Learning to ski for children

The right age to start

There’s no absolute and definitive right age to start skiing, it depends on the individual child and his or her personal characteristics. As a rough guideline, kids can start learning to ski at around 4 years of age, or around 8 years for snowboarding. Meanwhile, children of up to 3 years of age can start building their confidence on the snow and with skiing in snow playgrounds, equipped with moving walkways, mini ski-lifts and gentle slopes.

The importance of having a ski instructor

It’s always a good idea to have a ski instructor be your first real teacher, both to prevent the possibility of accidents and to learn the correct technical approach from the very start. An instructor can fill their pupils with trust and confidence, allowing them to overcome any beginner’s fears. Instructors can also teach the basic techniques of skiing and the code of conduct on the slopes quickly and clearly.

Individual or group lessons?

It can be tricky to choose the most appropriate type of lessons. From a practical point of view, individual lessons enable immediate results, given that all the instructor’s attention is focused on one single student and his or her needs and pace. On the other hand, group lessons may involve different paces and dynamics, but can help children to get along well in a group and make new friends.

Good results in 5 lessons

The number of lessons needed to make progress is subjective, but good results can usually be seen after about 4-5 lessons lasting 2 hours each. If your holiday won’t be long enough to fit that in, you might want to consider individual lessons with their more flexible schedules.

Safety when skiing

It is essential that all equipment and clothing be up to code, correctly sized and in excellent condition. In addition to a helmet, it is advisable to wear a back protector for even greater safety. Clothes must be comfortable and appropriate: it’s advisable to wear technical, waterproof clothing.