Can you teach your child to ski yourself? You betcha! There’s even quite a few tools out there that make it even easier to get your little shredders skiing and snowboarding like a pro in no time. Or at least strong enough to not give you mini-heart attacks when they straight-line or head for the trees!
Here are 4 highly useful tools that can help you in your quest to end the back-breaking ski runs of holding your child upright.
This is THE BEST teaching tool ever for kids! If you’ve experienced the fun of your kids’ skis going tips out into extreme splits or the tips crossing and the ensuing knee contortion face plant, then you know the struggle is real. The Edgie Wedgie attaches to the tips of your child’s skis and keeps them in a ski safe position. It’s added bonus is that it helps them learn to initiate turns in a controlled wedge position.
These are a favorite of ours. Slope Ropes combines the control of a harness, but with the ease of using them (or not) for partial runs or with multiple kids without having to completely move the harness from kid to kid. It’s a large circle of rope with 2 plastic bars/handles at each side. The parent holds one end and the child skis inside the circle with the other bar across their hips. If used properly, your child balances and controls their own weight and speed, but you have the peace of mind of knowing they can’t just take off down the mountain out of control. Bonus: You can reverse your positions and help pull your cute little dead-weight on the flat stretches.
This is one of those controversial tools. It’s either an excellent ski instruction tool or the worst thing ever invented, depending on who you ask. We personally feel like the ski harness is a highly useful tool that has its place in your arsenal of learning to ski tools; it does need to be used correctly to avoid bad habits though. It allowed us to take our youngest kids on the slopes so that our older kids could get off the bunny hill and really ski. The key is to keep slack in the line so that your little shredder has to stand properly and doesn’t lean backwards on their heels or lean too far forward to “pull” the leash.
The Ski Ring is amazing for when your kids are balancing and in control, but you really want to refine their turns. It’s a plastic ring, shaped like a steering wheel, that helps kids to keep their focus on shoulders and hips pointing downhill as they turn. It reinforces the correct hand position and balance, especially for beginners. Once they have it down, it’s super easy to add ski poles in place of the Ski Ring.
There are other tools out there, but these are some of the most common (and we think beneficial). These tools can all be very useful even if your kids have done ski lessons. It’s all about reinforcing the right stance, balance, control and timing. Whether they’re 3 or 10, there’s something useful for everyone!