h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having children should be no barrier to enjoying a skiing holiday, but the cost of travel, accomodation and childcare may be.

For ski-school the minimum age is generally 3 or 4, depending where you are - France is 3, Austria is 4. Also France is generally mornings only, whereas Austria is morning and afternoon.

Some resorts, e.g. St Anton last season, insist on helmets for children, in that case for 9 years old and younger.

Childcare facilities generally exclude children who are ill intil 24 hours after they last show any symptoms (e.g high temperature, rash, vomiting).

I have seen the inclusion of grandparents in the party to be successful, but I've not tried it myself.

I have been skiing in weather conditions which were too cold for any sensible exposure of babies and toddlers; they lose heat very quickly.

There are several specialist family skiing companies, they are generally good. I have seen other families have less fun with the larger travel companies who claim to offer childcare in ski resorts. Some resorts also have their own independent specialist chldcare providers.

English speaking childcare for infants is important, both for children and parents. Older children can manage communication problems and have fun learning another language.

We first went with the children before we had decided to start them at a nursery school, but we put them into nursery for a couple of days a week for six weeks, just to see how they coped and to prepare them for being looked after by strangers.

As is the case for adults learning to ski, a few sessions on a dry slope (or indoor snow if you can) makes a huge difference to the first holiday skiing in resort. You may discover by doing this with small children, that they don't enjoy it. I have only seen children not enjoying skiing if the adults around them are putting too much pressure on them, or they are genuinely too young. Relax, if they don't look like they are going to enjoy skiing, just book the childcare and not the ski-school. You will probably find that once they start to enjoy tobbogans and bum-boards that they want to have a go on skis.

After a few years of paying for (excellent) childcare and, more recently, ski-school for my children (youngest now 6), I finally went skiing with them on the last afternoon of our holiday in January this year. I had forgotten that I could ski so slowly, it was hard work, the 6 year old wasn't fully in control, but wasn't dangerous either. We skied down 1000 metres, with a chocolate stop half way, it took the whole afternoon. We all had fun. (This was Kapall to Nasserein at St Anton, so not entirely easy terrain).