Snowboarding for young children: should you get your kids on board?

Children shouldn't use snowboards until they're eight, has long been the perceived wisdom, but advances in technology and changes to ski areas are changing that view
Rocco and dad
Rocco (left) starts to enjoy snowboarding with dad Chris Lavender

Back in the late 1990s, when I was learning to snowboard, there was no chance of being upstaged by a preternaturally talented pre-schooler whizzing past and pulling a 360 at the side of the piste on which you were failing to link your first turns.

The only children you saw on the slopes were skiers. And even if you had been a parent at the time (and snowboarders didn't tend to be) who wanted to teach your child to snowboard, the word was that they would have to learn to ski first – and you'd have to wait until they were eight.

There was no definitive reason why. Some said it was bad for their bones, others for knees, while some pointed to a lack of leg strength and balance. Until recently, such thinking remained dominant. More and more teenagers were learning to snowboard but you rarely saw younger children trying.

Then came a shift. The US and European economies tanked and brands needed to find new revenue, so they started to seriously invest in child-specific snowboard technology. Most notable was Burton Snowboards, using the slogans: "If you can stand you can ride," and, "Easier than a tricycle with training wheels." It started to produce super-stable, saucer-like short boards designed to make it virtually impossible to catch an edge. These were marketed at the parents of children as young as three.

They also produced soft boots with Velcro straps, parent-friendly, one-strap bindings (though kids can also ride without) and a Riglet Reel tow rope that tacks on to the front of the board so that you can pull your toddler along like an errant spaniel, while giving them a good idea of the snow-riding sensation they are aiming for.

Ongoing improvements to soft goods, with outerwear that is better insulated and more waterproof, helped too (as beginner snowboarders spend far more time sitting in wet snow than skiers) and Quiksilver introduced a "Grow with grom" system so that jackets and pants would last two winters instead of one.

Burton then created a series of Riglet snow parks with small hills, low boxes and mini-rails, tailored for children between three and five.

These are mostly in the US, which is a few years ahead of Europe in children's snowboarding, and include a Star Wars-themed park at Sierra at Tahoe in California, and a Toy Story-themed park at Jay Peak in Vermont.

This winter they have also set up a Riglet Park in Avoriaz, France, at the Village des Enfants, though for safety reasons children can only use it with an instructor.

Tammy Esten from Mint Snowboarding, a ski school in Morzine, specialises in teaching under-fives. She says: "We are getting younger and younger kids wanting to learn to snowboard. It really is amazing to see how quickly they progress with the right tuition, and the latest technology has been key."

Parent teaching child on snowboard
Kids can soon get used to snowboarding moves

I ask why people used to say young children should not snowboard. "I'm not a doctor," she says, "but as far as I'm aware there are no medical reasons why kids can't learn to snowboard under the age of eight.

"It's true that muscle development in the feet and legs of young kids mean that different techniques are needed to teach them, compared with adults, but you would use a totally different approach anyway.

"Kids need a more hands-on approach, and have less initial coordination and balance, but this has no reflection on whether they should be snowboarding."

I ask if she has any advice for parents. "Making sure young kids actually want to learn to snowboard is so important. If they want to ski, put them on skis and vice versa. Let kids realise that they aren't going to get on a board and straight away be hitting jumps, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to have fun. Don't overdo it with them. Opt for little tasters initially."

Aside from the technology, another reason for the increase in the number of young children riding boards is that the sport's original participants are maturing, with many becoming parents. And as a lot of these snowboarders never learned to ski, they don't always want their children to learn that sport.

Helen Lavender, who co-owns Rude Chalets in Morzine with her partner, is one such parent. She says, "As we both only snowboard it seemed natural to teach Rocco to snowboard. I've only skied once, about 25 years ago."

I ask how their son, who is just two- and-a-half, is getting on. "He loves it. Honestly! We fitted one of the [Burton] Riglet Reels so we could pull him around on the flat to get him used to riding and balancing on the board.

"Then we progressed to pulling him up the hill and letting him go. It's amazing, as although he has only been out riding five times, he is learning to correct himself when he goes over bumps so does not actually fall that much. When he does fall he usually laughs and finds it funny. The next step is teaching him to stop!"

Though it is that very point that causes the former pro-snowboarder and parent of three-year-old Harry, Chris Moran, to suggest that children under five should focus on skiing first.

"I obviously love snowboarding, and I want my son to enjoy it too, but I have done both with him, and have to say he found skiing a lot easier, as he had a lot more control and could stop whenever he wanted.

"You can explain to them that they have their skis straight like chips when they want to go and pushed out in a pizza shape when they want to stop. It's an easy concept for them to get, whereas the idea of using your edge to stop in snowboarding can be complicated for a child that young to get their head round.

"Parents should by all means let their young kids have a go at snowboarding, especially if the snow is slushy, but they shouldn't expect to leave the nursery slopes or Riglet parks whereas, with skiing, you can travel as a family more.

"We skied with Harry from Tignes to Val d'Isère before his third birthday and we'd never have been able to do that with him on a snowboard."

Sam Haddad is the editor of the magazine Cooler