Should I teach my children snowboarding or skiing first?

Question

I know how to ski, but I don't know how to snowboard. Should children learn skiing first, or is it better to learn snowboarding first?

Answer 1

yes, skiing first

skiing is easier to learn and harder to master

snowboarding is hard to learn and easier to master



skiing is awesome and much easier

also especially if your kids are little, there is a higher risk of injury, and you fall much harder

Answer 2

It depends on the age. If they are little like 1-7 I would recommend skiing they could always learn to snowboard later, and it will make it easier if they now how to ski. If they are about 8-10 it depends have them stand on one foot for 30 seconds if this is a huge challenge snowboarding may not be for them because it is a sport that requires a lot of balance. If they are 11+ I would let them choose it is easier to learn at that age. They may enjoy either, let them choose though, you want it to be fun not miserable. Either way though, I would recommend lessons.

Answer 3

Maybe ask them??

I started with snowboarding, and had a really hard time, but i got the hang of it eventually, but i personally think skiing is alot easier, but then again, if they start with snowboarding right off, then they'll be better in the long run...

Answer 4

just ask them which they want to do more and start with that.

That's more important than what they "should" do.

Answer 5

I say snowboarding because it's easier to stop and I bet they'll find it cooler (no offence to skiiers) but it's all up to you. In my opinion, and I tried both, snowboarding is more enjoyable to me.

Answer 6

snowboarding is hard in the beginning but easy the rest of the way on. my friend who skis said that skiing is easy to pick up in the beginning but harder to advance

Answer 7

It depends on the age of the children.  Most ski/snowboard schools do not recommend to teach snowboarding to kids 6 and younger.  When I worked at Aspen ski school we did have a snowboard program for 5-6 year olds, but it was not very popular.

If they're older than 6 and really only want to snowboard, let them learn.  The only reason to require skiing would be if you're a skiing family and want them to learn the basics at least.  But, there's no reason (except the cost of equipment) they can't ski one weekend and board the next.

There is a practical reason though to teach skiing first: The learning curve of skiing is such that learning the basics, and being able to turn, stop and comfortably move around on an easy slope can be achieved for most students older than 4 in only a couple of hours.  Mastery to skiing takes much longer.  It's a good way to get the kids quickly moving around on the mountain.

Snowboarding takes much longer to be able to comfortably negotiate even an easy slope.  It sometimes takes students a week before they're able to go top to bottom on a green slope.  For kids, this can be frustrating.

Answer 8

hmm I dunno depends on the age, if it were me I'd rather learn snowboarding first..

Answer 9

i started skiing when i was 4,  but i switched to be like my dad.i have no regrets, but i would start with   skiing.

Answer 10

Personally I would think they should snowboard first because the younger you are the easier it will be or them to learn. They don't have as far to fall when they are young. It is often difficult for skiers to learn snowboarding because they have a snow sport that they already enjoy.

As far as injuries go, yes, you can get injured snowboarding. But you can also get injured skiing. A helmet, and wrist guards are a good idea when learning to snowboard. And definitely get some lessons. There are plenty of young children learning to snowboard without any serious problems so I don't see a reason to be afraid of your child learning sooner rather than later.

Personally, I started to learn snowboarding @ 38 years old and it took me quite a while to get it down. My nieces were much younger and picked it up pretty easily. The younger the better.