# Your child's first ski day – packing list and tips from a ski instructor

**For their first day on skis, your child mainly needs a helmet, ski goggles, waterproof mittens and warm but not overly bulky clothing in layers. Just as important: a good night's sleep, a proper breakfast and arriving at the meeting point in good time. Here is our checklist, drawn from many years of children's ski courses in Bad Kleinkirchheim.**

## Packing list

**What your child wears:**

- Ski helmet (compulsory) and ski goggles
- Thermal base layer, fleece jumper, ski jacket and ski trousers (or a ski suit)
- One pair of thin ski socks – not two pairs on top of each other, as that leads to cold feet
- Mittens (warmer than gloves), ideally with long cuffs
- A neck gaiter or Buff instead of a scarf

**In the parents' rucksack:**

- Sun cream and lip balm (in the mountains, even when it is cloudy)
- Spare gloves and spare socks
- A small drink and a snack
- Tissues
- A note with your mobile number in your child's jacket pocket

## In the morning

- **Arrive early enough.** Allow 15 minutes before the course starts – putting on ski boots takes children longer than you think.
- **Put ski boots on only when you arrive**; feet stay warm in the car.
- **Say a short, cheerful goodbye.** Long farewells make it harder. Most children are distracted within a few minutes.
- **Don't stay within sight.** When Mum or Dad is standing at the side, many children want to go back to them.

## What is realistic on the first day

On their first day, three-year-olds usually learn to walk on skis, ride up on the magic carpet and brake in a snowplough. From around the age of five, many children manage their first turns and the T-bar lift within a week's course.

## After the course

Instead of asking “Did you enjoy it?”, ask “What was the funniest thing today?”. And after a morning on skis, an afternoon at the thermal spa is often the highlight for children.

[View the children's ski course →](https://skischule-brunner.at/en/childrens-ski-course-bad-kleinkirchheim/)

*Gerhard Brunner, head of the ski school · October 2026*