idea on this.

Since we don't celebrate Christmas with them until a week from now, I figure I have a little time.

I might be crazy to look down this road. I would LOVE to see them get as into it as I am. It would be great to do family outings to different mountains as they grow.

As always, I appreciate thoughts/ opinions.


** EDIT - After trying a few different search terms, found http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=65722&highlight=start+kids
That gave me some insight on age.

 

[HD333]

Started my twins at 4yrs old. Perfect age. They will be 6 soon. Wait for a nice day and don't expect much the first time out, just have fun.

Rent the first time, try to find a package deal rental and lessons. If they like it check out Levelnine.com. Great deals on new kids gear, I think it is overstock stuff from a few years ago.

We got 2 years out of the first set we bought for them, still have them if anyone is intersted in making an offer, don't really know how the PM thing works but give it a try if interested, Head XCR (I think) Skis size 86cm,. Look bindings, Head boots size 10 or 11.

HD

 

[dl]

4 years old is fine.....depending on the kids. You'll have to use your judgement to figure out if it's right for these girls. As noted above, don't go into this with high expectations. In fact, do the exact opposite. The less pressure the child feels, the greater chances for success. Some days they may want to ski for several hours and others 5 minutes - and you won't know which until you get out there.

A lot of areas have short term rentals (by the hour) for this age group. I'd start with that and if they seem to like it, then explore leasing our buying used stuff. Then again, some kids respond better if they have their own stuff.

You might consider some of the teaching tools (http://www.snowshack.com/brand/kid-ski_teaching_tools) as they can help if used correctly. I used a tip lock, kiddie lift and leash more than any of the other tools. I also used the lift when teaching my kids how to skate, skateboard and ride a bike.

Good luck. Bring your patience and a smile. Be ready to make snow angels.

 

[TheBEast]

I know some will say I'm aggresive, but I'm hoping to try and get my daughter out this winter (she'll be 2 in March). She's got some good leg strength. I fully expect it to be daddy pushing her around on the bunny slope (the one at Berkshire East is essentially flat), even if it's only for a few minutes and then probably pulling her around in a sled.....either way I'm dying to get her on the snow. She loves the sled ride around the yard at home, so I'm hoping that translates well on the bunny hill. We shall see. I don't expect she'll really be able to do much with it until probably the winter she turns 4.......

 

[kickstand]

My twins (B-G) turn 3 in a couple of weeks and while I was hoping to get them on the slopes this season, every place I checked for lessons requires them to be potty trained. At 4, that shouldn't be an issue. I'm hoping maybe I can get them out by myself, no lesson, but that's when it depends on the kid. I think my daughter would love to do it, but I'm not so sure about my son. We have those Lucky Bumz skis for them (similar to the ones in dl's link) and she likes them now, but last winter wanted nothing to do with them.

Everything I've read says don't expect much and make it more about having fun, not necessarily all about skiing. Go in for hot chocolate. Have a snowball fight. Try to do stuff in the snow aside from skiing. You don't want to force skiing down their throat. If you have low expectations, the chances of them being exceeded are high.

Good luck!

 

[drjeff]

I know some will say I'm aggresive, but I'm hoping to try and get my daughter out this winter (she'll be 2 in March). She's got some good leg strength. I fully expect it to be daddy pushing her around on the bunny slope (the one at Berkshire East is essentially flat), even if it's only for a few minutes and then probably pulling her around in a sled.....either way I'm dying to get her on the snow. She loves the sled ride around the yard at home, so I'm hoping that translates well on the bunny hill. We shall see. I don't expect she'll really be able to do much with it until probably the winter she turns 4.......

Not aggressive at all in my mind atleast. Both my kids have their birthday's in the next 2 weeks. Both of them were on skis by March the year they turned 2 (both of them went to Killington's kids program where they get 2 year olds out onto skis (if they want) and learn to basically walk around in them and if they show enough interest ride their magic carpet outside the Ramshead Lodge.

Both my kids are age 3 went through Mount Snow Cub Camp program (60 to 90 minutes on the hill on Mount Snow's small magic carpet) along with daycare. Both of my kids had progressed to the point that by the end of their cub camp season they were able to ride Canyon Quad with my wife and I and make linked wedge turns down the Snowdance trail at Mount Snow without the use of any leash/tip restrainers/etc.

Bottomline is that my kids are having fun, with absolutely no pressure from my wife and I. If they didn;t want to ski one day, one of us didn't ski and we didn't force the issue. It's supposed to be a fun sport and we do our best to keep it that way.

Plus, I will say that as a parent, it's pretty darned cool to see your young kids on the hill having fun!

 

[St. Bear]

Plus, I will say that as a parent, it's pretty darned cool to see your young kids on the hill having fun!

I can't wait, expecting our first in April, so 2012/13 he'll be on skis for sure.

 

[mlctvt]

Not aggressive at all in my mind atleast. Both my kids have their birthday's in the next 2 weeks. Both of them were on skis by March the year they turned 2 (both of them went to Killington's kids program where they get 2 year olds out onto skis (if they want) and learn to basically walk around in them and if they show enough interest ride their magic carpet outside the Ramshead Lodge.

Yup, I saw a guy at Stratton once and he had his daughter hooked up to a harness, the harness was attached to a pole that he held onto. They were on an intermediate trail and she was doing quite well. I asked her age, he said 19 months! I couldn't believe it.
She'll probably be the next pro.

 

[drjeff]

I can't wait, expecting our first in April, so 2012/13 he'll be on skis for sure.

I can honestly say that the most memorable runs I've had these last few seasons have predominately been on beginner/low intermediate with my kids. IMHO seeing your kids out there when it clicks tops any powder day!

 

[Angus]

wait for the warm weather or day and I've heard the area near Auburn (lost valley???) has good programs - a bit closer. I started at 3.5 years old - two consecutive weeks in march/april with 50+ degree sunshine - good memories and couldn't wait until the next winter and the legs/endurance were much greater.

 

[polski]

Lots of good advice ^^^^. Couple thoughts:

Locations: I don't know anything about kids' programs up that way but all other things being equal, you might consider smaller mountains (especially if closer by) than bigger resorts - for instance, Shawnee or King Pine (NH) (edit: or the aforementioned Lost Valley). Obviously someone just starting out isn't going to need maximum vert; it's more important to be able to get out there as often as possible (assuming the kid wants to go, that is). The smaller places also will have more affordable adult tix.

Equipment: I've had good luck buying/selling used equipment from a local ski shop. Counting binding adjustment/tuneup I'm not sure if this saves much over an annual leasing program but it's worked well for us, and it only takes maybe four or five trips to hit breakeven. Aside from saving rental fees it also eliminates the time/hassle of renting gear.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

I don't have any kids of my own, but do remember kids at 8 doing everything an advanced skier could do. I thought to myself wow, I wish I had started when they did, probably when they learned to walk. Very young kids seem to have no real fears at such a young age, which makes them learn, learn well and look like experts in no time.

 

[severine]

If you want to get them into lessons, check the ages at the mountains ahead of time. Some allow younger than others; our home mountain starts group lessons at 4 (you can start at 3, IIRC, for a parent-tot lesson, but that's more teaching the parent how to teach the child, something I am not really capable of doing with my knee--can't do sustained wedges--and I'm not sure I have the patience). So while my daughter was on skis at 2.5 and 3.5 years old, including going up the magic carpet last year at 3.5, she hasn't had her first lesson yet. We're really excited to get her into a program this year at 4.5. Our son will be 2.5 this winter. He's VERY excited about the prospect of skiing and I think he's actually poised to advance quite well, perhaps even surpass his sister, because he's very physical and has drive. When our daughter did soccer this fall for the first time, he was the one ready to get in there and play while she was clinging to us refusing to participate.

Every kid is different. Sometimes it's hard not to, but try not to pressure them. I think low expectations is a good idea. Our plan is also not to take the kids out on marginal weather days for a bit either--we want to keep them excited about the sport.

Good luck!

ETA: Oh yeah! Equipment! It all depends. We were able to get boots and skis for pretty cheap at the local hill's ski swap (our daughter's skis were only $10 and their boots were $20 or $25/pair). Also check out online used equipment. Our son's skis were $40 from an AZer. Cheaper than a season rental and they'll get a couple years out of them, plus I can resell after we're done.

 

[mikestaple]

My kids started at 4 with lessons at Sugarloaf. Nice long bunny slope and the kids love the tricked out snowmobile ride back to the top. Good program that mixes skiing with some play time inside (the emphasis is on skiing though - not crafts. It's just an acknowledgment that they realize the attention span of kids this young.)

Also, very easy for you to watch them while they take the lesson - if you want to do that. (or just to buzz by and say high).

I usually get the kids a season rental at the local ski shop, but the last time I checked Sugarloaf had Spongebob Squarepants skis for the kiddies and they were all over that.

Lots of kids ski free weeks at the Loaf too.

 

[ski63]

Mrs

I'll just tell you this... my daughter was remaniscing today about the fact that this will be her 20th ski season...she's 23!
We started her in an all day ski school that took kids who were "potty trained". She was 3 yrs 9 mos. No magic carpet back then. The carpet was a long rug they side-stepped up.
They skiied twice for 1-2 hrs(morn and aft), played, ate and slept. That evening at dinner was great. Chair lift rides the 2nd year and no ski leashes...ever!!!
Seven Springs, PA has had a great kids program for years.
As far as equipement....we rented by the season through her teens. It was cheaper and she was always skiing on was up-to-date equipement.
We still vacation/ski together and count the time to the next ski season when the current season ends.

 

[djspookman]

We're starting my daughter on skis this season. She just turned 2 in October, has plenty of leg strength, and great balance. My wife and I used to be kids ski instructors, we used to teach 3-16 year olds all the time. On occasion, we had 2 year olds in private lessons and those kids did fine. It really all depends on motor control and muscle development. Only problem we're having is that our daughter is tiny, so most hardshell boots don't fit her, but we're working on that.

Okemo has FREE use of their magic carpets, so we're heading there to bring her out, as they have a pretty good beginner area, plus the price is right. Can't wait for that sunny day to take her out there!

dave

 

[SIKSKIER]

Younger the better

If they can walk,they can start getting used to skis on their feet.2 years old is fine for many kids.A friend started his daughter at 18 months.Of course she couldn't ski but she was walking around on the snow with skis on.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

We started both at 2.5 (now they are 4 and 7) and love it

-we buy skis and rent boots for the season..we get 2 seasons per kid out of the skis.
-at 2.5-3 we skiied with them using the kid-ski system www.kid-ski.com
-we enrolled them in ski school as soon as we could
-we take a 5 day trip to smuggs every jan and thats where they really started to ski, phenomonal ski school program
-they talk about smuggs all summer and cant wait to get back

 

[goldsbar]

Mine had a few days at 3 1/2 and did fairly well on the kiddie hills. Had a lot of fun with the instructors. Took him once by myself this year - mistake! He wasn't back to square 1, but close. Don't expect miracles unless they're very athletic or your going to go a lot (AND they actually want to go a lot).

Keep in mind that the lessons are expensive. Usually $100+ for the day - some skiing, some hot chocolate - unless you have a real cheapo local area near by.

 

[Breeze]

Will ditto Severine's advice above, and check out various websites before you decide where to take the girls, to get a good idea of what is offered for the age group through ski school.

Also check on partial day tickets, at 4 years old a full day may be beyond their attention span or comfort level for the first few visits. There are a few ski areas that still offer a half-day morning adult pass if you are wanting to be skiing too, Lost Valley is one of those. Mt Abrams in Locke Mills offers a morning adult pass, too. Afternoon half day is available most everywhere.

As for equipment, my advice would be to rent for the first few experiences. Keep the receipt copy of their rentals, and they may not have to be "fitted" again, especially if you return to the same place on subsequent visits this season. Having the boot size, ski length and DIN settings saves time getting in and out of the rental shop.

You are a way-cool big brother to be gifting this to them. BTW.

Breeze