I have a two 9 year old and an 8 year old i want to introduce to the sport this season.
I had them playing with a two line training kite late last season and have just brought 2.5 Ozone leading edge kite.
I am very interested in what anyone else whos taught their kids had encountered and any advise or appropriate training DVDs you used.
Thanks

The lion the witch and the wardrobe

Kids!? Mate if you can teach them anything outside ipads, xbox or ipods then you are probably the best teacher in the world and should be given a medal!

Don't have any kids (at least not that I'm aware of ) but have taught a few young one over the years. My biggest advice: get short lines, especially if you intend to do any beach flying. The 2.5 uno will need a bare minimum of 18 knots to fly well, preferably 20 or a bit more. With the 4m Uno you could fly down to around 13-14 knots without much difficulty.

Just buy a set of Ozone 5m line extensions and replace your lines with those. You'd be surprised how well it flies (above 18 knots). very zippy but will greatly improve finesse and flying skills will be much better once moving to long lines and bigger kites. But more importantly, very short lines are unbelievably safe as it's hard to accelerate the kite through the power zone and you cause of a lot less interference with other kiters around. It also makes launching and landing a lot safer.

Only transfer to long lines once they are confident and safe, no bad habits, no death grips, over steering, etc. and once they react appropriately to a stalling kite: you will notice small kites stall a lot easier, obviously more so in lower winds.

In my teaching experience, kids have a very short attention span and going through theory can be challenging, even with videos. Just introduce the theory progressively in a practical way as they are experimenting with the equipment and flying. You can always try making them watch the beginner progression DVD. It's starting to date but still the best there is ATM.

Once they get a bit older, (12 years + ) getting a professional lesson to learn independence in deep water and self-rescue would be great investment for your peace of mind

Christian

My little guy had his first intro on Sunday next year the trainer kite

Wheels along the same theme as cubulato, my 7 yr old uses the 4m uno and I have a junior epic bar, small chicken loop, 15m lines. Also as the cube said he's only just now getting over the death grip and stalling the kite, but still not ready for the longer lines. I have an ozone bar in wait.

And again as the big cube said, soon I will be taking him to get independant lessons for deep water safety etc...not that I won't go through that with him, but like all father son relationships (even now) we have our 'moments'. I reckon he will learn the important stuff better off someone else. He also swims with an advanced swimming squad, surfs (in the local board riders club and with me) and does triathlons...as I want him to be the strongest swimmer possible And Have good water sense.

Take your time and make it fun, hes been on a kite of some sort since he was 4, but I tried to go too fast too soon and put him off for a while. He's only just starting to get back at it after a year or so. As I said father son moments and repeat make it fun!

Dont bother with a small conventional kite, it's gotta be light to fly in the winds you want to fly it in. Been down that rode. Get a specialised kite like the one strut Uno, light.

Serves as a wind break so he can plug away at his iPad as well....youth of today!!!

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wheels said..
I have a two 9 year old and an 8 year old i want to introduce to the sport this season.
I had them playing with a two line training kite late last season and have just brought 2.5 Ozone leading edge kite.
I am very interested in what anyone else whos taught their kids had encountered and any advise or appropriate training DVDs you used.
Thanks

... keeping it fun but safe is the most challenging part, and like mentioned above, they can loose interest very quickly (especially if they get scared) so you got to pepper the learning with lots of fun stuff (fun for them). Make sure they want to do it for themselves and not just making you happy because you want them to do it.

You as a parent can see when they switch off and despite repeating yourself, nothing will go in so that's when you do something fun,,,, like go for a body drag or something. It also means you'll be giving up your valuable kiting time,,,,,,,,but soooooo worth it when one day you see them kicking your a$$ pulling better moves than you'll ever manage with their first flicky flicky handle pass thingy!!

The moment they get scared, like anybody, logical thought is out the window and you may loose them, as in, they don't want to do it again, especially if it scares them off. So even though you may do all the safety stuff, and they can repeat it verbatim to you,,, when it comes to crunch time, if it isn't in the muscle memory then its not going to work. Early in the piece, I used to drive my son to school and every morning I would spot check him by saying "punch out" and he would have to do it, without thinking! Repeating the same thing 3 different ways to see if they understand and of course explain why this or that happens when you do stuff,,,,, knowing why is important.

Every step was repeated and repeated until they knew it inside out and you progressed to the next bit whether it is self launching, to self rescue, or even self landing a kite,,,, and of course with punching out drills done constantly. If a step isn't done correctly then its repeated until its perfect. I know its hard to do so will take time but that's where your patience comes in and your kids safety is paramount.

Kids often don't know terminology so be prepared to explain the simplest thing over and over different ways, terms we take for-granted. For example, I said, "walk up wind with the bar" and my son said, "what's upwind". Ummmmm,,,,,,eventually he got it when I explained its like walking up hill and the slope is like the wind holding you back,,,, downwind is like going down the hill,,,, blah blah,,,, you get the idea.

Your patience is the key.

They will learn fast so long as they are having fun and of course your having fun too.

cheers and good luck, well worth the effort,

Robbie

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wheels said..
I have a two 9 year old and an 8 year old i want to introduce to the sport this season.
I had them playing with a two line training kite late last season and have just brought 2.5 Ozone leading edge kite.
I am very interested in what anyone else whos taught their kids had encountered and any advise or appropriate training DVDs you used.
Thanks

Where you at Wheels, there are a bunch of groms that kite the Pond Safety Bay every windy day you could get some good tips from these guys as they have all done the hard yards which included countless hours attached the their dads, my 8 year old now kites better than most out there and my six year old is now flying an inflatable. Both started on Ozone Imp and then progressed to Uno's now on Reo's, the hardest thing is to find an appropriate harness and bar due to throw and stiff safety, send me a message if you would like to catch up and see what we are doing.



cheers

Some good advice here.
Mine started a few years ago, maybe 10 12 and 13, self taught mostly, started on trainer kite for a couple of months. then learnt on the Fuel and are still riding fuels both flicky handle pass stuff and in the waves. Get them into it if they want, its extremely rewarding kiting with your kids and your mates, happy days. THe only advice id give is to make them aware of the danger of risk taking in shallow water, have respect for other users, and the need for the kite to be flying at all times.

Captain grumpy pants.

yeh its hard getting the small gear of a grom.
When james was learning at 10 we got a girls harness(6 years ago).
We had a small ply board made with no fins(best way for them to learn to use the rail).It was awesome in shallow water. We had a 3m kite but it was too small. I got a 5m vegas and it was great.
My bro shortened the bar and the north depower allows you to shorten the throw for little arms.I notice there is a lot more from gear out there now and a lot more groms.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS SOONER OR LATER THEY WILL KICK URE ARSE!!!!!!




Its the best feeling to watch you're kids grow up and be able to get involved in fun with them!!!!!!!

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pgc said..

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS SOONER OR LATER THEY WILL KICK URE ARSE!!!!!!


Its the best feeling to watch you're kids grow up and be able to get involved in fun with them!!!!!!!

... very very true,,,,,, and love it!








A little video of our groms way back:



Teehee, don't teach them paddock talk though:

This will be gold on his 18th or 21st!!

Thank you so much every one for taking the time to share info, a lot of useful stuff,looks like i should have got the 4m uno instead of the 2.5.

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Puetz said..

A little video of our groms way back:

Nice spot! And waves in NT?

3 years old & kitelooping on a strapless! www.iksurfmag.com/kitesurfing-news/2015/11/davi-ribeiro-youngest-kitesurfer-3-years-old/