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How to break kids of a nasty habit


MalibuNation

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MalibuNation

I'm having a dickens of a time getting kids from very young to upper teens to do anything but tube.

Can't seem to get any of them to try skiing or wakeboard ... had a 14 year old boy who we (me and the parents) finally talked into trying skiing ... had the skis on ... and even before we pulled him for the first time he started balling that he was scared.

I grew up fearless ... maybe it was stupidity.

Maybe after seeing me ski that's the reason they don't want anything to do with it. (Meant to put the gif here).

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Edited by MalibuNation
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My kids aren't allowed to tube until they ski. If they want to wakeboard that comes before the tubing as well. It is a house rule here. If they have friends over that don't ski at all sometimes I let them tube before they ski but if it is just us there is no tubing until you ski. If we have a limited amount of time it is ski only.

You need to start early with this rule since my kids were 5 and 6 this was the way in our house and they grew up with it.

Given gas prices I am cutting back some on the tubing as well. I told them I will drive all day if you are skiing, tricking, wakeboarding even kneeboarding but I am not dragging a tube around the lake all day at a cost of $20+ an hour.

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I'm having a dickens of a time getting kids from very young to upper teens to do anything but tube.

Can't seem to get any of them to try skiing or wakeboard ... had a 14 year old boy who we (me and the parents) finally talked into trying skiing ... had the skis on ... and even before we pulled him for the first time he started balling that he was scared.

I grew up fearless ... maybe it was stupidity.

Maybe after seeing me ski that's the reason they don't want anything to do with it. (Meant to put the gif here).

That is a tough call. I learned to ski at 12. I was a cry baby and wanted NOTHING to do with it. My Uncle sort of forced me and luckily with his clear instructions, there was little mishap other than my tears.

I now have 4 kids of my own. All of which I have NEVER forced to ski, wakeboard, kneeboard etc. I figure if they want to learn, fine, if not, then maybe I'm saving some gas in the long run.

If your problem is breaking them from the tube, at the very least, deflate it and tell them no more tubing. You're the boss. That does not mean they will try skiing or wakeboarding but at least they will have a little motivation since they can't tube.

Show them some good videos of skiers etc. Maybe that will entice their curiosity. One other thing, if they see a lot of pain or wipeouts from observing others ski etc. then maybe that is a deterrent to them wanting to learn.

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MalibuNation
I'm having a dickens of a time getting kids from very young to upper teens to do anything but tube.

Can't seem to get any of them to try skiing or wakeboard ... had a 14 year old boy who we (me and the parents) finally talked into trying skiing ... had the skis on ... and even before we pulled him for the first time he started balling that he was scared.

I grew up fearless ... maybe it was stupidity.

Maybe after seeing me ski that's the reason they don't want anything to do with it. (Meant to put the gif here).

That is a tough call. I learned to ski at 12. I was a cry baby and wanted NOTHING to do with it. My Uncle sort of forced me and luckily with his clear instructions, there was little mishap other than my tears.

I now have 4 kids of my own. All of which I have NEVER forced to ski, wakeboard, kneeboard etc. I figure if they want to learn, fine, if not, then maybe I'm saving some gas in the long run.

If your problem is breaking them from the tube, at the very least, deflate it and tell them no more tubing. You're the boss. That does not mean they will try skiing or wakeboarding but at least they will have a little motivation since they can't tube.

Show them some good videos of skiers etc. Maybe that will entice their curiosity. One other thing, if they see a lot of pain or wipeouts from observing others ski etc. then maybe that is a deterrent to them wanting to learn.

We're trying to put pressure on them ... but not too much ... you want to call them sissys ... but that's not going to help the situation - so we don't.

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I don't think it matters whether they tube, ski, or wakeboard. As long as they are having fun and enjoy being on the boat, then I am happy. Both my girls are very athletic and active and I have never pushed them to ski if they didn't want to. Most of the gas we burn in a summer is probably from pulling them in the tube.

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I'm having a dickens of a time getting kids from very young to upper teens to do anything but tube.

Can't seem to get any of them to try skiing or wakeboard ... had a 14 year old boy who we (me and the parents) finally talked into trying skiing ... had the skis on ... and even before we pulled him for the first time he started balling that he was scared.

I grew up fearless ... maybe it was stupidity.

Maybe after seeing me ski that's the reason they don't want anything to do with it. (Meant to put the gif here).

That is a tough call. I learned to ski at 12. I was a cry baby and wanted NOTHING to do with it. My Uncle sort of forced me and luckily with his clear instructions, there was little mishap other than my tears.

I now have 4 kids of my own. All of which I have NEVER forced to ski, wakeboard, kneeboard etc. I figure if they want to learn, fine, if not, then maybe I'm saving some gas in the long run.

If your problem is breaking them from the tube, at the very least, deflate it and tell them no more tubing. You're the boss. That does not mean they will try skiing or wakeboarding but at least they will have a little motivation since they can't tube.

Show them some good videos of skiers etc. Maybe that will entice their curiosity. One other thing, if they see a lot of pain or wipeouts from observing others ski etc. then maybe that is a deterrent to them wanting to learn.

We're trying to put pressure on them ... but not too much ... you want to call them sissys ... but that's not going to help the situation - so we don't.

One other thing to try is show them how much fun everyone else is having skiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding etc. Tubing takes NO SKILLS at all. ANYONE can lay on a tube and follow the boat. In the end they will get SOOO Much more satisfaction from skiing on their own feet. My oldest boy(13) had zero pressure. In one summer, he asked me to take him out. He first learned to ski on two, then kicked one off later that week, then learned to get up on Slalom and also learned to wakeboard. At the end of the summer he actually tried to barefoot off the boom. I think I was one of the proudest Fathers on the Lake that year.

I TOTALLY agree with 88skier. Get them a kneeboard. It is a great way to get over that fear of the boat pull and having to use some actual skills.

ALSO, if you have a PWC. try teaching them behind that. I have found that a lot of kids are SCARED of the BIG ole boat. A PWC is small and less intimidating.

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14 year old boy saying he was scared....easy fix just put a couple 14 year old girls in the boat and that should fix the problem.

-Chris

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I don't think it matters whether they tube, ski, or wakeboard. As long as they are having fun and enjoy being on the boat, then I am happy. Both my girls are very athletic and active and I have never pushed them to ski if they didn't want to. Most of the gas we burn in a summer is probably from pulling them in the tube.

Agree completely. Nobody is forced to do anything when in my boat other than have fun. Granted, I'd rather be pulling them on skis or a wakeboard, but if they don't feel like it, that's fine. I'm happy enough to be out with the family on the boat. Both of my kids wakeboard, but I'd also say that most of the gas I burn in a season is pulling a tube.

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I've had great luck exposing older and younger people to behind boat watersports on the kneeboards. Can do a shore start and pull them just fast enough to plane the board and let them acclimate to edging at their own pace. I think being lower to the water helps overcome the fears. IMHO

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Fun is the rule in our boat. 2 summers ago, my oldest was 3. We talked her into tubeing(With an adult), she had a nasty bounce out of the tube experience and has been scared since. Until this year. Saturday I asked her if she wanted to wakeboard with me and she said sure. We got out there, had her stand between my feet, and off we went. We went about 300 yards, she got scared and wanted to stop. We did. As soon as we settled into the water, she said, "lets do that again daddy". WIth young kids, it really needs to be their idea or you risk making them hate the boat/lake. We bought our boat as a way to spend time together as the fam. Force the kids to do what YOU want them to do will not help them enjoy the boat. If they want to tube, go for it. Plus the Bu is a pretty wicked tube puller!!!

Now for a 14 year old boy crying...I like the idea of getting some teenage girls to go along, better yet, teenage girls who can ski. No way would the crying happen in front of them. On the other hand, if all he wants to do is tube, my driving could end that pretty quickly Bash.gif

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We have the same rule in our boat however we started it about when they were about 4. The tube is only brought out at the end of the day. All the kids (2 families, 3 kids, 9,9,and 6 now) are doing great surfing and wakeboarding. Yesterday we did not even get the tube out - 4.5 hours (short day) on the boat wakeboarding and surfing.

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14 year old boy saying he was scared....easy fix just put a couple 14 year old girls in the boat and that should fix the problem.

-Chris

Yah, that will do it. You have to get them started when they are younger. I started to ski when I was 8, then moved the the wakeboard and then started slaloming. I guess you could try bribing them, I can remeber my parents saying they would get me a game boy game if I skied for a certain amount of time. But then I was 8 and not 14.Now at 16 I would never dream of tubing. I even have to tell friends before bringing them down that we don't tube and you will need to try wakeboarding or skiing.

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Bring his friends some friendly competition is a great way which leads to peer pressure with positive results. We just had our 3yo up on skis, okay proud dad moment, he was excited then scare then excited…lol We just made him do it and given he’s pretty outgoing and fearless we didn’t let him back out of it. That in itself is perhaps the best day I’ve ever had, oh and the sweet victory that he skied before he wakeboarded… :)

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I have the same thoughts as Malibudude. Let each kid bring a friend, but unfortunately there won't be any room for the tube. Ask their friend if they want to learn to ski? (guests first of course!!). Hopefully they bite, and then your kids will want to learn. This shows them also you are able to teach someone to ski.

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Wow, judging from all the crazy stuff my brother & I did at 14, I can't imagine being scared of skiing.

I've had good luck taking young kids with me on lap while riding my SkySki. At some point their a bit big for it, so it only works for younger kids. After a couple of rides, their usually pretty eager to try it by themselves. The record for the youngest is 2.5 yrs old. My personal best (as a coach) was about 6 yrs old.

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MalibuNation

Appreciate all the advise or is it advice ... you know after pulling them on a tube for a long time and stopping ... they go, "why are you stopping we're not through". I say it's time for someone else to be towed.

Fun is the number one rule in my boat ... I just want kids to branch out a little bit. Thanks

Edited by MalibuNation
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My son wanted nothing to do with wakeboarding, kneeboarding and would only sit in the tube going 5mph at the age of 10. Slowly worked him up to 20mph on the tube, then put him on the kneeboard at 5mph the next yr and worked him up to 20 by the end of that yr. Now he's 12 and just go up on the surfboard for the first time this weekend and was feeling good about it enough to go one handed.

Now for the big kids (Adults) not wanting to let go of the rope when surfing. All I do is get them to figure out how to use the gas and brake, then when they are right in the pocket I'll start tugging on the rope telling them I want it, untell they drop the handle. Clap.gif Will have Video of the big dude surfing rope less soon. Thumbup.gif

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I like the no tubes until you ski rule. My brother and I used to tube behind our old boat a fair bit. It was a high performance outboard. To break us of tubing, every time my dad would take us out, he'd trim up the motor and blast us with a rooster tail at about 55 MPH. Didn't matter if we'd ask him to or not, he'd do it. It stung just enough to take the fun out of it. I quit tubing and the problem stopped. Now we only break the things out if the water is completely trashed by other hosers pulling tubes, and I'm usually driving.

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14 year old boy saying he was scared....easy fix just put a couple 14 year old girls in the boat and that should fix the problem.

-Chris

Peer pressure does work wonders. Try to find a couple of kids around your kids ages that are skiing. I didn't have to force my kids to ski they were interested in doing it. Once one learned the other one wanted to. When my oldest learned to drop a ski my son (younger) was all about learning to ski on one.

There is nothing to be afraid about learning to ski. Particularly for kids it isn't that hard and it is a lot of fun.

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14 year old boy saying he was scared....easy fix just put a couple 14 year old girls in the boat and that should fix the problem.

-Chris

Especially if either of the 14 year old girls is gung ho to try anything other than tubing. This is the 100%-guaranteed-to-work fix for your problem. :) I can't tell you how many times I've seen it work over the years, & it always works without fail.

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Bring his friends some friendly competition is a great way which leads to peer pressure with positive results. We just had our 3yo up on skis, okay proud dad moment, he was excited then scare then excited…lol We just made him do it and given he’s pretty outgoing and fearless we didn’t let him back out of it. That in itself is perhaps the best day I’ve ever had, oh and the sweet victory that he skied before he wakeboarded:)

Child abuse, pure and simple.

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Bring his friends some friendly competition is a great way which leads to peer pressure with positive results. We just had our 3yo up on skis, okay proud dad moment, he was excited then scare then excited…lol We just made him do it and given he’s pretty outgoing and fearless we didn’t let him back out of it. That in itself is perhaps the best day I’ve ever had, oh and the sweet victory that he skied before he wakeboarded:)

Child abuse, pure and simple.

Do we need to call Child Protection Services? Whistling.gif

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