The Best Tools To Teach Your Kids To Ski

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Teaching kids to ski doesn’t have to be horribly difficult.  In fact, there are lots of ski training tools and ski tips that can help parents take over a lot of the responsibility of teaching their own kids to ski.  

In the last 17 years of teaching kids to ski, we’ve seen it all when it comes to ski teaching tools.  We’ve seen ski training tools that are invaluable, others that work some of the time, and still some that we just scratch our heads wondering who in the world would use them.  

Below we are listing some of the best ski teaching tools, as well as the worst ski training tools to avoid.  

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Best tools to teach kids to ski

Edgie Wedgie

I seriously cannot say enough good things about using an edgie wedgie to teach kids to ski.  In fact, I’ve written an entire article all about how to use an edgie wedgie and why they’re so wonderful.  

Edgie Wedgies are great ski teaching tools that work well for younger kids.  Edgie Wedgies help them to easily make a wedge shape to stop, simply by spreading their legs apart.  They are incredibly simple to use, help them to control speed, and we’ve never met a kid that they didn’t help to learn to stop on skis better.  

The best part is that they only cost about $10-15.  If you’re going to teach your own kids to ski, do yourself a favor and get an edgie wedgie before you teach your child to ski.  It’s likely the best investment you’ll ever make in your child’s future as a skier.

 Hula Hoop

When I was working as a professional ski instructor, the only tool we used to teach kids to ski, beside an edgie wedgie, was a hula hoop.  

To use a hula hoop to teach kids to ski, put the hula hoop around the child’s waist, and gently hold onto the back of it while they ski down.  The goal is to put as little pressure as possible on the hula hoop, but still keeping it in place for controlling speed and helping to boost kids confidence while skiing.  

The advantage of using a hula hoop is that it’s easy for an adult to regulate the amount of pressure on a kid’s torso as they ski.  The biggest downside to skiing with a hula hoop is that they can be a bit of a pain to carry up the chairlift, especially if you have more than one child on the chairlift with you.

A Ski Harness (without leashes)

While there is a lot of controversy surrounding the correct use of ski harnesses to teach kids to ski, I personally have a special place in my heart for them.  Actually, it’s really in my back, because we are constantly using our kids ski harness to pick our kids up when they fall down and to boost our little ones onto the chairlift.  

A ski harness without a leash are basically just a small harness that kids wear on their torso, with a handle on the back.  That handle is great for picking little kids up, boosting them onto the lift, and ESPECIALLY for holding onto squirmy little kids on the chairlift.  For this reason, we have our kids wear a ski harness until they are about 5-years-old since it makes skiing with young kids so much easier.  

Ski training tools that can work well, but are usually misused

Ski harnesses with leashes

We use a ski harness without leashes EVERY SINGLE TIME that we take our little kids skiing.  It’s a lifesaver.  In fact, the harness that we use, has leashes that tuck into the backpack, but we rarely ever take them out to use them.  For us, we prefer to have a harness that has leashes for those rare runs that we need leashes when we are skiing with a toddler.

Truthfully, most people who use children’s ski harnesses, use them incorrectly.  If you aren’t 100% sure on how to use a kids ski harness with leashes, don’t use it at all (learn how HERE).  

Imagine a kid out walking their dog and the dog is basically pulling the kid down the street, completely out of control.  That’s how most parents use a ski harness, and it’s completely wrong.  

The proper way to use a kids ski harness with the leash is with the leashes loose most of the time and at slow speeds.  

One of the most important aspects of teaching kids how to ski, is teaching them how to balance correctly.  If they are using a ski harness that’s constantly applying pressure to their back, there is no way that they can balance correctly.  Read this if you want to learn how to use a ski harness the right way.  We’ve written an entire article about ski harnesses, and the best ski harnesses you can buy, so make sure to check it out.

Ski Tools that we don’t care for (but that might work for you)

Launch Pad Hook Ease

When we first heard about the LaunchPad hookease, we were absolutely thrilled with the idea.  However, after using it for a full day, we found it to be rather exhausting.  

What is the Launchpad Hook Ease?  It’s a system that attaches to the back of your child’s skis and connects your ski poles into the back of their skis.  We love that it doesn’t impact a child’s balance and is a great way to guide their turns.  The only problem is that your poles need to stay connected to the kids skis for the entire run (or until you stop and remove them).  Unlike using a harness where you can just guide them as needed, with the hook ease, you need to be following and guiding them the whole time.  

While the Hook Ease may be a good tool for a child who is really really struggling learning how to turn, for most kids, it’s overkill.  

The market for tools to teach kids to ski is ever changing.  Do you have a favorite tool to teach kids to ski that we missed?  I’d love to hear your favorite tools to teach kids to ski!