Teaching your toddler to water-ski?

Question

Just searching for ways other people have been successful in teaching their 3-4 year olds how to water ski. I am torn. Should I get the ski skimmer or just start him on the boom which is what he will eventually be at anyway?

Answer 1

Just dangle him over the side by an ankle. Worked for Achilles.

Answer 2

We first did a "Beach Pull", with ski's on and tied together front and rear about 6" apart. Then have the child sit his butt on the skis, and hold the rope handle in the proper way. Then take the rope and pull him up untill he gets the proper stance, while keeping his weight back and centered over his feet, but never forward. Remember to have the child keep the arms straight at all times, NEVER pull the rope in towards his chest.

Although "on the beach" is different, he gets the most essential fundamentals of how to get up.

The next step is to do the same exercise in shallow water, approx 1 ft. An adult can easily pull the child up on the skis, while another ensures the posture is correct, and arms are straight.

Remember to leave the skis tied together (I used eye screws in the side of the skis, and approx 1/8" nylon cord)

Be prepared to do each exercize many times, and remember to keep it fun. Dont over do any exercise, as they tire and get distracted very easily.

The next step is to put the child on YOUR skis, in front of you and holding on to your handle while you are pulled up. This allows the child to overcome the fear of a deep start, and feel the pressure of the water as you pull from the deep water.

Then, try the deep start from the beach in about 4 feet of water, so you can be behind him and hold him straight as he is pulled away.

You will soon see where further instructions, or encouragement is needed. He will probably fall backwards, as he will pull his arms in. Then, he will fall forward, as the pull will overpower him.

The best thing to do at this point is to drag him in the sitting position on the skis for a very long distance. As the boat speed increases, he will come up on plane sitting down, and then all he has to do is stand up, and WALLAH! hes skiing!

The deep water "boom" as you stated will result in failure, and maybe discourage the child to ever try again....

When he does finally get up, only pull him a short distance, so not to tire him. If hes excited, and wants to do another, then by all means...do it!

Not all kids can be taught at that early age. Confidence, physical endurance, competitive spirit and many other factors enter. Also, it seems another instructor, rather than Mom and Dad help, as the child/parent relationship sometimes hinder the progress.

Remember,...PATIENCE!

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

My boy is 5. I floated with him and sat him on my knee in the water while I steadied his skis. It took all summer but now he can get up. The guy above (VXCITE) sounds like he knows what hes talking about though. I wish I had thought of that earlier in the year, would have saved alot of fuel and frustration on my boys part. Good luck