jtslalom Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 This past weekend I went to my local ski/snowboard shop to look for a new jacket. I found a good one on sale for 1/2 off. As I walked around the corner I saw a Burton Chicklet at 90 cm long. There was a sale for $139 that included the board, boots and bindings. I had my three year old daughter with me and I asked her if she wanted a snowboard. She ran up to the Burton and hugged it. Needless to say I didn't get a new jacket but walked out with a new set-up for my three year old. The sap that I am, my eyes swelled up with tears thinking about the time I've waited for this moment. I ended up taking her out twice on the mountain this past weekend with one day of video. She loved it and she can't wait to go again. I will go out on Thursday with her for a little while. No turns or real sliding, but no jelly legs. She just stands as daddy holds on and gently lets go at the very bottom of the bunny hill. She balances well and even can unstrap one foot. My dream has come true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Awesome. Keep us posted. My son turns 3 in a month. I'm so tempted to start him on a board (and I'm sure I'll be just as much of a sap) but I fear the inevitable downhill edge catch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 AWESOME!!! Would love to see some vids. My daughter is 2.5 right now and will probably get some "real" kiddie skis next season. She has a pair of $15 plastic ones that strap onto snow boots, no support at all but she loves sliding down the gentles of grades on them into Daddy's waiting arms :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_stoll Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 So what IS a realistic age to try a kid on a snowboard? I put my 3 yr old on skis several times this winter (in the moderately-sloped front yard) and he absolutely loves it. He's able to do some snowplowing to slow down a little, and has the basics of turning down (ie, which ski turns him in which direction). Being a reformed skier (for 15 years now, thank you! :-), as much as I love boarding, I don't see a young kid finding a board nearly as natural a setup as skis. My son can 'walk' on the skis and can pick a ski up to reposition it when it gets out of whack, etc - the board just seems a wholly-unnatural thing for a kid. At what age can one realistically expect a kid to be able to deal w/ the effects and realities of being strapped sideways (ok, at 60 deg... ;-) to a board, and actually have some control and enjoy the experience? I'd rather wait a little too long and make sure he (and his younger brother eventually, who of course HAD to ski this winter, too :-) enjoys it, rather than overwhelm him w/ it and spoil it for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirror70 Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 8 is the youngest we will put on a board unless you request a private. The problem with young kids on boards is that they simply aren't big enough to get the board up on edge, particularly on the toe side. It is very hard to get the child's toes close enough to the edge for him to be able to tip it without making it nearly impossible (for the same reason) to tip it on his heel edge. This is, of course, assuming that you'll only settle for having the child be able to ride without assistance. If you're ok for having him ride with assistance, the youngest I've heard of us having is 3yrs 11mos, and she had an absolute blast learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I always tell my friends to not waste a lift ticket when taking your kid snowboarding for the first time. Go to the toboggan hill or golf course. Make sure the snow is soft and let the kid have fun. No lift anxiety, no frustration with line-ups and no ticked off Daddy when the kid wants to quit after two runs. I started both my kids when they were about 7. Both had been skiing for 3-4 years previous to moving the snowboard. Skiing is so much easier to teach a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar(angel Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 but I started my son at 6. He had been skiing since he was 3 and was pretty good venturing down the greens and blues with mom in tow. Once he said those magic words "can I try snowboarding?" I couldn't get him in gear fast enough! He was linking turns by the third time we went and has done an excellent job adjusting to his alpine gear (see photo) IMHO I think it depends wholly on the child and the parent/person teaching them. I coach as a hobby and have done everything from gymnastics to inline hockey and one constant is true, if the desire exists, it can be done. Every time I go boarding at my local mountain I swear I see younger and younger kids on boards. You know your child, so the best judge is you. JT I got all choked up reading your post, it brought back the feelings I had watching Zach make his first turns.....there's nothing that feels like that :) On another note, went to the hill on Sunday and I got both my daughters linking turns for the first time, my 14 year old (4th time up) & 11 year old (5th time up) who both took up boarding this year instead of skiing! Now if I can just convince the wife to join the fun and get rid of those sticks.... Keep the stoke alive! Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Buggs Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Mirror is correct about the ability to get a toe side. It also has to do with the weight of younger kids. My 6 year old son has no toe side to speak of but will switch and use his heal side to go in the other direction. He only weighs 48 lbs so he really does not have the weight or the leverage power to get that toe side. He can get down just about anything since he had 4 days of privates in Crested butte. I was out with him this weekend testing my back and he did great. When he does get the toe side he is going to be much better than daddy. This was last year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdboytyler Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Here's a 7mb video of my 4 year old nephew riding a Burton Chopper 95. This is his first season of snowboarding and he's been riding at least once a week since Nov. I think the video was taken shortly after Christmas. At that time, my nephew could only do a half-day of riding. When I visited him in Feb., he was able to ride with me and my brother for the entire day. He even made it down some steeper blues. The Chopper 95 is a hand-me-down from my daughter. I also got by daughter started when she was around 4. http://members.cox.net/morfeeg1/my%204%20year%20old%20nephew.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtslalom Posted March 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 My nephew started riding at 5. He is 9 now and can CARVE a soft board on flats and gentle slopes. My daughter is only 3. I don't think she'll actually be "riding" for a while. The only thing I wanted was her not to have jelly legs and to just stand up on the board and get the idea of its travel down hill. I have a job that allows me to spend my late afternoons and nights on the slopes. I will spend countless days with her next year on the snow, provided she wants to. So her age is not really a big issue to me because I have the time to spend with her on the slopes. In general I think that 5 or 6 is a good age to start kids riding. Any younger, you must be dedicated to teach and spend many days of not acomplishing much as far as riding. As long as it is fun, thats all that matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinpa Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 My daughter is 3 too (October birthday) and I finially got her skiing by herself. She took a lesson with two other kids. The other girl was her age. I think my daughter was just so proud of herself that she was better than the other girl! I'd like her to learn to ski before she tries snowboarding. I've seen many out of control kids flying down the beginner hill. Some have fun, others don't. But, if she can ski ok first, she can always go back to that if she gets tired or frustrated with a snowboard. Now that she's getting better skiing by herself, I'll be able to get on my board while she skiis, but for now she still needs help getting off the lift. She can snowboard when she wants too. As far as what age to start, as long as they are having fun and being safe I guess any age could do it. As a parent, make sure you don't expect too much from them at a young age either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jutta Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I'm with the "let's wait until they are older group" - my 8 year-old has been on skis every season since she was three, but based on where we were living until recently that meant less than 10 days per season. By now she is confident on all blue runs and will make it down black runs, powder and moguls as needed (i.e. follow mom and dad having fun...). Her ski- and snowboard-instructor daddy has declared 10 the magic age - since we still ski as well as board he wants her to be a pretty good skier before she starts on new equipment; with an August birthday that will mean snowboarding for the 2006/07 season. The little one, 3 as of October, has just started skiing this season and after ditching the edgy-wedgies after day 6 she is already confidently going down any green run by herself and she absolutely loves going through trees ;) Since she's incredibly strong for her age and should get about 30 days per season on snow, she'll probably be on a board by age 7 or 8. In the end, I guess it very much depends on the individual child; as long as they're enjoying themselves sliding down a mountain - no matter on what equipment - all should be well. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I'm also in the 7-8 year old camp. There are exceptional kids who manage to snowboard earlier, but my experience with my kids was that they were fine skiing at 3, but it took until they were 7-8 until they were strong enough for snowboarding. Here are a couple of pics of my daughter from the Holiday Break in December (yes those are hard boots - ski boots). Heel side: Riding the lift with Tweety: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 There are exceptions to every rule, so every kid will be somewhat different. Above it was talked about kids not being big and/or heavy enough to edge. More importantly, the younger the child, the more they lack the distal development to perform the movements needed to make the board work. 8-10 seems to be the age range that ski areas have come up with. There are kids that are a lot younger than 8 who have the needed development and there are kids that are older that do not. I have always been an advocate for using ski boots like in Randy's picture above. This is not because I am a hardbooter. For children who lack the needed development, this allows for them to be able to work the board through gross body movements (leaning and rotating). My children will most likely be skiing for as long as possible up until the time when I can see that they are developing the needed musculature and coordination. For those who want to take kids out earlier - it is a patient parenting thing. Make sure that you are ready to commit to them - not to your own snow addiction. And for those parents who are convinced that your child will be the next national champion so they need to start as young as possible - you are a hopeless parent and I am not going to even waste my time talking to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_stoll Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Interesting to see that you guys are advocating putting kids in ski boots on a board - I've actually pondered the same approach - I got into hardbooting originally because I, as an adult, didn't have the foot strength to edge the board the way I wanted to (coming from a SL/GS skiing background, granted), and have wondered how a kid would actually have the kind of strength needed to effectively edge a board at all, much less for any period of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinpa Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Yeah, I agree what was said about using the ski boots.... I've seen that before.... and besides, if it saves Mom and Dad money, I'm all for it!!! That's one fear about having a kid ski and snowboard..... I've got enough toys, but I know I'll be a sucker to get the kid decent stuff and they grow out of it so fast. Good thing for eBay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jutta Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Since kids' boots are usually relatively soft they should work okay, shouldn't they? Are kids' size hardboots even made? With parents wearing size 23 and 26 respectively, our kids - assuming they want hard set-ups - will almost have to start out in skiboots. One good thing: with our girls being 5 years apart, we should get a fair amount of "double usage" out of most gear...;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Originally posted by Jutta Since kids' boots are usually relatively soft they should work okay, shouldn't they? Are kids' size hardboots even made? With parents wearing size 23 and 26 respectively, our kids - assuming they want hard set-ups - will almost have to start out in skiboots. One good thing: with our girls being 5 years apart, we should get a fair amount of "double usage" out of most gear...;) My kid are 3 years apart, but closer in size (daughter big, son small). My son has tiny little SB Raichles. (22.5 or 23.5 I think). The smaller kids ski boots work well. My son is now 10 and his ski boots are getting too stiff (mini Langes). The trouble with the Raichles is they come way up his leg. It works, but its probably not ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugger Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Seen on a bumper sticker, my son is a honor carver at the Bragging Mountain Resort. While we are all bragging on this site, my daughter rips insane arcs on race stock 184 BS board.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jutta Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 tiny little SB Raichles. (22.5 or 23.5 I think). LOL, I wear a size 23!! My 8 year old currently still wears a kids 13/junior 1.. I guess that will mean skiboots for her!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest k-mog Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 My son started at 7, Hardboots at 9-1/2 or 10 yrs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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