Okay, we've been there.
You and your spouse love to ski, your kids have started linking turns and pow, the snowboard bug bites.
If you're like me, your reaction is to agree to snowboarding once they are really good skiers.
But, truth is, if your child wants to snowboard, do everything to make it happen NOW.
Your child will win, you will win and the family will win.
Why? Well, first of all, your primary goal is to have great family times and share a love of winter and mountains.
Right? You can do that with skiing and snowboarding.
You want your kids to WANT to keep coming up with you.
You want your kids to be active outside and not sit around with video games or spend weekends at the mall.
You want to smooch those bright red cheeks.
And, you enjoy watching them gain the confidence and skill to leave you at the top.
Here's the deal: if the kids are allowed to do what they love, be it ski or snowboard, they will enjoy the outings, love the snow, still hang with you now (they do run out of money) and then and still have very bright red cheeks.
Yes, giving them pointers on how to ride if you don't snowboard is tough, but the goal here is fun and quality family time.
By forcing them to continue to ski when they don't want to or are doing it just to please you, you are building resentment, when you want to build joy and bonds.
Skiing and snowboarding have very few skills in common, except an understanding of goggle lenses and foot warmers.
So skiing longer won't make them better snowboarders.
Set them free and let them ride.
Be the family who skis and snowboards.
They will love you even more.