1. After you are positive that skiing is something your child wants to
do, plan to make your lessons safe. A bad experience at this tender age
could be very difficult to overcome. A good toddler life jacket is a
must - a buoyant P.F.D. with the collar that automatically floats the
child's head. It helps, of course, if your pupil is a swimmer because
maintaining the trainer skis in the water requires a basic swimming
skill.
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2. Make it fun. These early water ski experiences should be
challenging but not beyond the skills of the child. Get them used to the
feelings that they will experience on the water. Children love being
pulled on indoor carpet, on grass or in shallow water up and down the
shoreline. At this point, they usually outlast their pullers.
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3. When the time comes to actually ski on trainers behind a boat,
remember that it does not take much horse-power to pull the student up.
The wide bottoms cause the skis to pop up rather easily. You need a
gentle driver who is too hot on the throttle. Speeds of four to six mph
will be adequate.
4. If your child is very young or frightened, it is a good idea
for an older skier to ski alongside in these early stages. The assistant
should be on trick skis because they will plane out at slower speeds.
Keep your ropes close in length and discuss strategy with your driver -
he'll need to use more power while still taking care not to build too
much speed.
5. The basic body position on a pair of trainers is with the
knees slightly bent and the back straight. You can tell the toddlers to
look ahead but they tend to get caught up in the excitement and look
around at everything. On trainers, it will be difficult to get the
student to move from side to side within the wake as the ropes holding
the skis together don't allow enough movement to edge the skis.
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