Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Thoughts on 3.5 year-old wakeboarding


RoverOn

Recommended Posts

Our daughter will be 3.5 this summer and loves the boat.

She is in swim class, good in the water, loves to wear her vest, will watch wakeboarding on TV and tubed with her mom last year.

So the question is....should I have her try to board this summer or wait a while?

Are there boards that small and where can I get them?

Or would I be better with one of the trainer ski things?

Thanks

Dave

Link to comment

We started our kids off at 5 with the trainer skis which worked very well. It seems like there are more starter options with skis. We used the trainers that were tied together which helped them keep the skis straight in the water. It was a couple years later when we introduced the wakeboard. We started with a small board with sandle bindings. I'm not sure if you can even get them anymore.

Link to comment
Our daughter will be 3.5 this summer and loves the boat.

She is in swim class, good in the water, loves to wear her vest, will watch wakeboarding on TV and tubed with her mom last year.

So the question is....should I have her try to board this summer or wait a while?

Are there boards that small and where can I get them?

Or would I be better with one of the trainer ski things?

Thanks

Dave

Get her use to being behind the boat on the trainer ski thing first you can hand feed the trainer off of the platform going slow by hand and be right there with her

Link to comment

Ditto on the ski thing. I rigged up the tied together skiis coming off of the boom so that I could control them from the drivers seat with a rope. My girls were 2 and 3 when they started. After they got cumfy they moved to longline. That system sure seemed to work well for ease and comfort. Yahoo.gifYahoo.gifYahoo.gif

Link to comment

I'm in almost exactly the same boat as you.

My 3.5 yr old starting tubing with mom and his brothers last year and I'm debating letting him try skiing this summer if he wants to.

One thing we did with him late last summer that he loved... we'd take the trainer skis that are tied together and have the rope attached to the skis with the handle that he could hold onto and we would pull him by hand in shallow water. I was surprised at how easy it was to keep him up on the water at pretty much a fast walking speed.

Having said that... if he wants to ski this year, I will put him in the swing on the boom and, if he does really well, use the 5 foot section off the boom. I just don't feel comfortable with a kid that young back behind the boat yet.

Mike

Edited by mlange
Link to comment

I don't know if this answers you question but.....

It's not your decision, it's the kids. If you start before they want to, they won't like it and ultimately will reduce your ski time later.

As for how to start once they show interest. We did the ski trainers from the swim deck and slowly let out line and he loved that. My son is 5

Link to comment
I don't know if this answers you question but.....

It's not your decision, it's the kids. If you start before they want to, they won't like it and ultimately will reduce your ski time later.

As for how to start once they show interest. We did the ski trainers from the swim deck and slowly let out line and he loved that. My son is 5

Good point...but at this point it is my decision...cause she is ready...

She already pretends to wakeboard in the driveway on her kickboard using my surf rope.

I'm just not sure that I am ready for her to try Shocking.gif

I'm thinking the trainer in the shallow water without the boat would be a great start....

Link to comment

We were in the same spot as you last year with 3.5 & 5 year old girls. We bought a ski skimmer to start them out on and it has been great. The first thing we did with them is took them out to the pond and pulled them by hand so they could get the feel for it. Did this a few times then one day when we were loading up the boat Rachel our 3.5 yr old asked if see could ski today. We started her off the swim platform and just keep her close maybe a 1' outside of the boat and back 2' . Getting them outside of the boat helps with getting them out of the exhaust and gets them into clean water and you can go slower. Keeping her right next to the boat was important till see got used to it. Also telling them to keep there eyes up and don't look down at the water was a big help. It took till the 3rd time out that Allyson our 5yr old decided that her little sister had showed her up enough and tried it to. By the end of summer Rachel was doing deep water starts and Allyson was still starting of off the platform. We would use about 40' foot of rope and go 6-8 mph. My 2 girls were perfect examples of some kids are ready sooner then others just let them progress at there own speed and everything will be good.

Link to comment

Trainer skis (not a skimmer) or a small kids wakeboard will work with a boom. I've had multiple kids up on either by using the boom. We've always got a swarm of kids and the younger ones always want to do what the older ones are doing. One of my neices used to be able to stand and ski on the trainers with the boat at idle speed. The most reassuring part for the kids with this setup is that Mom and Dad are less than a foot away. With the little bitty ones, we usually had them on the boom right beside the boat, not out where they were supposed to be. We just let them take baby steps until we eventually get them behind the boat. Works like a charm. Then, after the kids are finished, the adults can always foot off the boom!

Link to comment

we did the same as TMCB did with our daughters. you can sit on the back of the boat, feet on the platform, and literally pay out the child from the platform, like flying a kite. they never even have to get wet. it gives them great confidence.

Link to comment
we did the same as TMCB did with our daughters. you can sit on the back of the boat, feet on the platform, and literally pay out the child from the platform, like flying a kite. they never even have to get wet. it gives them great confidence.

Forgot about the part about not getting wet that was nice when the water was still chilly.

Link to comment

My daughter is now 3.3 years old. Last summer we had her tubbing with mom or another adult and standing on the ski skimmer on the back of the platform just about ready to slide off while the boat was idleing. We will see what this summer holds. I don't wan't to push her and make hate the boat and skiing.

Link to comment

Good advice from all..

We used the trainer ski method on all 4 of our kids. Each started when they were 4. However all kids have different learning/courage curves.

One was very eager to get started but once up decided that since he could do it he would take a year off. (All the questions about how big the fish were in the lake was the clue to the reason why.) He is now working on wake to wake jumps and comments on how much air he is getting. He also wake skates and has tried deep water slalom starts. My kid the tea bag...

His younger sister just kept on going and last summer at age 9 was working on dropping a ski.

The two younger ones are progressing on the trainers.

Link to comment

I have a 6 & 7 year old that used the skimmer for a couple of years before transitioning to skiing behind the boat this year. I don't have a boom so we didn't go that route.

With the skimmer we just stood the kids on it and pulled it right off the beach. When the kids were 5 & 6 they were crossing the wake and bounding around on the skimmer. but weren't really ready to ski.

This past summer after they were getting bored on the skimmer I put them on the kneeboard to get them used to holding the rope. When we put them in the water on skis it only took a couple of tries for each of them to get up and ski away.

You need to wait until the kids are sure they are ready. I don't have a boom so we also had to deal with them being comfortable being behind the boat.

Link to comment

<------ That's my 5 year old wakeboarding this past summer.

She started the summer on the ski trainers that are tied together while mom holds the rope in the boat. (that is a cool way to learn that I wish they had when I was a kid). She progressed quickly, (can you tell I am biased?), and by the end of the summer was on regular skis and trying to drop a ski like mom does.... Surprised.gif

Toward the end of the summer we got her a kids, small wakeboard at the local sporting goods store and she used it a few times, but still preferred skiing since she had mastered already and wakeboarding was different in how she had to learn to stand sideways instead of straight away. It also seemed harder for her to get on her toes to to turn back toward the wake ts.

We had equipment issues as she learned how to ski behind a pontoon which has very little wake compared to the VLX. She took a couple of spills going over the VLX wake and did not like that so we went back to the pontoon. (that wake looks as tall as she is when she is skiing next to it, so I can understand how it would be intimidating...)

I will agree with the posts above that your daughter or son has to want to do it and like it for it to be enjoyable for all. The way Kaylee got interested was to watch mom and dad having fun skiing and boarding and got tired of waiting for her turn to tube so she gave it a try. Then, whenever she had friends come to the lake I would teach them to ski (if they wanted to learn) and she would show her skills to make them comfortable (or show off, not sure which). ;)

So, my reco would be start with skiis which is easier to learn and then progress to the board. If she likes skiing she will ask to get on the board in no time.

No matter what, she will have fun and most likely be a better skiier than you are by the time she is 10. :Doh:

Mook

Edited by mook222
Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

I'm hoping to get my 5 year old son behind the boat this summer, but I'm not going to froce it becasue he doesn't like getting his face wet, so only time will tell!

Link to comment

One of our daughters had the face wet issue :unsure: until she saw her siblings jumping off rocks and having a blast.

Fun got in the way of fear and fear never recovered. Thumbup.gif

Link to comment

RoverON -

She is so ready... Go get her that Baby LF gear they make for the tikes and get it started. Make sure you video it as she's going to have a life-long adventure on the lakes and this is a big step!

She's so light that you need not do much to get her on top of the water, she'll likely stand up and float on the board alone. Just have D trolly along with you on the trunk holding a 5-10ft rope in the the shallow water - be ready to jump off and grab her, regardless of how easy the fall is when she goes down; it'll make her feel safer and comfortable. She'll be up and doing it in no time. FILM IT!

Link to comment

I was bribed into going skiing when I was 4 with a nija turtle popsicle. If you let your kids skit, remeber to tell them to let go of the rope when the fall, or you will have one unhappy camper Cry.gif But if they want to try it, more power to them!

Link to comment

Hey...this ski trainer thing everyone keeps talking about...anyone have one they want to sell to help my 5 year old learn?

Or...can someone link me to exactly what they're talking about somewhere? I would like to buy one and have it ready to go for this summer, I just don't want to buy the wrong thing!

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...