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Skiing with Young Kids
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02-10-2016 11:49pm#1
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Skibunny77 wrote: »As a side note and Fattes may be able to clarify further- I asked our ski instructor last year, if the instructors needed police clearance before working with kids. He said they didn't. As someone working in health, I just found that appalling and hopefully an isolated incident in St Anton? There is absolutely no way I would hand my child over to anyone without vetting, particularly when any kind of bathroom supervision is required without clearance - I appreciate three year olds are toilet trained, but they often need some support around the bathroom routine/dressing.
I do find the focus on child protection a tad OTT sometimes (See story below) but probably that is based on experience, and not being a parent! I do however understand the need for proper controls and checks to protect children and young adults. In relation to ski teaching some of them controls, are naturally occurring, via the environment, and equipment requirements.
Generally most instructors do not hold child clearance specifically for their snow sports work, some like me might, or via other activities. BASI (British Ski instructor licensing body) require child clearance as part of issuing their license, for IASI the Irish body, from this year new candidates are required to take a chid protection exam but no clearance. I have full clearance via a number of things I do in both skiing and other sports. British and Irish instructor are unique, in that the mostly work in closed environments, snow domes, dry slopes were the parents are required to be present for the duration of the lesson. The ski Club of Ireland does require instructors to have Garda Vetting.
The British are also unique, as their law requires child clearance, so it has to be part of what they do. For all the major Alpine nations it is not the case.
There are a few reasons for this, the environment, it is almost impossible for an instructor in a group lesson to be 1 on 1 with a Kid at any time, either in an open mountain environment or in the restaurant! It is also whey you tend to see a lot of Stagiere, or trainee female instructors dealing with large groups of young kids or assisting people who are. I think it helps ease parental concerns.
Than cultural, I am not sure what it says about Irish culture that we automatically assume every person is interested in harming children rather than it being the exception. Where as the Swiss, French etc see it as the exception!
I don't have kids myself, so not sure how a parent thinks. However I am super cautions around kids, I lift them from the armpits always, I explain what I am doing and ask them to put their hands straight out to lift them etc. It comes form experience, of dealing with parents and various over zealous officials from sporting organisations.
I once had an official, from an organisation I won't name, ask me for my child clearance, while I was setting a race course on a dry slope. The slope was empty save for me, 2 male adults and this adult female official. All athletes and every one else was in the canteen/kitchen on a break. I explained i didn't have it on me but I was certified, She asked was I certified for this specific organisation, I said no, she then demanded I stop and someone else complete the task. The two other male adults told her nobody else was insured or qualified to do what I was doing and reminded her that she was a guest in our club. She persisted, It led to me telling her if I was a pedophile I would be better off in the kitchen than on the hill and too Fu*& off! She didn't take it very well.
:D In the end she had to relent and apologise, its amazing what a mob of angry parents can achieve. :P
Its a sad reflection of the world, but I guess that is how it is0 -
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