Don't Take Your Kid Down That Run Yet: How to Know When They're Actually Ready

Episode Summary

One of the biggest mistakes ski parents make is pushing kids onto harder terrain before they're actually ready — and it can undo months of progress in a single run. In this episode, Jessica Averett breaks down exactly how to know when your child is ready to move up, from the bunny hill all the way to black diamonds. She walks through five key questions every ski parent should ask before bumping up the difficulty, plus the specific skills that need to be in place at each terrain level. Whether your kid is transitioning from green to blue or blue to black, this episode gives you a clear, practical framework so you can make that call with confidence — and protect your child's love of skiing in the process.

What You'll Learn

• The #1 mistake ski parents make when skiing with kids — and why it can send kids home in tears saying they hate skiing
• Five questions to ask yourself before moving your child to harder terrain
• The non-negotiable skills every child needs before leaving the beginner hill (stop, turn, get up — and why rushing these costs you later)
• What side slipping is, why it matters, and how to teach it before your child ever sets foot on a blue run
• The green-to-blue transition: what's physical, what's mental, and how to handle both
• Why the easy blue to hard blue jump is the first real terrain difficulty spike — and what parallel skills need to be in place before you get there
• The full checklist of skills kids need before skiing their first black diamond
• Practical strategies for encouraging kids on new terrain: how to ski it together so they actually feel successful

Resources and Links

• When are Kids Ready for Harder Terrain (full article)
• How to Encourage Nervous Kids to Ski (full article)

Key Takeaway

"Skiing with kids is a long-haul game. When you rush the terrain progression, you get tears and resistance and kids who stop wanting to ski. When you're patient and intentional, you get a kid who reaches the top of a blac

Skiing with Kids is hosted by Jessica Averett, a ski instructor and mom of five who has spent more than 20 years helping kids learn to ski. This podcast helps parents create calmer, happier ski days by focusing on confidence, connection, and simple strategies that actually work with kids on the mountain.  She's the founder of First Tracks: A Parent's Guide to Teaching Kids to Ski, a course that walks parents through everything they need to know to skip overpriced ski school and confidently teach their own kids to ski.

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Transcript

0:02

Welcome to Skiing with Kids. I'm your host Jessica, a ski instructor, mom of five, and someone who's seen just about every ski day meltdown that you can imagine. After 20 years of teaching kids on the mountain, I've learned that great ski days aren't about perfect technique. They're about confidence, connection, and knowing what actually works. And this podcast is where we break it all down. Today's episode is one that I wish someone had handed me before I started this whole wild journey I'm on of skiing with my kids because one of the biggest mistakes I see parents make on the mountain, and I've made this mistake myself, is moving kids to harder terrain before they're actually ready for it. First off, please know that I am someone who has spent a truly embarrassing number of days on beginner terrain, waiting for the kids to be ready for the next thing. And this is both my own kids and all the hundreds of kids that I've taught in ski school as an instructor. And I wanna be really clear about something upfront. I am not just, um, gearing this towards beginner kids. Moving kids to harder terrain too quickly applies at every level. We're talking green to blue, easy blue to hard blue, blue to black. Every one of those transitions has a timing piece that parents often completely underestimate. So today we're gonna walk through exactly how to know when your kid is ready to move up. And I've got five questions I want you to ask yourself as well as a breakdown of what skills are needed to be in place at each level before you make that jump. Now let's talk about the biggest mistake I see because I wanna start here because it actually matters. And the number one ski mistake I see parents make, and I've watched this play out like hundreds of times over my 20 years of teaching kids to ski, is that parents are introducing kids to terrain. That's too hard too soon. I've had my kids in lessons who were like absolutely ripping on intermediate terrain. My students. They're confident, they're happy, they're having the time of their lives, and that same day a parent takes 'em down a black diamond and that kid goes home in tears like, I hate skiing. This is stupid. It happens more often than you think, and it's not because the parent doesn't care. Often it's 'cause the parent's excited and proud and honestly, they're probably a little bit desperate to ski. Something more challenging. I get it. Between my five kids, I spent the better part of 13 years skiing beginner terrain. There are days it was genuinely meant mind numbing. I have been tempted more than once to just drag one of them down, a harder run so that I could actually get some real skiing in. Now spoiler. The only time that I was getting actual skiing in is when we were dividing and conquering, and I was skiing with the older kids, or when my husband and I were tag teaming and he was with the kids on the learner terrain, and I went out to take some ski runs by myself. So there is a way to make it possible, but um, taking your kids along on terrain that they're not ready for is not the good option. Now, in all that time on ridiculous amounts of beginner terrain, here's what I learned. Skiing with kids is a long haul game, like a really long haul, and the shortcuts always cost you. When kids move to harder terrain before they're ready, not only do their skills take a hit, but so does their confidence. A kid who has solid, confident parallel, parallel turns on easy terrain, suddenly can only do a wedge on a steeper slope. Maybe your kid had a great hockey stop on intermediate terrain and suddenly is in that pizza on a steeper. A steeper mogul run. The, the harder of terrain doesn't just expose their weaknesses. It kind of resets everything in their skiing. And now you've got a kid who's scared, frustrated, and likely questioning whether or not they even like to ski. So before we get into anything else, I want you to internalize this. Your patience as a parent will pay off for years. Okay, so how do you actually know when your kid is ready to ski something harder? Now, here are five questions I want you to run through before you try and take them to the next level. And I will also be going over some skills a little bit after this, but have these questions in mind as you are assessing this all now. Question number one, have their skills improved over the past few? I know this sounds obvious, but it's worth starting with, not just can they ski, but are they progressing? Are they getting better? Are you seeing improvement? Because if their skills have plateaued, adding something harder isn't going to unlock the progress. It's actually gonna create frustration. So progress on easier terrain is a signal that they are building towards something that they are improving if their progress is like stalled out. The answer is more time, not harder runs. Trust me, I always tell parents that they need to overtrain before they over terrain. Okay, question number two. Is your kid happy skiing? The terrain that they're on right now. Now this one matters more than most parents realize. If your kid is still struggling emotionally on the terrain, they're on. If there's still anxiety or resistance or like a little bit of reluctance, moving harder isn't gonna fix that. In fact, it's gonna amplify those problems. A kid who's genuinely happy and comfortable on green to ring is ready to think about blues. A kid who's like still white, knuckling it on the greens, or who get super, super nervous when they hit like some variable conditions, they're not ready for something harder. Okay, question number three is, do you, does your kids still think skiing is fun? Even if they are frustrated sometimes because everyone gets there, even if there's challenging moments, do they still fundamentally love it? Are they asking to come back? Are they excited about the mountain? That is your green light. That positive relationship with skiing is the most important thing that you as a parent are protecting. If it's still intact, they have room to grow. If that's starting to erode, you kind of need to like just back off a little bit and rebuild before you push them to harder terrain. You guys, I say this all the time and I believe it with my whole heart. If skiing is not fun, you're doing something wrong. Honestly, the whole point of getting out there and skiing with your kids and your family is to have fun to make awesome memories. It's not, you're not skiing out there because you're like, man, I just wish that I could come up with a way to spend all of my time and money. No, you're out there because you want to have fun because you love it and you want your kids to love it. And if they're not, you need to change how you're doing things. Okay. Question number four. Do they need more ski days under their belt guys? Sometimes it is just about more time on the snow. Skills don't always develop, especially with kids on a linear timeline. Some kids need a lot of repetition before something clicks. And that's okay. Like there is no shame in more days on the same terrain, right? Those days are building something, even if it's not obvious at the moment. Ask your child, honestly, is this child ready or do they just need more time doing the same thing. Now, I want you to think about this with other developmental things with kids, right? Now, not every kid learns to read when they are six years old. Some kids aren't gonna learn to read until they're eight. Some kids learn to read when they're three or four. We don't think there's anything wrong with the kids who learn to read slower. We just know as parents that all kids develop differently. And skiing is the same way. Some kids pick it up really quick and some kids just need more time. They need more practice until all the things fall in place. Okay, question number five. Does your kids seems seem like they're being pushed too hard and guys, this is like that gut check question for us as parents, and I want you to answer it honestly, even if the answer is uncomfortable, because I'll be honest, I have had to, I've had to face that reality myself sometimes with my kids. Like, okay, am I just pushing them too hard? Is that, am I the one that's creating the issue here? Like are they telling you like, Hey, I'm done. Are they shutting down? Are they like just going through the motions but clearly not enjoying it? Kids are usually gonna let you know, and that's either with their words or their body language. When they've hit their limit, listen to 'em. It is so much better to end the day a little bit early than to push past the point where skiing stops being something they want to do. Um, I just had a whole past episode on ending the ski day early that you should definitely listen to if you are having issues with what I just said right there. Now let's talk about the terrain progression for kids. 'cause I wanna get really specific so that you know what skills belong where. Because knowing that your kid is ready, you know, in theory ready is one thing, but knowing what they need to be able to do to move up is totally different. And as parents, so many of us learn to ski. Years ago, a lot of us learned to ski when we were kids or so long ago that we literally don't remember the skills we like. Okay? I remember that there was a pizza, there were french fries. I moved to harder terrain. The end, you guys, there are literally so many steps, and I'm gonna do a quick walkthrough of the actual skill benchmarks at each level, but there really is so much more to all of this that I can't go into here. Um, that you probably also don't remember from when you were learning to ski, but I have all of the details, including dozens of modules, over a hundred infographics, all the exact progressions, step by step in my course, first tracks a Parent's Guide to Teaching Kids to Ski. Now you can find that@skiingkid.com, and you just need to click on the first tracks button. Again, that's skiing kid.com and you will get loads of information so you don't have to guess when your kid is ready for harder terrain. Now let's talk about moving off the beginner hill. Now, before a kid ever leaves the bunny slope, they need to be able to do three things. They need to be able to stop, they need to be able to turn, and they need to be able to get up when they fall. That's it. I know it sounds simple and there really are tons of steps to teaching that and lots of little nuances there. But those three things are the non-negotiables. Don't rush it. Don't think, oh, well, they can usually stop. You know, they're like 50%. No way. Your kids need to be solid on stopping. Turning and getting up. Now for some kids, mastering those basics takes like just a few days, right? For others, it might take an entire season. Uh, we started most of our kids when they were just 18 months old, and most of 'em took two seasons to really master these basics, but every minute of that time was so worth it. It built an incredible foundation for 'em. Let your kids know there's no rush, there's no timeline that they're supposed to be on. Now a lot of resorts offer beginner lift only passes, and those are perfect for this phase because you're not paying for mountain access that you're not gonna use, and there's really no pressure to justify the cost by skiing more terrain. Right? Um, stop, turn, get up. When those are solid, then you can move on. So the next step up is like, from that very beginner bunny hill. Terrain to skiing all greens, because not all greens are equal. Not all blues are equal. Not all blacks are equal. Um, but once your kids are solid on stopping and turning, your goal is to introduce them to gradually harder terrain. Once they've graduated from the bunny hill, they need to learn how to make big and small turns. They need to know how to avoid obstacles, um, how to control their speed, both with their wedge and with their turns. Exposing kids to more greens will help them understand how to ski varied terrain, and also to be more conf, to be more confident skiers in this kids should be working on linking their sea turns together and starting to match their skis just a little bit in between their turns. Now from beginner terrain to easy blues, um, from that green to blue phase. When kids are ready to try their first easy blue, the most important skill to have in place beyond just controlled wedge turns. Is side slipping. Um, there's so much variability in blue terrain that having your kid know how to side slip and just having that skill in your back pocket means that you're gonna be able to get them down. Any sticky situation, whether they're uncomfortable or it's too hard, or whatever happens, right. Okay, now side slipping is exactly what it sit sounds like. Um, you're gonna stand sideways on the slope, parallel to the fault line and slide down in a controlled way by just adjusting your edge angle, keeping those ski skis parallel to the fall line. You engage the uphill edge by pressing your knees into the hill and you release it slightly to let your, let yourself slide. You guys, it's a pretty simple skill to learn, but it also is a critical safety skill before your kids are gonna set to. But it is a critical safety skill that your kids need to know before they ever set foot on terrain that could get steeper or icier, or more difficult than expected. Now, here's how I teach it. You're gonna stand sideways on the slope, skis parallel, press your knees uphill like into the snow. The edges are gonna bite and you're gonna stop. Release your edges slightly and that you just do that by moving your knees just a teeny bit downhill, which is flattening out their skis right there. Their edges are dis gonna disengage and slide, practice it in a few different positions until it feels comfortable. Now, ideally, you could find a steeper section on a. On a green run to do this. Um, but it is a skill that does require a little bit of a steeper pitch. So if you're on a really, really flat terrain, it's gonna be hard to slide. Um, now beyond the physical skill, um, that green to blue transition is also really mental for your kids. Now your kid is about to ski something labeled differently than what they've been on. And for some kids, the label alone is a big deal. One of my kids jumped right into blue terrain without even blinking. Another, had completely solid skills for months, but was like mentally terrified of anything that had a blue square on it. Both responses are normal. The goal is to keep it positive and let them lead as much as possible. Easy. Blue Terrain is also a great place to start introducing beginning parallel turns and wedge Christie's. So this is where the fun really starts to build. Now, one important thing to note is that if your kid hits a blue, any immediately starts pointing their skis straight downhill in a big wedge. They're not turning, they're not stopping. You need to dial it back, you need to get them back on green, easier terrain right away. That is a safety issue for them and everyone else on the mountain. Um, I have really, really strong feelings about this, but if your kid is not skiing safely in the terrain that they're on, you need to take them to easier terrain immediately. Now from easy blue to hard blue, um, this is the first real jump in terrain, uh, difficulty, right? And the biggest shift here is that you can no longer, like, you can't get down in a wedge anymore, right? Ski steep terrain demands parallel skiing because like the physics actually don't work otherwise, right? So before you're gonna move your kids to hard or blue, they need a solid hockey stop and they need the ability to turn with their skis parallel. Now, I'm not saying they have to have like totally perfect form because they will develop that with practice, but they need to have been taught those skills on easier terrain and have enough command of them that they can deploy them when things get steep. No kid should be skiing a hard blue in a wedge. Now a quick note on trail maps here, they're not gonna tell you how steep a blue is. Um, and a blue at one resort might be gentler than an easy green somewhere else. So do your homework. Especially with blue terrain, there is so much variability. Um, all blue there is a huge, huge, huge range. So ask around. You're gonna ask ski patrol, ask the ski school desk. Basically ask someone who knows the mountain, ask the lefty, right? When in doubt, always ski the easier option. And or if you do have the, the option pres ski it before you take your kids down so you are familiar with what you're, what you're getting your kids into, right? Now honestly, another thing that you can do that really helps kids kind of be ready for that harder blue transition is to get that hockey stop Really good. Um, make it a game. Kids love measuring their spray. Oh my goodness. They love measuring their spray, especially if they are spraying you as the parent. Um, I think that's my kids like favorite thing to do is to see who can, uh, get the snow over mom's head. But whoever gets has the biggest spray winds, right? It's genuinely fun and they really enjoy it. Now, if you're moving from a blue terrain to black diamond, this is the transition that takes the longest and it should, right? Getting a kid ready for black diamonds typically takes years, not days, not weeks, years. Guys, the payoff is enormous. Uh, the physical skill needed. Before their first real black diamond. It's really real. Before you take kids on a black, they need to have solid parallel turns on steep terrain, proper pole planting with both on both groomed runs and off pieced, and the ability to hike uphill alone and put their own ski back on after a hard fall on a steep slope. Um, parents, gosh, that will, that will save you time, sweat, frustration if your kid knows how to get back up the hill. Get their ski on even when it's hard, hard to rain right there. They also need to have really fast reaction time to avoid hazards. Um, you know, they might ski up over like a little bump and suddenly there's a rock right there or a stump. So they need to just be able to react really quickly. But the biggest thing, and I genuinely believe this with all my heart, is confidence, specifically self-confidence. Um, the mental leap from a hard blue to a black diamond covered in moguls is. Significant. Your kid needs to genuinely believe in their own ability before they're up there. Dragging a kid onto a black diamond before they feel ready doesn't fast track their confidence. In fact, it usually does the opposite. Now, when my oldest skittish first Black Diamond, I felt like every single year of patience had been completely worth it. Parents. There is nothing like that moment, and it is so much sweeter when it comes from a place of real readiness. Um, just in the last year or two, we have gotten to the point where all five of our kids can ski the entire mountain, and it is like the most incredible feeling. And it makes me just wanna ski with them all the time. And they're having so much fun out there. So put in the work, put in the time, because when it pays off, the payoff is remarkable. Now, how do you actually encourage your kids to move to harder terrain? Now when your kid has the skills and it's time to try something harder, how you ski it together matters. You need to go slow. Wait for 'em. Now, not at the bottom of the run, right? But frequently, all along the way, a kid who is navigating unfamiliar terrain, that's harder and they look up and they see their parent like a quarter mile down the slope. They feel really alone, right? Stay close. Ski in segments. Um, follow the leader, works incredibly well on new terrain. Have them focus on following your line as instead of scanning the whole slope. Um, this is really, really helpful as kids are making those transitions into blues and within like that blue, um, that blue stage right there. They don't have to think about how steep it is. All they have to do is like, think, okay, I'm following mom, I'm following dad. They get to the bottom, make them stop. Have them look up and say, look. Look what you just skied. That is a confidence building moment right there for your kids, and it's gonna stick. Here's the thing I want you to take away from this episode. Moving your kid to harder terrain is not a destination. It's a natural result of building skills in the right order. At the right pace and on the right terrain. When it's rushed, you're gonna get tears and resistance. And kids who stop wanting to ski when it's patient and intentional, you get a kid who gets to the top of the black diamond someday and they feel like the mountain belongs to them. If you are ready to get a complete roadmap for teaching your kids to ski, including tons of details on all the skills kids need to learn to move to the next level, grab my course. First Tracks a Parent's Guide to Teaching Kids to Ski. You can find it@skiingkid.com. Again, that's skiing kid.com. Remember, the long-term goal is being able to ski the whole mountain together. Anywhere as a family and the path to that is built run by run, season by season, one level at at a time without cutting corners. The payoff is worth it. I promise. I'll see you out there on the mountain.