Getting the safety message to your little skier or rider
Safety messages are so boring, right? Imagine being a kid, and all you want to do is ski, but Mom and Dad are giving you the danger rundown. Wear your helmet, listen to your instructor, buckle your boots, slow down, no jumping, blah, blah, blah. It's understandable that youngsters would tune out from these tips and warnings.
Skiing is supposed to be fun, not riddled with rules and regulations. I remember teaching my kids the seven point skier's responsibility code, it wasn't until it became a contest during Safety Week at Sunday River with free hot cocoa as a prize that the code became "interesting" to them.
So when I found the cute, colorful kids book, "Safely Ski from A to Z," I knew author Mary Stubbs Palmer was on the right track. This book of alpine alphabetic acronyms has happy illustrations of helmeted little skiers offering up easy, engaging safety lessons. I particularly like the letter Z reference with the kids sleeping with their skis on, dreaming of another day on the slopes. It's a great bedtime, or après ski quiet time, read for ages three to eight. The book is endorsed by the National Ski Patrol, and recommended by this ski mom too. Get your kids a copy of "Safely Ski From A to Z" for Christmas at Amazon.com or check out facebook.com/safelyski.
Photo by Greg Burke
Contributors
Eric Wilbur is a lifelong recreational skier who spends most of his winter and spring in the mountains of New England. He does not ski in jeans. You can read more of Eric's work here.
Heather Burke is an award winning ski journalist with over a decade of ski news coverage. As a former ski instructor and a ski parent, she knows the ski biz from the inside out. She and her family visit New England ski resorts, as well as the West and Canada, to report on the latest trends and their best family finds. Her husband Greg takes all the accompanying photos, and their work can be seen at www.familysktitrips.com and www.luxuryskitrips.com.
