6 Top Tips For Skiing With Children

There’s a lot to be said for teaching your kids skiing skills from a young age. They’re more flexible, they tend to progress quickly, and quite often they’re pretty fearless! But before you book your family ski holiday it makes sense to plan carefully.

You want your kids to fall in love with the sport as deeply as you, so that you can ski regularly together. But to do that you need to ensure the conditions are just right. Here are a few valuable tips for skiing with kids…

With very young children, you can take advantage of being able to ski during term time when prices are much lower. Once they’re at school however, you have the option either of risking the wrath of the head teacher and paying a fine to take them out during school, or skiing in the school holidays when everything is much more expensive.

If you do choose the latter option, then remember to book as early as possible, so that you have a good selection of ski schools and accommodations available to you. Also, consider going at less popular times such as Christmas or Easter rather than February half term. A family ski holiday at Christmas can be a magical experience.

Ask anyone who’s taken their kids skiing before and you’ll know that one of the most important things to do is find accommodation as close as you can to the beginners’ slopes. That isn’t always possible of course, because ski-in, ski-out accommodation is naturally more expensive than properties that are at the edge of the resort. In which case, look for a place that’s near a stop for the resort’s shuttle bus instead. Reducing the time your children need to spend walking around in their boots will make life so much easier.

Some hotels offer childcare which is an appealing prospect for many parents - Hello, wine o’clock. Our award-winning ski hotel, Bear Lodge in Les Arcs offers a Pyjama Club for parents who would like dinner in peace and children who aren’t quite ready for bed. Cinema nights, stories, popcorn, hot chocolate or quiet games or colouring before bedtime. Available from Monday to Saturday from 7pm-9.30pm for children over the age of 5, €10 per child per night, €5 per sibling. Subject to availability.

We also offer a Listening Service for children in your room or suite whilst you enjoy a drink at the bar. €10 per hour. Subject to availability.

But others prefer to rent a family ski chalet instead, enabling them to create a relaxed ‘home away from home’ vibe where parents can put young children to bed, grab the baby monitor and relax with a drink while dinner is being prepared.

Top tip: If children are occupying a third or fourth bed in a room in a VIP SKI chalet or hotel room, they will normally be eligible for a discount of up to 50% off the adult price. (Child discount not applicable with group discount)

Our guide to packing for your first ski holiday contains good advice on layering and the essential items of clothing you’ll need. With kids, remember to double-up on things like gloves and socks. They’re indispensable, but often the things that go missing or get soaking wet first. You might also want to think about attaching gloves to ski jackets with elastic for very young children so they don’t lose them halfway through lessons.

We recommend arriving at the resort the day before you start skiing. That gives you time to sort out your lift passes and equipment with no need to rush around. Ski hire shops are usually less busy during the afternoons, and if you go at a quieter time the staff will have more time to make sure your child gets a good fit. There is little point buying expensive skis, boots or jackets for children as they grow so quickly.

Renting ski equipment from a company such as EcoSki or borrowing from friends is a much wiser approach and there is lots of pre-loved children’s ski kit for sale on Facebook Marketplace, Ebay and Vinted.

Top tip: Allow yourselves plenty of time to get ready every morning. You may find that you get to the lifts a little later yourself but it’s a sacrifice worth making.

In almost every case, it’s best for children to join ski school. You may feel capable of teaching them yourself, but by doing so you risk passing on your own bad habits and, let’s face it, you probably want to want to enjoy some time away from the nursery slopes during your holiday too! You can help to prepare them by arranging a couple of lessons on an artificial slope before you go on holiday.

With ski lessons for kids, it’s important to allow them to learn at their own pace, and not to rush them or compare them to others. Patience and flexibility are key. At this stage it’s more about them enjoying themselves and gaining confidence on the slopes, rather than perfecting their technique.

Don’t overdo it with the lessons - exhaustion can quickly lead to frustration. Give the instructor your phone number and put a copy of it in your child’s pocket as well. A couple of hours in ski school every day is more than enough, perhaps followed by a bit of practice with parents if they are up for it. In the afternoons, be sure to schedule in some rest time, whether it’s in front of the TV, napping or playing board games.

If this is your kids’ second or third time skiing, you might want to look for a resort with plenty of blues and a few easy reds, to give them a bit more of a challenge. For first-timers however, you can pretty much go anywhere as they are unlikely to progress beyond a few gentle slopes in the first week.

Top tip: Beginner skiers shouldn’t need a lift pass as most nursery slope ski lifts are free.

When skiing with kids, opt for a resort where there are plenty of family-friendly activities on offer. You might take them to the top of the mountain in a gondola, so they can enjoy the view with a hot chocolate, go sledging, snowshoeing or snowmobiling. Some resorts have kids’ clubs too where your children can make friends of their own age. And always leave one afternoon free to build a snowman!

Top tip: Either bring a bag of high-energy snacks with you or buy some from the resort supermarket on arrival. Your kids will race through them.

A few things to remember before you depart on your family ski holiday:

●       Ensure that all clothes you’ve bought or borrowed for your children fit beforehand. It will be a lot more expensive to sort out in resort.

●       Check that your travel insurance policy covers skiing. It’s one less thing to worry about.

●       Pack plenty of suncream, even if you are expecting cloudy conditions. Keep one tube in your backpack so that even if you forget to apply it in the mornings, you can do it on arrival at ski school.

●       Show your children a few skiing videos on a site such as YouTube. It’s important for them to know that falling over a lot is part of learning to ski, and that they will be tired, cold and maybe even scared at times.

●       They will be fully briefed by their instructor, but drum into your kids that while skiing is an opportunity to have fun and mess around in the snow, it’s vital to be sensible and careful when using ski lifts.

Planning your family skiing holiday can be quite a task, but we're here to help;

1. Don’t underestimate how much more difficult it is to walk in ski boots, especially for children. Accommodation with a short walking distance to the slopes, or a shuttle service is essential for tired little legs. (Don’t worry, at VIP SKI we’ve got this covered)

2. Travelling with children can be stressful at the best of times, so think about a resort with a short transfer time, and a company where you won’t be sitting on the coach waiting for other flights to arrive.

3. With small babies, a baby carrier is often easier than a buggy at the airport, leaving your hands free. Check if you can borrow a buggy in resort to save bringing your own through the airport. If you do bring your own don't forget you can take it right to the gate when boarding the plane.

4. Young children can need a lot of kit which can make all the difference to your stay. We can provide potties, bed guards and baby monitors to make packing that little bit easier.

5. Minimise your packing and pre-order bulky nappies and baby formula. These are expensive or often not available in supermarkets in resort.

6. Children’s ski kit is expensive and kids grow out of it quickly, so borrow or share kit with friends from home. They need to be warmer than adults and one piece suits or salopettes with braces will assist in keeping out the cold!

7. Cold hands will ruin a child’s day, so bring 2 pairs of gloves as they will get wet at ski school or playing in the snow and may not dry in time for the next trip outside.

8. There’s no need to pack too many clothes, just base layers as kids will be happy to run around inside in their thermals or tights. Do remember to bring slippers or indoor shoes for the chalets as the floors can be slippery.

9. The sun’s rays are strong and reflect off the snow, so children need sunglasses for being out and about, as well as goggles for skiing (sunglasses can hurt under their helmet). And don’t forget sunglasses for babies too - ideally wraparound so that they can’t be pulled off and lost!

10. Family of 4 or more? Purchase a Family lift passes for extra saving (min and max age applies)

11. Suncream is expensive in resort, so remember to bring it from home. Children need easily applied sun block and a lip salve with a sun screen. Don’t forget you will need a separate one for you and the children if they are in childcare or have ski school.

12. Children get free lift passes under a certain age, so younger children can still come up the mountain to meet you and will love the bubble trip up.

If you're thinking about booking your next family ski holiday but still have some questions, our friendly and knowledgeable sales team are on hand to help you find the perfect catered ski chalet or hotel.

We can also help you pre-book ski passes, ski equipment and ski lessons to make your holiday with children as stress-free as possible.