This is how your children stay safe during winter sports
Winter sports are a fun activity to do with the entire family throughout this time of the year. Nevertheless, sports such as skiing, ice skating, or snowboarding can be extremely dangerous. To minimize accidents, we will give you some useful tips to have a fun time in the snow while staying safe.
1. Good preparation is key
It does not matter if it is the first winter holiday with the entire family or not. Good preparation, in any case, is always the key. Before starting a skiing holiday, make sure every member of the family is in the right physical condition. Winter sports can be difficult and require a lot of physical interactions. Therefore, not only adults but also children need to be in the right condition to take part in winter sports.
If it is the first time for your child to step into skiing boots, we can highly recommend you to first visit an indoor skiing place before attending a winter holiday. In the indoor skiing place, children can not only try their first rounds on the ski slope, but they can also get comfortable and confident with their ski boots, which is an important aspect.
Furthermore, enroll your child in a ski school. Professionals know how to teach children the right way and children do listen more to instructors than they do to their own parents. Therefore, do not try to instruct your child yourself. Let a professional instructor instruct your child!
2. Invest in the right equipment
The basic of staying safe is to wear the right equipment. If you are not wearing the right equipment or the equipment is not suitable for your size and height, the chances of you getting injured while falling is extremely high. But by equipment, we do not only mean the clothes. Also, the snowboard, skis, shoes, ski sticks and helmet should be fit correctly to each individual.
Get the right equipment in a professional skiing store, where the employees can select the right equipment for you and your child.
To prevent head injuries, it is not only necessary to invest in a helmet that fits the head shape perfectly, but it also must suit the winter sport you and your child are going to participate in. A bike helmet is not safe to wear for skiing or snowboarding.
3. Safety on the slopes
If it is your first winter holiday, take things slow and do not overdo anything. Especially for children, new environments can get very overwhelming, and skiing can make children extremely tired as a beginner. This results in a lack of concentration which can result in injuries. Therefore, it is recommended to take things easy so everyone in the family can adjust.
Make sure your child is always drinking and eating enough to balance out the exhaustion of skiing.
Lastly, make sure your child knows how to handle a fall as often children try to avoid a fall which can turn out in bad injuries.
4. Most common injuries
The injuries of a person skiing, or snowboarding can differ from each other. Most ski injuries involve the knees or the lower legs, whereas snowboarders more tend to injure their shoulders or wrist. Nevertheless, both skiers and snowboarders are at risk of a head injury. Therefore, they must wear the right helmet suitable for their individual head shape and size.
The risk of injury changes based on the age of the child. Younger children under the age of 13 are more likely to break their bones as their bones are still developing.
It is important to know that also the condition of the snow can increase the risk of getting injured. Hard snow and ice increase speed and the likelihood of a serious fall. Powder and heavy snow can make skiers’ legs twist which increases the risk of a knee injury.
If you are considering these key tips, you will minimize the risk of getting severely injured. So now it is up to you, buy the right equipment, prepare well, and enjoy your winter sports together with your family! Stay safe!
Looking for more safety tips during winter? Also read our article with how your children stay safe on a frozen lake.