Skiing with kids - minimum age?

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DH and I desperately want to resume our ski holidays which we enjoyed pre DC. We have a toddler and a preschooler. Interested to hear others' experiences of taking young children skiing and whether children who are too young for ski school enjoyed the resort snow clubs. Our DC have not been at nursery.

We've been withall our children from the age of 2, skiing at 3/4. Have used Crystal/Ski Famille/Esprit etc for the childcare. It is perfectly doable but quite hard work if I'm honest.

Last year the youngest was 6 and went into actual beginner lessons with the ski school rather than the Crystal/Esprit messing about on the Nursery slopes things. We used an idependent drop in creche in the resort for the first few days outside of lessons, but by the end of the week he was fine to ski with us.

This year, for the first time in what seems like about 40 years, we will not be using any childcare at all. So my answer, I think, is that you can ski with kids at any age, but it is a bloody sight easier once they can ski outside of lessons, get their gear on themselves and get on and off a ski lift without having to be hauled around - i.e about 6ish. (I'm not sure there is any real advantage to starting earlier either)

We've been twice with Esprit (DS aged 3.5 then 4.5). They offer Snow Club, supervised lunch, Ski school/lessons and children's tea. You can leave your child in their care from 0830 to 1800 each day if you want. There is also a listening service from 1930-2230 each evening covering dinner time for grown ups.

We've found they are long days at this age and took DS out with us two days and one morning. He learned to snowplough turn well enough to ski green runs this year (aged 4.5). Aged 3.5 he learned to slide straight and not immediately fall over.

We didn't stop skiing either. However, after taking 20-month-old DD with us one year, we decided not to take her again until she was old enough to actually learn to ski rather than have childcare. So we switched to a long weekend each year just the two of us, and my parents came to look after both DC. They were happy as at home amongst familiar surroundings with grandparents who spoilt them, and we had a cheaper holiday and didn't have to worry about them. We got a lot more skiing done in 2.5 days on our own than the week when we took DD with us.

Oh and meant to say we then took them when youngest was 4.5. So both went into half-day lessons and loved it. Now we can't imagine going skiing without them! Just the childcare wasn't the best for us (and ours went to nursery).

Feeling a bit guilty now as we are going with our just about to turn two year old at half term. She will be in nursery whilst the older two are in ski school.

Don't feel guilty. Different things work for different people. You will know whether your child is happy at the nursery when you pick them up.