# 4 Years old snowboarding...what should I teach him next?



## WasabiCanuck (Apr 29, 2015)

I was in same boat last year. Started teaching my boy when he was 4. Slow progress, he is 5 now with 20 days of riding and he still has trouble with toe side and the chair lift. Just gradually increase the difficulty and stay super positive. I can't say when it is the right time for the chairlift, some kids are scared of it. You may want him to keep both feet strapped in, I saw a guy do this with his little one this past weekend. It could be a good idea but I never tried it. Good luck and have fun.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Have him go over SnowProfessor videos and let him explore the techniques.


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## vtec96 (Mar 9, 2017)

speedjason said:


> Have you him go over SnowProfessor videos and let him explore the techniques.



SnowProfessor videos are too boring for little kids :grin:


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

vtec96 said:


> SnowProfessor videos are too boring for little kids :grin:


Then tie them down and make them watch the videos.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

You need to introduce a way that will force him to want to turn, but don't force it. In his mind he is doing awesome, and he is, and if you pour on too much instruction there's a chance he'll take it as you don' think he's doing good, which becomes a deterrent.

He's pretty ingrained in falling leaf at the moment. Totally normal for kids his age but to break it earlier is better.

Make it a game where he has to try to go around things. Depending on the slope they may let you put some small cones for him. Start them wide so he's really going right down the middle, then move them in little by little. Kind of the opposite to how they train agility dogs to weave poles. Start them off running down a channel then move them narrower little by little and soon enough they're weaving through them. And do it with him.


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## BoardWalk (Mar 22, 2011)

f00bar said:


> Make it a game where he has to try to go around things. Depending on the slope they may let you put some small cones for him.


Cones???? Get him in the trees......


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

play games like follow the leader, big kitty (stand tall)/little kitty (crouch), have him keep doing little hops, little jumps, hop and turn, green light/red light, also have him skate around 1 footy to get him squared away for the lift....have him skate on/off the magic carpet...(as for skating...have him get used to 1 footy at home in the back yard or on a carpet...he will learn how to pick up the board...scooch it around, swing it around and stand on it (without it moving)...thus when he gets on the snow...the only new thing will be moving.

as for the chairlift...just approach it as no big deal, pull up and watch how folks get on...and then just do it.

he is doing great

have him point and lean in to it with his leading hand in the direction he wants to go...it looks like he is already beginning to figure that out. It is not the accepted way for adults...but for mini groms...it will make sense to them...(and they are so close to the ground any way and they probably would not understand trying to steer with the leading knee.)


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

The first time i took my 5 year old grandson on the chairlift was a bit scary. Getting on the chairlift, he knows to look back and grab the post to sit down because that was the way they taught them on skiing. Getting off the chairlift was a challenge but this is how we did it. 

We had them stop the chair at the ramp and i showed him to turn his board straight, stand up and i'll push him away.We did this 3 times, then i had the liftie to slow down the chair and told my grandson to point it straight as soon as we are on the ramp(i tell him when to stand up) then have the chair push him off. Not sure how many times we'd done it but he got it down. Now he can get off the chairlift at normal speed. 

Just to add on to this, our chairlift except for two are the old ones that does not slow down prior to loading and unloading. I also have my grandson on a harness to pick him up when loading the chair to avoid any accidental slip-off.


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## vtec96 (Mar 9, 2017)

Thank you all for the useful tips!! I will try to make it more fun


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## snowangel99 (Mar 11, 2016)

OMG your little guy is the cutest mini shredder ever!!!!!! So so so sweet. Honestly some kids that age are still in pull ups and sucking on a milk bottle at night lol. So the fact that your child can do this at 4 is so so so freaking awesome. He kicks ass. 

Agree anything you can do to make it fun...stuffy toys, hula hoops, spray painting the snow, making a track of popcorn or jelly beans to follow, whatever, he will love. Just keep it fun and enjoy every second of it because next thing you know you will be driving a carload of crazy teenagers to the hills.

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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

vtec96 said:


> SnowProfessor videos are too boring for little kids :grin:


Just realized you are talking about a 4 year old.
I guess you should let him get used to going straight and turn next. Is he afraid of going straight and get faster? When I teach my buddies, I follow behind controlling speed with a ski pole between us.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

speedjason said:


> When I teach my buddies, I follow behind controlling speed with a ski pole between us.


lmao....so u putting a ski pole up said buddies' arse to control his speed....bwahahahahah...vid please of said teaching technique.


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## vtec96 (Mar 9, 2017)

speedjason said:


> Just realized you are talking about a 4 year old.
> I guess you should let him get used to going straight and turn next. Is he afraid of going straight and get faster? When I teach my buddies, I follow behind controlling speed with a ski pole between us.


Yes, I think he is afraid of letting the board go straight! I was going to try a ski harness but not too sure if it's a good idea...


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

vtec96 said:


> Yes, I think he is afraid of letting the board go straight! I was going to try a ski harness but not too sure if it's a good idea...


You could do that. Same thing.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

wrathfuldeity said:


> lmao....so u putting a ski pole up said buddies' arse to control his speed....bwahahahahah...vid please of said teaching technique.


Snow is gone here. It gonna be next year. Basically the person in the front grab the pole with his back hand and I grab it with my front hand and just switch edges as we both go straight down.
It's a good practice for me as I would be basally doing more like a nose press to rotate the board back and forth to in a straight line to control speed with both of my edges. Otherwise if you just use one edge it gets tiring.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

vtec96 said:


> Yes, I think he is afraid of letting the board go straight! I was going to try a ski harness but not too sure if it's a good idea...


I wouldn't worry about it...letting the board go straight...it will come with time...probably before you are comfortable doing it.

I've seen some folks put a leash on the tail of the board...but I don't think its a good idea...he has to learn sometime...instead of relying on a crutch.


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## ctoma (Aug 9, 2011)

speedjason said:


> When I teach my buddies, I follow behind controlling speed with a ski pole between us.


Is that a ski pole poking me in the ass or are you just happy to be shredding?


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## ItchEtrigR (Jan 1, 2012)

Mini shredder is doing so dope! Little dude is awesome!

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## snowboard_doc (Feb 6, 2011)

Give him time. He's only 4-yo and his muscles are not developed enough to get edge tilt, etc. Not too long ago, people were saying to start snowboarding at age 7. I think he looks great for 4-yo. Just get used to sliding down the slope and the key thing, making it fun.

Source: watched my kid learn from age 5 to 8 now. He can now do black diamonds, rails, jumps, etc. the first two years were painful to watch though... it will click.


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## pencap75 (Dec 10, 2008)

I didn't bother putting my 4 y/o on a snowboard, because honestly, most toddlers are not really "snowboarding". They lack the muscles and coordination to properly carve the board. Standing on the board side slipping down the mountain may be cute, but they are not really doing anything.

I put my 4 y/o on skis, and seems like they instinctively know what to do. With minimal instruction, they are zooming down the slopes like maniacs, while I board along side with them. When they are older, I will let them decide to ski or snowboard. I don't care which one they pick.


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## comfortstarr (Feb 9, 2016)

As I just replied in the thread about the kids who suck: fun fun fun should be the focus. My kid took ski lessons at 4, was not thrilled. For some reason he was already convinced snowboarding was for him. Next year he did one lesson, then sort of figured it out. It was still a struggle, he'd forget everything he'd figured out from the prior outing and get soooo frustrated. Then he'd remember. We got over that hump this year. He's 7 now. If he wants to go in the terrain park, I let him. He doesn't actually do hardly anything, but he feels like he's a snowboarder and has so much fun. This past weekend we did two days at Lutsen here in Minnesota (easily our biggest "mountain"). He was zooming down icy blacks doing very nice s-turns. He will be better than me next year I predict. 

Frankly, his biggest complaint is that none of his friends' snowboard. He's frustrated that all the kids in his general age range are skiers.


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## vtec96 (Mar 9, 2017)

I did let my son to try ski before snowboard; however, after two lessons, he thinks it's boring...:surprise:
That's why I let him switch to snowboard and so far he is enjoying snowboarding


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## snowangel99 (Mar 11, 2016)

comfortstarr said:


> Frankly, his biggest complaint is that none of his friends' snowboard. He's frustrated that all the kids in his general age range are skiers.


Same here and my two are 11 and 13. They hang with their skier friends and its just as fun.


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## Psi-Man (Aug 31, 2009)

These new kids boards can really help with the side slipping right out the gate...work on J turns/stops next and work on traversing across the trails...don't worry about turning just yet. For example, set him up on his toes and pick a spot or have someone down slope a bit across the trail and have him work on traversing the distance. He will naturally be side slipping as he traverses. Stop and flip to heels and repeat. I'm not an instructor, but it's my opinion that this will get him to develop good habits and avoid the pitfall of the falling leaf rider (for lack of a better term). When he gets comfortable then incorporate turning into the traverses. You may need someone who works with kids a lot to help here, but it may click right away. IMO, if you get him used to working across the trails as described his learning curve will be much steeper.


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## comfortstarr (Feb 9, 2016)

snowangel99 said:


> Same here and my two are 11 and 13. They hang with their skier friends and its just as fun.


The problem is his friends (7-8 year-olds) who ski just basically bomb down the hills. They get way out of sync. My kid likes to do turns and/or try to hit little jumps, etc. But, I assume when he's a little older and the kids he's going with are less interested in just going straight, they'll be able to have more fun together.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

vtec96 said:


> I did let my son to try ski before snowboard; however, after two lessons, he thinks it's boring...:surprise:
> That's why I let him switch to snowboard and so far he is enjoying snowboarding


I was teaching a 9 year old snowboarding for the first time. He later tried skiing and told me skiing is boring.:laugh2:


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

comfortstarr said:


> The problem is his friends (7-8 year-olds) who ski just basically bomb down the hills. They get way out of sync. My kid likes to do turns and/or try to hit little jumps, etc. But, I assume when he's a little older and the kids he's going with are less interested in just going straight, they'll be able to have more fun together.


I think it has a lot to do with influence. I bet the hill bombing kids parents don't really ski or don't really care about the sport. You on the other hand has a lot of influence from other pro snowboarders and subsequently, you kid is influenced by you as well. To be honest, what's fun in bombing hills.:wink:


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## snowangel99 (Mar 11, 2016)

speedjason said:


> I was teaching a 9 year old snowboarding for the first time. He later tried skiing and told me skiing is boring.:laugh2:


Oh I hear ya. Still goes on at 11 and 13. One of the 13 year old boys yesterday I knicknamed k*(his name) kamikaze (not to his face). A couple of turns at the top then tuck position all the way down. Yeah his parents def don't ski or snowboard. Just like with us adults there are all kinds of people on the hill. It's hard to find a good match. I understand. 

Some days are just for good ole crazy kid fun. One of the 13 year old boys tripped the chair wire yesterday. Yep. He was too slow loading with the others so was going up solo. He forgot to get off at the top. Maybe he was checking his phone? I dunno. He just zoned put totally. I can't begin to understand the 13 year old male mind. So so so much entertainment for me.

Edited to say...
I quoted the wrong post but you guys are smart and kwim


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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

He is doing awesome. I have taken my 4 year old a few times this year. He really wanted a snowboard (probably cause he sees me with my gear ) I got done gear really cheap for him but the board is a little too big. I'm mainly just trying to make it fun. I bribe him with fries and chocolate milk to get him there. He rocks the carpet but it is really short. I can't get him to skate yet just cause he is scared but I put him on the carpet and he's good. I take him once or twice on a beginner lift and I just leave him strapped in and pick him up. (i thought he'd freak on the chair but he loves it. Took me awhile to explain why we couldn't go around in circles and had to get off)The run is too long for him and he just leans over and slides with his hands on the ground (mostly I think so he can eat snow) I wish I could get him to go healside like your kid. Again your kid is doing really awesome. 
Maybe I'll try n post a video. Not sure how to. But I think like everyone said, make it fun. It's difficult sometimes. I get so impatient. Last time he'd go 10 feet then sit and eat snow.

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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

Yeah tried to post video. I have no clue. I really think my kids board is just too big but may see what it looks like next season before getting more stuff. 

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