Any body have any tips on what type of water skis to get for my nephew? He is turning 2 the end of this month, and I am looking into getting him hooked Wink It looks like you have three options. 1. uni-skis: Big horseshoe type thing with two bindings 2. Old school rope between the skis 3. New style bar between the skis. If any one has any experience with young children and any types of skis, let me know.
Can't speak for the all in one U shaped things, but I can speak for the trainers. We tried the simple wood ones and also bought a pair of O'Brien wake star trainers. The O'Briens are really nice. A bit wider and tied together with a short rope. My daughter started on the boom when she was 3. The middle daughter tried once last summer at 2.5 yrs old and it did not work. She has now had another 6 months of swimming lessons and it seems her comfort level is now where the older daughter was when she got the hang of it. It seems like there is no chance unless they are comfortable with a life jacket on in the water by themselves. Our O'Briens look like they've been through a war because she has used them for 3 summers and they've helped out about 100 other kids in our learn to skis over the last 3 summers. They have held up really well and other than scratches they look like they'll last alot longer. They also make the All Star trainers which are the same thing but have the plastic bar instead of the rope, I have not tried those. Heh, I have 3 daughters, 6(almost 7), 3 and 18 months. I better have my dyne ready to pull swivel. The 6 year old slaloms on a Classic 60" ski and probably will start some swiveling this summer.
I've found that if they are a bit scared, it's easier to convince them to hold on if you pull them by hand towards shore. Two guys can easily pull a 60-70 lb kid fast enough to get them out of the water. That way you can have someone in the water helping hold them steady, and even help pop them out of the water if necessary, and there is no boat involved to "scare" the more timid children. On the skis with the bar, I am kind of wondering if that would be better or worse.... I don't know if they are going to take some control away by being too stiff, and possibly make it harder to ski? Any body else have experience with the different types of beginner skis?
I was hoping swvski1 would see this and comment. My grandson has the skis with the bar. It does take a little control away but they are the easiest to get up on that I have seen. We always start them out by pulling by hand. I don't try to get them up, just get them used to being pulled through the water. He got up behind the boat right away after that I think. I started her that way and then behind a little aluminum boat which was less threatening than the big boat. She started on a pair of small regular skis. jim
I have taught a lot of kids to waterski, and wakeboard. The most useful tool, a boat with a boom. That being said, if the kid really does not want to, nothing will help. Encourage the child, do not force them, they have to want to do it. One idea is to give the child a knee board, one of the older blow mold types that they can float on, just as a beach toy. Let them play with it, and when they are having fun, suggest pulling them around with a 5 foot rope handle. eventually, transistion to a boat. DO NOT USE THE STRAP UNTIL THE CHILD KNOWS HOW TO GET OUT OF IT IF THE KNEEBOARD TURNS UPSIDE DOWN! Another idea is to put them in the front of you on a large pair of double skis. Show boards, or jumpers work great for this. Make sure everything is nice when you do this. If the child is cold, they will not like it. If you can get around other kids waterskiing, that might help, also.
Like DanielC said, the most important factor in teaching a child to waterski is them wanting to do it. I hate to say it, but unless your last name is Bonifay, 2 years old sounds a tad young. As far as ski recommendations go, we have some O'Brien trainers with a removable bar. We never hooked the rope through the bar, but that is an option. For a 2 year old I would be tempted to try that U-shaped thing.
