Eva Stark: The right age depends very much on the physical and cognitive development of the child. Generally speaking, however, skiing only really makes sense from the age of three, and the best learning age is from five onwards. Children five years or older are able to learn the all-important so-called "snowbrake" in about one to two days in group lessons. For three- and four-year-olds, it takes a little longer, but children already have a lot of fun skiing.

Eva Stark: Basically, the snowbrake, which they need to learn first, is a very complex move. But with the help of tools and age-appropriate educational games of the Austrian Children's and Youth Skiing Curriculum, kids learn in a varied way and with a lot of fun. That's why they usually quickly achieve the desired learning outcome.

Eva Stark: In the first years of skiing, I’d recommend to do a whole week of lessons. Because even after mastering a safe snowbrake, children need to learn to ski at the right speed and choose the right track on the slopes. The learning pace highly depends on the kids' age. The basic rule is: the younger the kids, the more time they need to learn the snowbrake. For example, children aged five years and older often only need one to two days, while children aged four usually need two to three days, and children aged three need three to five days. On top of that, parents have to consider the individual stage of development of their child.

Eva Stark: Here, I'm in favour of separate ski courses for adults and children. For a start, children learn very differently than adults. Children are visual and playful, so educational games work particularly well. They learn entire movement patterns and are usually free of fear. On the other hand, adults are verbal. For them, a series of exercises, the break-down of movements, and an explanation on what ski to put weight at what point, work pretty well. Also, adults often have anxiety added to the mix. What's more, when children and parents are in ski lessons together, it can be difficult for the instructor to build a relationship with the children. This is because the little ones are naturally fixated on their parents - the younger the children, the more intensively this can be observed.

Eva Stark: Depending on topography, philosophy and teachers, every ski school works slightly different. Mostly, however, parents bring their children to the meeting point in the morning, where the ski instructor takes over, and - together with other children - they form a group. Of course, this can take some time, especially with the little ones. After that, it's time for the first educational games. Most ski schools have a break after about an hour, and then training continues until lunch break. Depending on the ski school, children go to lunch either with their parents or the ski instructor. The afternoon programme looks similar, except for the break usually being a little longer, and often combined with a social programme for the youngest skiers. Every day, the kids work up their way until the first downhill run and the final race with award ceremony at the end of the week.

Eva Stark: No, thank goodness, accidents are very rare. Of course, something can always happen, just like in any other recreational sports. The good thing about skiing: Children are well protected by helmet, goggles, back protector, gloves and usually padded winter clothing. Furthermore, children are by nature still very flexible. The amplitude of movement is therefore much greater than in adults, which reduces the risk of injury immensely.

Eva Stark: Ski boots, skis, poles, helmet and back protector can be mostly rented on site. I recommend buying gloves, ski goggles and winter clothing.

Eva Stark: As always, preparation is key! Show your kids photos or videos of the destination. Perhaps also look at the website of the respective ski school together. Then, they can already get an idea of things like the mascot, the guiding colour, the mascot song or the Kinderland. Of course, buying ski clothes together also adds to the anticipation. They can already practice turning their little feet at home, which can have a very positive influence on the training success. Be careful though: Never push the knees inwards, the legs and knees must always remain far apart when turning the feet. It is also important to let the children know that during the ski holiday, they will spend time on the slopes with a ski instructor, who is the best person to teach them how to ski. Then it is usually easy even for the youngest to say Goodbye to mom and dad for a while.