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SALT LAKE CITY -- The snow is starting to hit Utah's mountains and skiers and snowboarders are getting excited to hit the slopes soon.
Some may want to pass their love along to their young kids. But can parents start them out too young?
Snowbird ski school instructor Maggie Loring doesn't think so. But she says, "It depends on the family experience and what the expectation is ... expectations have to be in line with what they can actually do."
At the ski school, they take kids as young as age three as long as they are potty trained. But Loring says you can start earlier by playing with your kids in the snow at your own home.
"If you can find equipment that fits, get them to play outside and walk in the skis," she says.
Loring says it's easy for kids to learn how to ski first because it is like walking. She says you should do familiar things with kids while they learn, like singing songs, so that they can feel comfortable.
But, she says, pay close attention. "As soon as they are not having fun anymore, it's OK to go in," she says.
E-mail:cwall@ksl.com