My daughter’s anxiety about chairlifts is not all that uncommon, according to Jamie. Instead, she recommends, focus on how their first lesson utilizes a surface lift — essentially a moving walkway that leads up the lower slope. It also helps to underscore that no one is forced onto a chairlift; you only ride it when you are comfortable and confident enough to do so. Discussing these topics can be a good way to not only assuage fears, but prepare your child for what a lesson entails.
However, chairlift anxiety can sometimes be about something completely different, like seeing Mom and Dad leave.
“For young kids, they don’t realize that the chairlift goes to the top, and the parents ski down. I’ve seen several kids cry because they watched their parents ride away, and they don’t think they’re parents are coming back.”
This leads to the most common fear of all: separation anxiety.
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