Tips please! 5yo and 7yo

[RobinHobb]

Looking for advice and tips please.
Avid skier but haven't been since my eldest was born (now 7!).
I have talked DH into it, and spending a lot of money on a very luxurious holiday in the alps early next year.

How is it skiing with kids? I've booked the kids club with the agent (Scott Dunn) but does anyone know how kids take to it? My youngest is 5, and not really sporty, is it too much for that age?

Any advice? I guess I will need to buy all their ski gear from decathlon, but just wondering if it's worth it.

Before you go, take them to an artificial ski slope. It gives them an idea of the feeling of being on skis and it’s good for getting the basics in place.
Make sure they’re warm enough. A child who is cold will not enjoy skiing, and will soon hate it. Think lots of layers, good gloves, warm socks, keeping the head warm. Thermals are a must – top and bottom. We bought expensive brands of jackets and salopettes second hand. You can rent ski boots, skis and helmets.
If you have a long walk in the snow to get to lessons, put your kids' skis on, have them grab a ski pole and pull them along in the snow. It's easier than carrying skis and having them walk in ski boots.
If you ski with them after lessons, make sure you ski at their level. Find out what runs they skied in their lesson and then let them show you what they learned at their level and on familiar runs.
Above all else just let them have fun and take breaks. When their legs are tired switch to taking a toboggan instead or building a good old snowman. For the price, it’s tempting to want to push to ski for the whole day, but most young kids can’t make it a full day of skiing on their first trip or two, or at the least need frequent breaks.

Thank you! That's really helpful. There is a dry slope next to us and I will now definitely take them there.

You are going with Scott Dunn so kids will have a super time. They collect the kids from their lessons and they have a lovely time in the kids’ club with various activities laid on if you don’t want to do more skiing together. They really do it well (and you are paying for it!)
my advice would be to let the kids go back to the club with the nannies on at least some days if they are learning and feel tired after the morning and make the most of your ski time in the day to explore the ski area as you are a good skier yourself.
I’d really recommend a course of lessons at a snow centre to help them find their feet on real snow. I did this for my youngest (6) before we went and by the end of her second week she was skiing red runs in her group quite happily in quite tough conditions too.

Take a pocket full of sweets, easy non wrapped shove one in and happy kids sweets. Rewards and bribery… dont try and make them carry all their gear and remember everything themselves the first time. You want to scaffold them to get accustomed to it and then learn to love it. Loads and loads of praise and stops to have hot choc and play with the really cute teeny fuzzy friends you have stuffed in their pockets to ‘keep them company’ and make snow angels
Clothing….get the clips that attach their gloves to their sleeves. Mitts are better than gloves. Turtle fur shellaclavas (the softness is important) , dungaree style ski pants so they dont get snow down their waists, helmets, long underwear top and bottom, a sleeveless gillet style mid layer and a good jacket (and proper long ski socks). And the in glove hand warmers (disposable ones are easier with small hands)

See if you can get them to practice walking in ski boots before you go…a few sessions at a place near to home is good for this. Getting ski boots on can be traumatic, so pick rental ones that you can get on. When you are helping them, pull the tongue forward and sideways and open up the boot by really yanking it. Then kneel in front of them, clamp their booted foot between your thighs and do the buckles up

they will have a blast if your expectations are low…snowy fun and a bit of skiing

I have 4 dc and we ski every weekend all winter so I have a system that works well for us!

Thank you, that's really helpful, and reassuring about the SD kids club which we haven't used before but have heard is good. I hadn't even thought to ski with the kids after their classes, they are so little (to me) that I thought their 1hr(?) ski class will exhaust them and then they can have fun in the kids club after that doing activities. We'd pick them up after late lunch and just chill after that with the kids.
I'm definitely going to sign them up for dry slope ski classes now, thank you for the advice.

Hi thank you
That's really helpful, especially re the clothes. I am worried if they are cold they will hate it. At a certain point I don't notice the cold but that's not the case with the kids. I'll stay stocking up the warm clothes: where do you suggest? I got my basics from decathlon in Paris many many years ago, and have my boots (does pregnancy x2 and childbirth mean I should get them re- moulded?!) but for the kids where is a good (high quality but not robbery) type place?
Sweets! Yup! They'll do anything for a sweet, so great tip, I'll stock up. I think starting on dry slopes here will make a massive difference too.
It's a lot to think about/do!

I would get a instructor rather then do group lessons, group lessons are fine once you have the basics but you can never beat a private instructor.

As for boots for your children, unless you like throwing money away you need to rent.

We are going Italy!

Boots and helmets - rent when you get there
balaclava - turtle fur. Get this one www.turtlefur.com/products/youth-chelonia-150-fleece-shellaclava?variant=40908723912872. Completely fantastic at keeping them warm and not fogging up the goggles or strangling them. They do ship to the UK
the rest, I cant help as I am in the US. But generally we like Columbia brand and amazon also have good items if you are careful to check the reviews/buy items that you can return and dont need them to last for a whole season

As you're going with Scott Dunn you can sit back and relax. The reps and nannies will take care of everything, which is what you are paying for. Let the kids have fun in the snow with their new friends - the nannies and instructors will adjust the pace of the activities to suit the kids - while you go off and have a ski around the mountain. You'll have time in the afternoon to ski with them - if you can drag them away from the activities - or to go for a hot chocolate and hear about what they've done that day, or to build a snowman, or throw snowballs at the parents, or ... just have a contented post-ski snooze for an hour.

The most important thing to remember for a first ski holiday is that things go at the kids' pace and that getting ready takes time. Lots of time. Some days they'll be full of beans, only to be "tired and fraught" the next morning until they get their boots on and meet their buddies. The second-most important thing is gloves (or better still, mitts) - as many pairs as you can fit into your baggage, and preferably with wrist-loops or even the old-fashioned strings-across-the-shoulders system. Kids can never have too many pairs of dry gloves.

Thank you very much! @Havanananana and @SeaToSki and @CJan32

I've booked the dry ski lessons. I think being able to put on a ski boot the first time in a relaxed dry and not cold environment will help immensely. Three private lessons booked for the both of them at the moment over 4 weeks, I'll see how they get on.

I'm also reassured by all the validation of Scott Dunn and it's clubs. For the first holiday after a 7 year hiatus I did want to make it as easy for us as possible and as fun for the kids as I could.

Re clothes - thanks for the tips and link. Going to start looking, and have been told to get ski socks for the dry slopes anyway just to recreate the feel....

Focus on it being fun, if they’re tired, no problem, chill out. Set your expectations really low, it might be great but don’t try to achieve anything specific other than fun. I take DD just turned 4 up to our local area pretty often, I think we went about 6 times last year. She skied about an hour each time, she got to watch a tablet on the way back (hour drive), cookie on the lift line, plenty of snacks etc. when she said she was done, we left. She was 3.5 last year during ski season and was able to ski independently by the end and was yelling “I want to go faster” and that was just with me. A 5 & 7 yo will pick it up quickly in lessons.

I was wet and cold a lot skiing as a child so I’d always advocate buying much better quality than mountain warehouse for kids, Columbia is decent and good value. I tend to buy Patagonia but I work in the ski industry so I am pretty biased, you get what you pay for. We do synthetic baselayers, a fleece and an all in one Patagonia snowsuit for DD at the moment and Smartwool socks because they fit well and sock wrinkles in ski boots = seriously grumpy children.

Re skiing after lessons, at 5 I was in half day lessons and skied afterwards, at 7 I was in full day (9-3).

Mine learnt age 5 and 7 and we did 6 x 1hr indoor/dry slope lessons before we went away, so they went straight into a good class on our holiday and were confident walking in boots at lunchtime in the restaurant. We booked half day lessons and skiied as a family in the afternoons. Lifts can be tricky with wee ones so make sure you know which chairlifts are easy for kids to get on/off or stick to gondolas. Poma/drag lifts can be really difficult for beginners and if your DC can practice a poma during dry slope lessons this will be a massive help to you.

Fully agree with others saying warm DC = happy skiers. Stop for hot choc often and check their hands and feet aren't wet. Hired ski boots can leak occasionally. Waterproof ski mittens are worth every penny so if in doubt buy goretex or equivalent. Buffs and fleece balaclavas very useful for under helmet. Buy your own goggles and make sure they fit tight to the helmet line and are easy to take up/down. You can practice all this during dry slope lessons too.

If you're going in Jan/Feb remember it'll get dark early and some days can be bitterly cold. If so, book fun stuff to do in resort instead, tobogganing, ice skating, bowling, fondue restaurant, swimming pool.

Hope you have a brilliant ski trip!