Mom-agination: A Paranoid Parent’s Tips for Skiing Safety and Sanity

At this time of year, many families are off to the mountains to ski. Here are some creative parent-to-parent tips on skiing with your kids safely:

· Be visible - Dress both yourself and your kids in bright jackets, but NOT red or orange. These are typically the colors of ski patrol employees and will make you and your child blend into the masses on the slopes. Choose a bright green or pink or purple. If this isn’t possible for your ski jacket, invest in bright-colored gloves, hats and scarves.

· Identification – Place your business card or a note with the cellphone number you are carrying into the pocket of your children. If your child gets lost or hurt, the number to reach you will be immediately available.

· Slope etiquette – Inform your children that people ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them - not for them to jump out of your way.

· Ski to your child’s level – It is tempting to encourage your child to try the bigger slopes with you, but make sure they are ready. This winter my son dropped off a twenty-foot cliff because he wasn’t ready to navigate the more difficult slopes (he was unharmed, thank goodness!).

· Chair Lifts – Make sure your child’s back is pressed up against the chair lift and they are sitting up straight (ski wear gets slippery and you don’t want a slouching child to slide underneath the safety bar). I always hook onto some part of my son while on the chairlift: arm, ski jacket, waist, to keep him secure. Don’t raise the safety bar too early when exiting the lift; keep your firm grip on your child until his skis safely touch the exit ramp.