Skiing holidays are something that many people enjoy with their families over the years. But if you want to get your children started on the slopes from a young age, skiing with toddlers is something that you might be hesitant to attempt when it comes to all the logistics involved.
Once your kids are old enough to send to ski school, family skiing holidays are a breeze. But when you’ve got very young children who are new to skiing and aren’t as happy being left without their parents, planning a holiday on the slopes requires more consideration and preparation to ensure that everyone has a good time.
Going skiing with toddlers can be a magical experience where the whole family can enjoy being out in beautiful snowy landscapes, gaining new skills and spending quality time together. So if you’re thinking about booking a ski trip with a toddler, our article on how to survive your holiday will cover everything you need to know, including advice from experienced parents themselves!
From deciding where to go skiing with toddlers to wondering how to dress a toddler for skiing, there’s a long list of things to tick off before you depart on your holiday. Our top tips for skiing with toddlers can help to ensure your holiday planning process goes without a hitch.
Your toddler needs routine and ritual to feel safe, and that doesn’t change just because you’re on a skiing holiday. Taking them away from their everyday routine can leave toddlers feeling anxious and stressed. Tantrums, sulks and meltdowns on holiday are often their way of saying “Help, I’m freaked out by all this change!”.
Those perfect families in the adverts don’t exist, so don’t aim to be one of them. Lower the bar a bit when it comes to your expectations of skiing with a toddler – and ultimately yourself too. You’ll have a much better time, and likely approach the whole holiday feeling more relaxed as well.
When it comes to planning a ski holiday with a toddler, there are a range of things you can plan for in advance which will make the experience easier to manage. The shorter the flight the better and flight times that correspond with naps and not bedtimes will encourage your toddler to sleep through the journey. Family-friendly areas (and family-friendly dining in particular), cosy bedrooms, lots of entertainment and countries with as small a time-zone difference as possible are all also key to a toddler-friendly trip.
Last but certainly not least, consider the right accommodation for your toddler. It might be worth booking a chalet or apartment instead of opting for a hotel room – the extra space and privacy mean your kids can run wild without the stress of winding up other guests.
The more you can plan and pack at home when you’re skiing with kids, the better. Midnight jaunts to find a special type of milk or infant paracetamol – with products in a different language – are not fun. The last thing you want is to have to try and source something urgently when your toddler is upset or unsettled.
Take any medication you use at home, and more sun cream, after sun and calamine lotion than you could ever imagine using, along with enough clothing (including plenty of warm layers) so you can cover all eventualities. Packing favourite soft toys and comfort objects should be a top priority, along with blankets, a pillow to help settle for naps, a few favourite books and toys and any music or lights you use at bedtime. If you can surround your toddler with familiar things, they’ll be much more comfortable in a new place.
Paying for a ‘skip the queue’ upgrade at security is an absolute must on skiing holidays with toddlers if funds stretch, and a family-friendly lounge pass can pay dividends in starting your holiday calmly. Hold onto your buggy until the very last moment so that you’re not having to carry your toddler and your hand luggage – don’t check it into the hold at check-in!
Pack a hand luggage bag for your toddler with new toys and books to keep them busy on the plane if they won’t fall asleep. If all else fails though, don’t be afraid to use screens to distract them – an iPad pre-loaded with favourite videos is worth its weight in gold. Stock up on snacks for your toddler to munch on during the flight, as you don’t want to rely on them wanting to eat the plane food!
Toddlers dislike sleeping at the best of times, but on holiday in a new environment and with jet lag to boot, it’s usually the first thing to nose dive. Allowing them to snooze in their buggy or a carrier at night while you enjoy the evening entertainment is far less fraught with stress than trying to use hotel babysitting services, and will be warmly welcomed if you’re staying in toddler-friendly ski resorts.
When it comes to jet lag and skiing with toddlers, the best solution is to observe the local time zone as much and as quickly as possible. Try to eat according to the local time, not UK time, and get as much natural light as possible as soon as you can in the morning. An advantage of skiing somewhere like Chamonix or Three Valleys in France is that there’s only an hour difference in time so that jet lag won’t disturb your holiday too much.
Toddlers and adventurous eating are not words that usually go together. So don’t stress about their eating on your skiing holiday.
It’s ok that they only eat white, beige or yellow food – all toddlers are naturally neophobic. That means they are genetically wired to refuse all new foods. In a clever quirk of nature, this reluctance to try anything novel protects toddlers by preventing them from accidentally consuming something that may be poisonous.
Most family-friendly ski resorts will have restaurants that cater to younger palettes, but you should also pack snacks from home that you know your toddler will enjoy if they’re hungry. Don’t worry about getting them to try local food – that experience will come when they are older!
Holidays are usually a time to relax and let things go a little. Should the same apply to discipline? Should you say “yes” to things you normally say no to? Should you buy everything your toddler asks for? In one word – no.
Yes, skiing holidays are a great time to let your toddler explore, to have more autonomy and to bond with them. They are not however a time to become permissive. Toddlers need boundaries and most of all they need consistency from you. While you need boundaries to keep them safe, they need your boundaries to help them to feel safe. Just make sure that you discipline as gently and compassionately as possible.
Me-time and toddlers just don’t mix well. It’s much better to aim for family time with a few snippets of time alone to top up your emotional well-being tank whenever you can snatch them.
Couple time when you’re skiing with toddlers is not a particularly realistic aim. Toddlers need time to build bonds with new caregivers and the standard one or two-week skiing holiday really doesn’t afford that time. Instead, it’s more realistic to plan time alone for just one parent and take shifts, while the other cares for the toddler.
Skiing with young children, as with any type of holiday, can be made much easier if you have more family members around, such as grandparents or aunts and uncles that your toddler is familiar with. If you’re able to plan a trip with your extended family, the opportunities for me-time will grow and can lead to a much more relaxing experience overall.
It’s often not a case of “if”, but “when” your toddler might have a tantrum whilst you’re on holiday. You can prepare with these three steps.
Holidays, especially ones that don’t go as planned– are a common environment for fraught relationships and fights. When it all gets a bit much, you might find yourself spiralling towards a tantrum as well.
However, holidays are a great time to get into new habits. Downloading a mindfulness app, or a “how to handle stress” book to take with you can pay dividends because ultimately, you’re the one with all the power to change and enjoy the holiday as much as possible!
Also, remember to be patient with yourself and remember that you’re only human. If you need a minute to yourself in order to calm down and avoid an argument or explosion, take it. Skiing with toddlers can be a wonderful experience, but it can also feel like a logistical nightmare, so cut yourself some slack to make it happen!
Holidays are too expensive and precious to spend stressed out and tired. Going skiing with toddlers can be a wonderful experience, and proper preparation is one of the best ways to ensure this.
Oliver Bell, one of our co-founders and father of two young girls, commented: “New places, new travel, new food, new weather, new bed, new everything. Kids’ essential daily routine is thrown out of the spanner when you go away. They won’t sleep, they’re irritable, they won’t eat and they will definitely not listen. Coming up with tips, ideas and setting your expectations realistically will definitely help everyone have as smooth a holiday as possible.”
Are you looking for the perfect place to stay on a ski holiday with a toddler? Take a look at our collection of luxury family-friendly ski chalets, which offer the perfect base for a family with young children who need space to play and relax when they’re not out on the slopes.
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