Aibu to Think that it Will be easy enough to go on a ski holiday with a 5, 7 and 8 year Old, without putting the kids in ski School?

[danishkids]

We Will go on our first ski holiday ever on Saturday and I’m really looking forward to it. But the more I chat with friends/family, the more people are making me nervous. We are 2 adults, my husband and I. I have only ever been on skis for a few hours when I was 16. My husband has skied a few times.

Everyone I talk to tells me that I’m
Crazy and that it’s impossible to teach 3 kids at once. That it will only end up
With irritated children and parents. Am
I crazy to think that it will be fine? Or am
I just having wishful thinking?

Do you have any tips for first time
Skiers? Especially with kids? Any good techniques to help the kids learn fast?

I’m exited about this holiday, but maybe I shouldn’t be?

[LovePoppy]

I’d put all of you in ski school

I grew up skiing. Every year til I was 13, I started the season with a few lessons

Even in uni I’d take a lesson or two when we’d travel as a family just to get reacquainted

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Think about similarly skillful and dangerous things; horse riding, scuba diving, sailing, climbing. You wouldn't dream of trying to teach and supervise your children without proper tuition.

I just might think about teaching DD with both me and DH present. But why? I can do in a week what a decent teacher will do in 2 hours. Ask the ski school, ask the hotel, ask the booking agent. One day private at the least. Apart from anything else you will actually enjoy the holiday. Instead of your method which I guarantee will end in tears for you and the children.

[OxanaVorontsova]

Get lessons. Madness not to.

[LovePoppy]

Let’s pretend you have an amazing first day where nothing goes wrong: are you prepared to be sore as hell the next day And drag 3 sore children with you?

Tiredness means sloppiness means more chance for accidents.

Do you speak the language where you were going if you need the hospital? My family spoke fairly solid French, and we still struggled when my brother ended up in hospital after an accident on the hill in a French area.

[PrisonerofZeroCovid]

Ugh this is giving me horrible flashbacks to my 5 year old DS disappearing down a hill at a rate of knots not listening to us shouting at him to turn!

Yup- been there too - 6 year old DD disappearing off shouting "pizza pizza" (snow plough) while solidly doing "french fries" (skis parallel). Fortunately there was a big flat run into the lifts to slow her down.

DH and I are pretty solid skiers and kids have done 4 weeks and are reasonable now, so we sometimes ski with them after ski school, but we've had moments where one of them has got scared or got in a bad position to turn, or there's ice and they've just frozen up - it's not a great situation for anyone. The instructors ski like you or I would walk. They can deal with anything and the kids have so much fun. I cannot imagine trying to teach my kids to ski. I'm not actually sure how I do it- I just sort of do and also have loads of bad habits that I don't want to pass on.

My advice would be get a credit card and book the lessons.

[EerieSilence]

@danishkids your idea of great holidays sounds like a nightmare to me.
You will be a nuisance to others and a danger too. Seriously- two adults, three kids with zero clue on ski slopes. Just don't.

[Vapeyvapevape]

@PrisonerofZeroCovid you definitely can't ski until you've done pizza chips !

@danishkids I (used) to be very sporty, competent ice skater and windsurfer but I'll never forget the fear of my first skiing holiday, when I set off down the nursery slope and couldn't stop . Find a ski school for all of you when you get there, it's much safer and so much fun. You will NEVER be able to teach your children yourself.

[Wallywobbles]

M'y step mum took me skiing for the first time when I was 11. She was an Olympic skier. She thought she'd be able to teach me. It was a miserable disaster.

[Whatshouldicallme]

Seeing as you don't seem to be taking the advice of almost everyone who has responded to your thread and continue to think this is reasonable (despite asking for advice), why don't you book your family (or even just yourself) into an indoor ski session prior to your trip to give you an idea is what skiing is like. Then imagine doing it on an actual mountain. This should should at least show you what you will be up against.

Aside from the fact that what you are planning is irresponsible and dangerous, many ski venues have policies around safety and remaining in control (you would think this shouldn't be necessary -- but as you've shown apparently it is!). Your family will certainly be in violation, putting you at risk of being asked to leave.

[Yarboosucks]

Simple question, how are you planning on managing three kings on drag lifts and chair lifts?

[KTheGrey]

Use a credit card and book all of you into ski school or cancel. Ski-ing is dangerous unless you know what you're doing, and not completely safe even then.

[StarryNightSparkles]

OP in essence what you are planning is like asking your 7 year old to drive a car to Tesco. Extremely dangerous. Is there anyway you could ask your travel agent to switch you to a beach holiday or sell your holiday to someone and with that money book a beach holiday.

Please don't go skiing it will end up being a massive waste of time and money.

Please keep us updated on how you get on.

[RantyAunty]

I don't understand why you'd book a holiday like this?

Something neither of you know how to do nor have had any interest in?

[IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads]

I hope you have some very good insurance x

[ShakespearesSisters]

I booked a ski trip with a big group of friends. I planned ahead, went and did a course at our local dry ski slope (4 lessons)
Got on the snow on the first day and promptly fell on my ass. Same as my friend who had had a day skiing in New Zealand 10 years earlier. We got there the day before the lessons started so had a go on the nursery slope, we were awful. There were 28 in our group, some seasoned skiers that had been doing it since they were kids and they struggled to help us so I'd be doubtful as non skiers you would do any better or be able to help your DC. We had put our selves into the intermediate class(due to prior experience 🤣)and really struggled. So had to move to the beginners the next day.
Please find a way to sort ski lessons just like a previous poster said as it really is just a waste of a holiday without them, you will resent all the money you have paid out for the experience without them and be a danger to yourself and others.

[OopsadayZ]

You are utterly stupid and very dangerous and selfish.

Yes we taught our kids to ski. But we were proficient skiers.

What happens if your 5-year old is going done a slope out of control? You'll just watch as he breaks his legs? And skis into people and knocks them over?

No-one can be this stupid

[oobedobe]

Look at it this way, if you don't get lessons and just spend the whole week on a bunny hill, you are wasting your money you spent on the holiday anyway. It won't be very fun and you won't learn much at all and you will still need lessons on your next trip.

The only possible teeny tiny way it could work is by taking the kids one at a time on the baby slopes (no chairlift), while the other parent has the other two and takes them to build a snowman or go sledding or hang out in the hotel room.

Also the kids will have 100% more fun in a ski school with other kids vs Mum or Dad telling them what to do all day.

[PartyPlan]

Bonkers plan not to have any lessons.

I learned the basics on an indoor slope in the U.K. before my first time, but as soon as I got on to the mountain it was a completely different game. I fell and banged my head on the piste on my first run which knocked my confidence for the whole trip.

I’m laughing at the thought of you standing at the top of a mountain watching a YouTube video with the kids before setting off down a mountain and thinking this is ok. There are some blue slopes with sheer edges and drops. Horrifying to think that your kids could ski off an edge if they don’t have the skills to stop themselves! There are some things you can learn from YouTube, but sking isn’t one of them.

Cancel or postpone the trip or book you all in to lessons. It will be clear on the first run that your plan isn’t viable.

Where are you going, which resort? Perhaps some MNers can help you find some options for ski school?

[Happyhappyday]

My main tip would be go on it as a snow holiday rather than a ski holiday. Go sledding, build snow people, have a snowball fight etc. see if there is Nordic skiing available or snow shoeing, much more forgiving for beginners.
I’m an expert skier and have been skiing my entire life (and live near mountains so not just one week a year) and just trying to teach one DC by myself was utterly exhausting and I plan on sticking her in ski school next season, as my parents did with my brother and I from age 4. You will barely be able to all get on the chairlift if your kids have never been on skis before.

[Bigpaintinglittlepainting]

I'm an ex ski instructor, there is no way of controlling 3 children yourselves if you cannot ski ahead quickly to block them or grab them.

You will need to be very light on your feet. You will be miserable by the end of the first morning.

Honestly you're learning that half the cost of the holiday is the ski school ! Get a credit card or you will be wasting the holiday you have booked.

I would teach my kids to ski if it was on the flat or cross country but not on the blue slopes, far too dangerous

[Happyhappyday]

OP if you’ve been skiing once before I can virtually guarantee you don’t know enough to do this safely or to enjoy it. Do you know what socks to wear? Do you know if you get a wrinkle in your (kids’) socks it will be agony later in the day? Do you actually know how boots should feel if it fits well? Do you know what DIN settings are to ensure skis release correctly in case of falls? About how to dry boots overnight? How to get skis back on effectively when you’re on a slope? How to help someone else get their skis back on? What to do when you accidentally ski past the bottom of the lift you need and have to take an unfamiliar one back up? Do you own/have access to a weeks’ worth of baselayers, glove liners, spare fleeces etc? Do you do other outdoor activities in the cold regularly?

[oncemoreunto]

OP is is beyond daft.

Skiing is quite dangerous with lots of potential to go wrong.

I discovered turning was very hard although I didn't fall over. So I went straight down.
DH could barely stay upright.
DC had lots more potential and easily out skied us.

Thankfully they had kid lessons and we had private adult ones with lots of breaks for snowshoeing, Nordic skiing ( although DH fell over on that too)

Altogether without any of us knowing what we were doing would have been hell. And ski lifts are honestly quite scary.

[Flutterflybutterby]

It would be crazy and irresponsible to not put them in ski school. Skiing can be very dangerous.

[RedRobin100]

I’d recommend you all go to ski school
Skiing is hard work knackering and very dryas a beginner.
No way I’d wrangle the five of you about as begjnnners
Way more enjoyable to have a structured day with lessons so you actually feel like you’ll have accomplished something by the end also

[RedRobin100]

Very frustrating*
And also somewhat dangerous