Site Logo
Ski Safety For Kids
August 27, 2024
10 Safety Skills All Ski Kids Need:
Shouting at our kids to “Slow Down”, “Watch Out” and “Be Careful” isn’t teaching ski safety. Safety starts before kids ever reach the slopes. Instead of teaching kids how to be safe on the ski hill, start with why they need to ski safely and then teach them how to do it. The ideal time to teach kids about ski safety is before you ever leave home.
The reality is kids won’t understand all aspects of ski safety until they’re on the hill. You can use the rides up the chairlift to point out (in a non-judgmental and shame-free way) the places where you see problems with ski safety and when you see other skiers practicing good ski safety. When kids see the problems of not skiing safely, they start to see the importance of family ski safety.
Note: If your child uses a ski harness, you should know that over 75% of parents use them incorrectly. Start modeling good ski safety by learning how to use a ski harness the right way.
1. Ski in control
Skiing in control is the most important thing for kids to know about ski safety. If people go too fast on their skis, they might fall and hurt themselves. They are also a risk to other people when they go too fast. For everyone’s safety, It is important to teach children how to control their speed and the direction of their skiing while they are skiing. Point out when you see others skiing out of control so your child/children can recognize other skiers who are in over their heads. If they see someone skiing out of control or dangerously, show them how to identify them and how to avoid them for their safety.
Parent tip: One of the best ways to get kids to ski in control is to teach them how with proper skills. Before they go on any terrain, make sure that they know how to get down the hill. If you’re uncertain what your kids need to know to safely ski new terrain, consider signing them up for ski lessons.
2. Stay together while skiing
While you need to give other people space while skiing, there are huge benefits to skiing together as a group. With group skiing, there are always others who can assist anybody who has a problem (especially essential with younger children or beginning skiers). In addition, it’s a lot easier to ensure that no one is skiing beyond their skill level if everyone is together and you can keep each other in check. Skiing together keeps everyone safer, and is essential for parents trying to ski with more than one kid at a time.
Parent tip: Before you start skiing down, pick a spot a little further down the hill where everyone can see and agree to meet. Keep picking new points all down the mountain, and make sure that everyone knows that stopping at these meeting points is non-negotiable.
3. Set a safe meeting place if you get separated
When you’re skiing as a family, it’s really easy for someone to take a wrong turn and get separated. While the ideal situation is to have each person have a handheld radio, the reality is that setting up a safe meeting point is your best option for ski safety if you get separated. As soon as you arrive at the ski mountain, choose a secure meeting spot where your family can congregate if someone gets separated. Have your children point out the location on the trail map and remind them where your meeting spot is several times throughout the day.
Parent tip: Take a photo of your children before the day starts. They might get separated from you and you might need help from other skiers or from ski patrol to find them. It is also good to dress them in bright clothes so they are easy to identify as they ski down the mountain.
4. Show respect to ski patrol and obey signs
Teach kids that the ski resort rules are there for a reason. Closed areas are often closed because of a safety hazard (often avalanche risks), and kids need to be taught to respect all closures. While not exclusively, teens are often the biggest culprits of not obeying posted signs or breaking the rules and trying to outrun the ski patrollers enforcing the rules. Teach your kids ski patrol is there to keep everyone safe, so show them respect. Whether that’s avoiding closures, or slowing down in slow skiing areas, ski patrollers set up rules to keep everyone safe.
Parent tip: If one of your kids seems to often break rules at the ski area, talk to them about why. See if maybe taking them on more challenging terrain can be a better way to push their limits.
5. Check your gear to make sure it’s functioning properly
Ski gear that works properly is often overlooked but checking it regularly can go a long way towards keeping yourself and others safe. Check everyone’s ski gear once a month to make sure the bindings are properly adjusted, brakes engage when skis fall off and the proper DIN settings are in place on bindings in case of a fall.
6. Wear a helmet for safety when skiing
Helmet-wearing is now becoming the norm in the ski industry and with good reason. So many major injuries are prevented because of helmet use, and they can save your life in a collision. Even if you’re a great skier, you never know when someone might end up hitting you. Make sure everyone in your group wears a helmet.
Parent tip: Start your kids wearing helmets as soon as they start skiing so it becomes a normal part of their ski gear routine. If you have kids who complain about wearing a helmet, let them pick out their own at your local ski shop.
7. Practice getting up safely after falling
Skiing is a difficult sport and all children and beginners learning to ski are prone to falling on skis fairly frequently. Make sure your kids know how to safely get up after a fall. This means their skis are angled across the hill and to the side of the trail when feasible, which is a good habit to get into. Children often get up with their skis pointing downhill and crash again or endanger others.
Parent tip: Have young kids practice learning how to get up in the backyard, so they are more comfortable doing it when they get to the ski hill.
8. Learn to stop where you’re visible to others on skis
Teach kids there are safe and dangerous places to stop on skis. Above all, they need to stop at the top of the hill, or slightly before the hill starts so that they are the most visible to other skiers. If they stop just below a new slope, skiers coming down the mountain will have a very difficult time seeing them. Stopping on the side of the trail rather than in the middle of the ski run is also a good habit to practice.
9. Know who has the right of way
Make sure to teach kids that when they are on skis the person in front of them has the right-of-way at all times. You may never know exactly where they will ski next, therefore make sure to provide them with ample room on all sides. Also, before you start skiing after stopping, look uphill to ensure that you don’t ski right in front of someone else.
Parent tip: When your kids are just learning to ski, find areas that aren’t as crowded because when children are concentrating hard on learning to stop and turn on their skis, it’s difficult for them to remember and figure out who has the right of way. Allow them some room and a good amount of grace while they’re learning.
10. Know your limits
It’s critical to teach your children not only what their limits are, but also the limits of those they are skiing with. This helps them to know what terrain they can and cannot safely ski, and helps them to keep others in check as well. We often take friends with us who are just learning how to ski, so we remind our kids often that they shouldn’t pressure their friends to ski on harder terrain before they’re ready.
Parent tip: When kids are ready to make the jump to higher terrain, make sure they are with an adult or ski instructor who can help. Different types of terrain need different skills so it’s good to have someone that can help you learn the skills needed for that terrain.
Remember, ski safety isn’t just about you. It’s about keeping other people safe on the hill too, so remember to talk to your kids and teach them to ski safely!
