Should yo teach your own child to ski? This is a constant challenge with parents who are so excited their kids have grown to ski age!
Below you find a few prerequisites we recommend you have before teaching your own child to ski. I know lessons are expensive, so we have provided some ideas for affordable skiing below in case you do not have these prerequisites in place.
Read on to determine if you should teach your own son or daughter to ski:
Is your child a good age to be taught by you to ski?
I love kids, but I also recognize there are certain ages that are no-go for teaching your own kids any skills, let alone something as foreign as skiing.
For me, those ages span 0-3 years old and then from 7-infinity. Put another way, if your child is over the age of 6, and you have lost your sheen of being the most incredible adult on the planet, I would consider putting your child into lessons.
If your child is between 4 and 6, and thinks you hung the moon, then go for it. You will have a TON of fun learning together. More about good ages to learn to ski here:
Do you want to teach your own kid to ski?
Teaching your own kid to ski is a commitment of at least a season, probably 2, of regular half day trips up on the mountain together. Do you want to do this? And, just as importantly, does your kid want to do it together?
Also, consider if you have siblings, what happens with them? Teaching your own young child to ski can be a rewarding experience, but if you have a sibling you are also taking along, it can be really hard to navigate effectively.
Do you have the skill level to teach your own child to ski?
We recommend that you be a strong-high-intermediate skier if you are going to teach your own kid to ski. The most important party of this is making sure you are not putting yourself or your child in danger by falling on them. Falling on top of your child while helping them up can unfortunately create injuries for both you and your child.
Also, you want to avoid passing on bad ski habits to your kids. So, think about your own ski level and what makes sense in terms of providing them a safe and effective learning environment.
As an example, if you can comfortably model and teach the following exercises in the blog post below, you are probably on your way to teach your own child effectively.
Other ways to affordably teach kids to ski
You do not have to choose exclusively between expensive lessons and teaching your own kid to ski. There are other options that may span a variety of budgets.
- You can explore a co-op model
There are existing co-ops, like the one we belong to called Sky Tavern, in Reno. You can also partner with 2-3 other families and make your own ski learning co-op.
Forming your own co-op can be really effective as you will be getting all the benefits of using a different adult to teach your child without all the expense. If you chose this model, I recommend splurging for a couple official lessons each season to give you some tips on where to focus.
2. Use 1 hour private or group lessons occasionally
This is also an more affordable model where you use lessons occasionally, and do the majority of the teaching yourself. This is a great way to get over plateaus and to keep things interesting for your kid. The instructor can also give you some great pointers as you move up beyond Pizza and into higher levels of skiing.
So, should you teach your own kid to ski?
If you have kids that are the right age, and you have the interest and patience, then I believe that there is nothing more fun than teaching your own kid to ski. That said, many of us have felt the pain of teaching our own kids through COVID, so if you can find ways to use a Co-op approach or mix in lessons with another adult, I believe you will be much happier (and therefore sustainable) in the long run!
Happy skiing!
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