age to start snowboarding

[Peedz]

I found out recently that I have a kid on the way. I'm stoked to get the little guy on a snowboard and was wondering what age is a good age to get a kid on a board. I was thinking 3 or 4 but really don't know if that would be too young or not.
Also would it be better to get him on skis first, and then on to a snowboard after he's a little older. I know thats what a lot of people do, but it might be cause their parents ski.

[SnoChica]

I have a friend who has been a skier since he could stand. In addition, he's been a snowboarder for the past 17-18 years. He can do both with ease and is an adaptive ski coach. He has 2 kids, 5 and 9. Both ski. He's a big believer in having kids learn to ski first. I don't necessarily think there is any right or wrong when it comes to it. But, I do think that from a kid's point of view, learning both has it's advantages. By the time you're little one is old enough, this may not be an issue but... do they even make boards for 3 and 4 year olds? I know they make teeny tiny ski equipment.

btw, congrats!

[Peedz]

I did the same. I started skiing when I was 5 or 6. I don't know if I would have wanted to snowboard then cause the sport was still in its infancy at that time and really was unknown. As for small equipment Ive seen boards as small as 90 cm.

[advres]

I would wait until they were two and start them skiing. At that age, they just aren't strong enough to push a board around but they can ski easily. Once they start charging (around 5 or so), I would see if they wanted to snowboard.

*remember... It is their choice! If they want to continue skiing, let them. They won't excel at something they are not happy doing, so give them the option.

**of course, they will probably want to switch to what their daddy/mommy is doing anyway.

[snowboarding_bear]

i love LOVE seeing little 3-ish yr olds learning to snowboard...

cuz its like..wow if they keep at it...they can learn really fast and get good

[snwbrder3384]

definitly ski first, young kids dont have the leg muscles yet or the coordination. i would keep them on skis untel at leased 7.

[WasillaKatie]

Our mountain does not allow new skiers in their ski school until they're age 3, and does not allow new snowboarders in school until age 8.

I don't think it matters which you try first as a kid, as long as the parents stick with them, and stick with them LONG into their teen years!

Little tykes on skis and snowboards are adorable. Until they're teenagers, and have been riding double black diamonds since age 5 - because now they have nothing to do but get into trouble (they're bored with everything else).

[DragonUSMC]

we also have a pre-ski program for children as young as age 3. I do not allow snowboard lessons for anyone under the age of 8 also. This is mainly due to the fact that snowboading uses different musscle groups and is MUCH more demanding on a little one's body.

Now that doesnt mean he / she cant do it. i've seen as young as 4 riding, you just wont find any instructor / baby sitter to teach them... but at that age thats all it really amounts to.

[get me out of GA]

oh ****, jay's back.....

[Matt Carl]

he could even ski for free if hes young enough becasue i remember reading somethin about kids under the age of like 4 ski or board for free ( with a paying adult)

[Peedz]

I am a snowboard instructor so I wont have a problem getting the him lessons on a board at what ever age. . I probably will get him on skis first, just for the first couple of years. I don't know though. I have a few years before I will even get the chance to get him on skis or a board.

[DragonUSMC]

^where did you get your children's cert?

And unless you've gone to children specific seminars then no teaching little little ones is not the same ATS model.

[Spin240]

Dont listen to anyone about it but yourself. It is on a CASE by CASE basis... We have a "lowriders" program here at killington which is 4-6 years old and some of these kids RIP! They do greens no problem, get on lifts by themselves and some can even shred a blue...

I have also PERSONALLY seen with my 2 eyes... a 2 3/4 year old girl in a pink jumpsuit be able to go down our kid hill on her own. You can definately get them started at this age if they can stand on their own 2 legs. She couldnt stop on their own(Her dad who works here just had to catch her when she got down) but She could SHIMMY the board forward and back just like we all do to get moving on a flat AND she knew to lean the board TOE and HEEL to make turns... honestly she was better than some of the retarded teenagers I was teaching. She obviously was NO WHERE near ready to go up on the hill,, but for STARTING off.. 3 years old is a fine age if she has her motor skills going.


And btw CONGRATULATIONS... I normally would be shiitting a brick in your situation but good for you :-)

[M3Fools]

5yrs old.
its when try start to get crazy

[comrade]

I was a skiier from 6-12 and I havn't gotten off of a board yet! Start them off skiing at 2, as other peeps said pushing the board around will be a bitch for them.. I'd say get them on a board around 5 or 6

[stuckintexas]

im thinking fetus, but im not really sure how that would work

[Fianny]

yeh id think that they should ski first but i guess you'd have to look at the kit and such like
over here they dont let i think its under 8s to snowboard in lessons and they have a minimum shoe size too lol size 1 but i guess thats just their own kit limitations

[snowqueen21]

The slope i go to doesnt let you start snowboarding until your 7. but that might just be dry slopes.

[djstealth]

as soon as you can find boots that fit the new born!

the new parenting base philosophy is!:

"if they are old enough to pee, they are old enough to shred"!

[Peedz]

yeah I'll probably get him on a board before he can even walk.

[WinterFreshMandy]

I know a lot of parents that have their kids scooting around the house in skis as soon as they can walk decently. As far as snowboarding goes it's a lot harder for them to get started really young because with skis you can even ski with them between your legs when they're that young, you can't with snowboarding. Where I teach they won't allow kids in group lessons until they are six. They can take private lessons when they are five but finding good equipment for them isn't always easy, things are usually a little bit big.

[THeJoNMAN]

start at like 10

[wilska]

i learnt to ski at the age of 3 and i started boarding when i wanted to and i like it more because of that plus boarding hurts more i think :)

[Enoduolc]

when he pops out, strap a snowboard to his feet and he will be the most coordinated person in the world :evil: trust me

[djstealth]

no way butthead!... I mean I'm saying the earliest the better because is like what this kid Gavin was telling me the other day
"little kids have no sense of directions or right or wrong, for instance there is no laws applicable to them, and that includes physics, when we grow older we all get in our heads this bunch of laws of "how things should work" that puts fear in our minds and fear is the biggest obstacle when trying to learn something specially snowboarding"
Gavin AKA gavn SBA Recon Team member, born sometime in the 80's somewhere in the east coast, died on a dog sled accident in whistler, BC 04/2007

so yeah the younger a kid is the more stupid it is to comprehend laws, they can fly if the forget about gravity I betcha a brooklyn pizza on that sh*t

[THeJoNMAN]

where do these people from the uk board at? theyre like on a friggin fog island!!

[comrade]

"little kids have no sense of directions or right or wrong, for instance there is no laws applicable to them, and that includes physics, when we grow older we all get in our heads this bunch of laws of "how things should work" that puts fear in our minds and fear is the biggest obstacle when trying to learn something specially snowboarding"
Gavin AKA gavn SBA Recon Team member, born sometime in the 80's somewhere in the east coast, died on a dog sled accident in whistler, BC 04/2007


So true...so true.


where do these people from the uk board at? theyre like on a friggin fog island!!

they use dry slopes or go across the channel to other countries.

[instigator1225]

id say let the bugger work his age on skis till like 6 then let him decide....

since u board hes obviously goign to wanna do it so no worries.

[snow2wake]

id say skis first i started skiing at like 2 until i was like 9 or 10 thne learned to snowboard and havent skied since

[boarderaholic]

I found out recently that I have a kid on the way. I'm stoked to get the little guy on a snowboard and was wondering what age is a good age to get a kid on a board. I was thinking 3 or 4 but really don't know if that would be too young or not.
Also would it be better to get him on skis first, and then on to a snowboard after he's a little older. I know thats what a lot of people do, but it might be cause their parents ski.
Wait until your kid is about 8 or 9. By that time, they'll have developed some sort of muscle control and they have a better attention span.

I've tried to teach kids that are 3 or 4, and it's really incredibly difficult, due to their short attention span, and the difficulty of having two feet strapped into a plank of plywood. Not only that, most equipment isn't even made for kids that small.

The best thing you can do is start your kid off on skis, and let them learn how to ski first. The skills they learn will translate into snowboarding much more easily, the equipment is small enough for them and by that time, you'll know if he/she even likes winter or not.

[RomeRider101]

as young as possible

[Matt Carl]

im thinking fetus, but im not really sure how that would work
haha yeah that would be kinda hard

[Eion]

I bought my 6 year old neice a Burton Chicklet package for Christmas. She's been bugging me about snowboarding since she was 3.

[GreatScott]

Seeing as though Eion has bumped this post I'll give my two-cents. Get your kid into non-competitive gymnastics as soon as possible. And when I say asap I mean take your one-year old.

Obviously they won't be doing cartwheels and such but it helps in developing motor skills. That way when your kid is 4 and you put him/her on a board by the time they are 6 they will be doing backflips.

[dirtyjerz]

Seeing as though Eion has bumped this post I'll give my two-cents. Get your kid into non-competitive gymnastics as soon as possible. And when I say asap I mean take your one-year old.

Obviously they won't be doing cartwheels and such but it helps in developing motor skills. That way when your kid is 4 and you put him/her on a board by the time they are 6 they will be doing backflips.
they have this place by me, called tumble bee, gymnastics for kids 3 and under.

[Chello0o]

Deff get him/her/it into some gymnastics or movemnent program super early to really get their motor skills a head start. Congrats! And good luck with the young tyke!

[GreatScott]

Looks like Peedz better start looking for gymnasiums.

http://snowboardaddicts.com/showthread.php?t=10981

[dirtyjerz]

id rather teach a kid whos between 7 and 12 motor skills are there, but they dont have bad habits yet.

[west goat]

You guys would raise one helluvan athlete.

And yeah, the gymnastics stuff sounds pretty cool.
I'd def get that sucker on some skiis asap. I see a lot of fresh-out-of-the-vaj dudes/dudettes on skiis all the time.
Let him/her transfer to snowboard when he/she's old enough, like 6

[dirtyjerz]

You guys would raise one helluvan athlete.

And yeah, the gymnastics stuff sounds pretty cool.
I'd def get that sucker on some skiis asap. I see a lot of fresh-out-of-the-vaj dudes/dudettes on skiis all the time.
Let him/her transfer to snowboard when he/she's old enough, like 6

hmmm agreed. then like the whole snow, and falling and cold thing isnt an issue.

[Peedz]

OK since I started this thread about 9 months ago, its about time for an update. I had my baby Zoey Lee on the Thursday, which rocks cause it just happens to be her mothers B-day. But anyway she is healthy, and I just know she is ready to get on a board. haha. Here is a picture of her.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h220/peedz/IMG_0205.jpg

[Chello0o]

Aw! Yay and congrats! Can't wait to see the pics in a couple of years when she's shreding it up!

[GreatScott]

Congrats man and Merry Christmas.

[DC-RiDa-4-LiFe77]

ok i think shes ready to hit the slopes

[Marie]

aw congrats! she's adorable!
she will totally be a pro snowboarder when she grows up!