Snowboarding Under 2 - KidsCanRide.com

There is absolutely no reason why a very young child can really enjoy sliding about on a snowboard and therefore can begin to take their first ‘steps’ at snowboarding under 2. That said, snowboarding with under 2’s is not for everyone and the reality of riding at this age is that it’s really just an extension of sledging.

Some kids may love it and you may struggle to even get boots on others!

You will not need an instructor so it will be up to you to introduce your little one to sideways sliding. Remember, to kids, at this age it’s just another way to play, not a ‘sporting experience’!

Keep it fun and if they’re sliding and smiling you’re doing something right!

What to Expect…

Don’t expect to be on the slopes for a long time!

Don’t expect any edge control or ability to be autonomous but, hopefully, expect lots of fun, smiles and good positive memories of being in the snow.

Expect to have trouble finding small enough snowboard equipment!

Expect a cuteness/proud parent overload ;)

The general rule is the younger the child the shorter the session, you’re just building positive links with being in the snow.

General Guidelines

Snowboarding at this age should be a fun introduction, little tasters to get them stoked on being on snow.

The general rule is the younger the child the shorter the session, you’re just building positive links with being in the snow.

Don’t plan a huge itinerary of riding with your little one, don’t plan a trip expecting them to ride every day or even more than once – treat every session with them as a bonus, they may be keen to have a little go everyday or they may point blank refuse! Don’t force them or push them – follow their lead and hopefully they’ll want to have a go more than once.

Bring food/snacks/drinks! Kids need their engines stokeing and a little snack & a drink will prolong your time on the snow with them whether they’re snowboarding, sledging or just playing.

Bring a sledge or a bum-board. Having a sledge will break up any riding sessions you have and are great fun. They also get kids used to snow and sliding down a mountain. Plus they double as a useful means of transporting kids and equipment around resorts!

How to – Practical advice and Tips

Pre-snow

Get them used to the equipment if you can and if they want to:

Try on a snowboard, boots & bindings and even helmet & goggles
Practice strapping them in and letting them stand on the board
Even pull them around the carpet!

First Time on Snow

Choose a very easy, quiet, safe slope with a very gentle incline. This doesn’t have to be a designated ‘beginner area’ at first, infact it’s probably better if it’s not. Anywhere quiet, snowy (don’t even try if it’s icy by the way!) with a low gradient.
It’s great if you have access to a slope with a travelator – brilliant fun for the kids and less exhausting for Mum & Dad!
They won’t really have any technique – it’ll just be stand up sledging/gliding on the flat of the board. A harness or riglet reel maybe be helpful – if only to give you peace of mind in keeping them upright! (you can also pull them around a snowy resort!)
At first keep a hold of them, letting them feel the sensation of sliding on the snow safely. Then you can try letting them glide a short distance between two adults (one pointing them in the right direction, one to catch!).
Check out our Videos section for tutorials and clips of under twos riding…

Balance & First techniques

pull them along (eg Riglet ) on the flat of the board
sliding on the flat of the board between parents
skating one-footed is not recommended yet!
even try asking them to point and look where they are going to help balance

Practical advice for lifts:

ie. Chairlifts, Button lifts, T bars, cable cars, travelators.
Travelators are great fun for little ones even if you go up and walk or sledge down!
Take a cable car or chairlift if it gets you to an easy slope or for a bit of sightseeing!
Use your judgement on what slopes work for you and your kids.

Equipment Advice

With a child under 2 you will need to use the smallest equipment snowboard manufacturers currently make! Which finding is a challenge in itself!

Ideally an 80 cm board with extra small bindings (Currently only Burton and Flow do boards this small, however other manufacturers make similar only slightly bigger boards too – check out our Equipment Guide for more Info)

Currently, the smallest snowboard boots available are a size UK11 however, if the rumours are correct, Burton are due to be bringing out boots as small as a UK8 for the 2014/15 season. If you are unable to find any that small, I have heard of parents using lots of inner soles and extra socks in bigger boots and also of some using stiff snow boots – neither of which is ideal, but as kids snowboard boots are fairly soft anyway and they aren’t going to really using edge control for the sort of basic riding they’ll be doing at this age it should be fine – but use your judgement on this.