When we announced that we were off skiing last April, most people thought we
were nuts. Not because the snow was a bit thin on the ground, but because
our second son, Arthur, was only a few weeks old.
Skiing with a baby? Utter madness – is the general consensus. But never having
been ones to allow parenthood to get in the way of going on holiday, my
husband, David, and I decided to put this social no-no to the test.
We had been skiing twice before with our eldest son, Freddie, when he was 14
months and 16 months, but we did regretfully give the annual ski holiday a
miss during his first year. Both holidays went extremely well – Arthur was
conceived on the second one – so we thought, what the hell, we’ll carry on
as usual this year too.
And thank goodness we decided to take the plunge because, if you get it right,
a ski holiday can be exactly what you need when you have recently been
smacked in the face with the reality of life with more than one child.
Sitting on the balcony of our luxury chalet, babies asleep downstairs, looking
towards the sunset behind the snow-peaked mountains whilst sipping a kir
royale and nibbling on a smoked salmon blini, I suddenly realised that it
was all going to be okay.
In fact, it’s not surprising that it took a ski holiday in a catered chalet to
step back and relax. After all, what could be more convenient than putting
the children to bed, switching on the baby monitor and going upstairs for a
delicious supper prepared by a professional chef, accompanied by good wine
which you haven’t even had to remember to stumble out of the house to buy?
I am definitely not one for sticking my children into full-time childcare when
on holiday, so we compromised with two days in the crèche for Freddie plus
two afternoons with a nanny for both boys. The rest of the time, David and I
took it in turns to look after the boys while the other went off skiing.
HERE'S HOW IT WENT.
We Take Arthur Up Chairlift To Mountain Restaurant.
Some responses we got:
- Quantity surveyor from Glasgow on holiday with his wife: “You’re brave! Har
har!”
- French waiter, sternly: “Did you come up on foot?” (Is he mad?) I explain
that we have come up very safely on the chairlift, thank you very much, as
my husband kept Arthur strapped to him with a baby sling. Safety,
apparently, is not the issue here. Indicating his ears – a common theme
among the locals, we discover as the week wears on – the waiter proclaims:
“Is not good!” I say I think Arthur’s ears are fine. He shoots back at me:
“How do you know ‘e is fine? Can ‘e speak?”. Toss of head, stalks off into
distance.
Having spent time suffering on a plane with young children (2 and 4) brought by the family in the row behind me, I would never be so selfish as to inflict all that screaming and crying on the other passengers - how inconsiderate of you to force the rest of the plane's occupants to sit through all that unnecessary noise/kicking of seats/etc, let alone the distress for the kids themselves, just so you can ski.
A perfect example of how not to do it!
Bob, london, uk
Aaah, isn't life easy when you have money.
SJ London
sarah-jane, london,
Caitlin. Absolutely I agreed with the article. I perhaps should have made it clear that my comment on skiing with a baby strapped to you was referring to another readers comment (Fiona). I just wanted to highlight how dangerous it could be. I understand that the article was in no way advocating skiing with a baby or toddler strapped to you. Adrian
Adrian Johnson, London, UK
Adrian, the writer doesn't advocate skiing with the baby strapped to your front - that was only for the chair lift ride and presumably they took the chair lift back down the mountain as well.
The tips on the third page say this:
" do not even consider trying to ski with your baby strapped to you. This is seriously dangerous: he will get extremely cold – hypothermia is a real risk - and you probably will damage his ears if you go too high too quickly."
So it sounds like you are in agreement after all.
Caitlin, London,
I heard a story about a family in Europe that skiied with their baby on a backpack and its legs were frozen and had to be ampuated. This could be an urban myth but still - pretty scary if true.
Emma, Singapore,
You need your brains dusting! Talk about self absorbed. A child is not a trendy accessory
Marc, London,
I think the catered chalet and good professional childcare are a great idea so that you can continue to enjoy the mountains and gently introduce you children to similar joys. However skiing with a baby strapped to you in a front sling or a sturdy backpack is irresponsible and dangerous. It doesn't matter how good a skiier you are, we all make mistakes, and babies are simply not robust enough to withstand 70 to 85Kg falling on them. An even more dangerous risk is the other skiiers and boarders, particulalry as noone seems to pay any attention to the rules of the slopes. You can't account for out of control beginners or inappropriate speed and line of the more careless skiiers out there. Take them sledging away from the slopes and introduce them to skiing when they are on their own two feet in a controlled area. I have seen an increase in babies on the slopes of late and I think it needs to be outlawed for the safety of the babies.
Adrian Johnson, London, UK
We spent out sons first Christmas day skiing with him, 8 weeks old strapped to my husbands chest. It was a wonderful family day although I did check every 10 minutes tocheck he was still breathing since the ski patrol had warned us of a baby death earlier in the year. The only downer? Over lunch, a rude teenager at the next table commented how sad we were to bring a baby skiing...but you cannot account for poor manners in any walk in life and if she is ever lucky enough to be a mother I hope she will learn to experience what is a great family holiday, baby et al
fiona agnew, Buenos Aires,
I think this was fun for the family! The couple could have just left the children behind but being very conscientious parents they decide to pack a whole lot and bring everyone out to enjoy the break. Eating dinner where the children are, taking turns in watching the children , hiring a trusted nanny on occasions are really measures of good planning and selfless love for the young ones!!! All had fun! In fact, the parents even share advice to readers who might want to go on the same trek!!! God bless your family!!!
Ani Torre, Quezon City, Philippines
Each to their own - I can't help but think this sounds a bit reckless. I have a 14 week old and it took me three weeks to go around all the creches/nurseries to find one that I feel comfortable leaving my child in - for when he will be six months old in January. I could not take pot luck on a creche abroad - especially with a newborn who I'd barely got to know, and they change by the day at that stage.
I don't dispute the logistics are do-able - I know a lot of things are possible with a newborn (they are robust little things), but just because you can, doesn't mean you must (notice I don't say "should" - I wouldn't tell someone else what to do with their child). I just regret even doing the family rounds in the first couple of months. I should have switched off the phone, taken time to properly recouperate at home and let the world come to me!
Bella T, Smethwick,