Taking children with you skiing
by Pete Downing
This section gives some general advice about what
to expect when taking the family on a cross-country skiing holiday.
At the bottom of the page you'll find a link to a reference page
about what's on offer for children at Venabu. See also the page
about taking younger children with you.
Firstly, children vary a great deal and whereas one 10 year old will
take to skiing with no problems, another will find it difficult -
it's the same for adults too! For all children, concentration and
variety of activity is the key. If you're not able to hold a child's
concentration their mind will soon wander to other things and skiing
will become a chore. Likewise, repeating the same exercises over and
over again will lead to boredom.
Children have a natural balance far greater than adults. They are
also nearer to the ground and therefore getting up after a fall
presents no problems. Try not to emphasize the technique part of the
activity too often - as long as they're enjoying themselves, let
them get on with it. Finding gentle slopes where they can get used
to the skis is important but don't wear out the adventure by going
up and down too many times. Most of the time children will be happy
to career down the trails and will simply fall down when they get to
a difficult bend, jump up again and continue. This can be quite
frustrating for adults who like to feel more in control of their
skis (and don't like falling down). Once you've managed some control
try to get the children to follow suit. A bit if rivalry between
parent and child always gets the latter more determined to get it
right.
If neither you nor your children have been skiing before, be
prepared to sacrifice some of your own progress if you've got
children under 12. Generally, children over this age will leave
their parents standing after a few days. If you're skiing in a
resort that has crèche facilities, make sure that the activities for
the children include skiing - it's never too early to learn and if
you get hooked on skiing it's important that the children can also
enjoy it. Don't leave them in the crèche every day either - skiing
can be great fun as a family too!
Skiing all day will be too much for most children, but it depends on
how much physical activity they are used to doing. 8-12 year olds
will normally be able to stay out for 3 hours or so but let them
have time for plenty of stops along the way. Don't forget to take
plenty of chocolate/sweets, something to drink and some fruit along
with you. Agree specific goals as you go along such as "We'll have a
drink of hot chocolate at the next signpost in 10 minutes time".
This reduces a long trip into easily definable sections.
Finally, don't forget that children will tend to get cold quickly,
especially if they're playing in the snow. Make sure they have thick
mittens to keep their hands warm - attach them together through the
sleeves if they're likely to lose them. Also, put a scarf around
their neck. This will stop snow getting inside their clothes and
making them both wet & cold. Thick socks are also essential and take
a spare pair with you - children have the most amazing talent at
getting their socks completely soaked.
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