Why I gave my daughter a tube for her 7th birthday

[Horton]

I let my Buford Danger watch TV but I VERY carefully control what and how much she watches. I let her eat sweets but I control how much and when. I will pull her on her tube but not at the expense of her skiing.

 

When Burford’s friends come over and want to have fun I will pull them on the tube. It is 100% my goal for Buford to tournament ski but if I make life at the lake all skiing and no kid fun she will not ski and it will be an ass parent.

 

My Dad was a ski or nothing guy. I skied because he bribed me to ski. Until I went off and skied collegiate I was mostly over it. My goal is to make everything around the boat fun for her.

 

Additionally - whenever possible I am not in the boat when she skis. I do everything I can to have other skiers & kids around to make skiing fun and being in the boat fun. I can not force her to love skiing but I can do everything I can to make it fun.

 

[keithh2oskier]

We have a tube for the kids for just thr purpose Horton said. I don't ski tournaments and don't intend to but it's important the kids and wife have fun on the water.

 

Honestly my wife would rather cruise in the boat with a cocktail and music and the kids in the tube than pull me at slalom with the kids in the boat. It's probably the closest equivalent to a solo Target run in terms of happiness for her.

[MNshortliner]

It’s all fun and games @Horton. I am lucky enough to have an older wakeboat because I took a 10 year break from waterskiing and never sold my VLX. It is just to good of a family boat. There is nothing better than getting out on the lake and just enjoying. I too caved after a few years and got the kids a tube and the first couple years it seemed all we did was tube but now we only use it a couple times a year.

[Horton]

Don't get me wrong. Personally I'm a hardcore tournament guy and I hope my daughter follows in my footsteps but if I it has to be fun before I can be an obsession.

Don't worry guys I will never never never never get her a wakeboard.

[MNshortliner]

A trick ski is the gateway to a wakeboard!

[Kimbymon]

A tube is a great way to get kids out on the water, then introduce them to skiing. I had my HS graduation party at the cottage. We had 5 tubes behind our 1979 Century 190. I saw my life flash before my eyes many times that day with my insane 15yo brother driving.

[jhughes]

It seems like in this sport you see a lot of parents obsessed with wanting their kids to ski, and in some cases it can get to a ridiculous level including tournaments where the kid is so young they probably don't even know they are in a tournament. I don't get it. Major risk of early burnout on the sport and I've seen it happen many times.

 

I agree, let them find it on their own and have fun in the mean time. I was 22 when I got up on slalom for the first time and hated it when I was a kid. Now a total addict.

 

That said I'm never buying a tube :p

[MISkier]

My kids never took to skiing seriously. They've done it a little, but it didn't interest them enough and I didn't push them. We have a tube and usually borrow a wakesurf board on our vacations. The important part is that they are outside doing something and they enjoy it.

 

One thing that some of them have done during each vacation is to try to get up on a slalom ski - their idea. Some have succeeded recently. Who knows? Maybe they will organically discover an interest in skiing.

[swc5150]

We had our daughter's 7th birthday party last Sat, and we too got her a tube, but also a pair of combos. Anything that continues her enjoyment on the water I'll happily invest in. This is the first year she actually asks to go out on the boat. We've put more on hours on our boat this summer than in the last 4 years combined so far <3

[vtmecheng]

My parents always had a tube when I was a kid. I still loved skiing and couldn't wait to every time going out. We went to a public lake so skiing was first and the tube didn't come out until the number of boats was too much for a ski. I definitely don't feel like tubing ever took away from my love of skiing and we always got friends to ski whenever possible. It's all about having fun on the water and making lifetime memories.

[slvrbulit]

My 10 year old grandson skis on double skis but I also have a tube that we use when his cousins and friends come to the lake. I also bought a ZUP board that he absolutely loves and uses that regularly.

[BlueSki]

@Horton, Once her friends see her ski, she tells them it is even more fun than tubing, and you tell them that you can teach them, you’ll have a great time hosting an impromptu kids’ clinic.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

I have an agreement and a disagreement with @Horton .

 

I think a tube is great for kids that age through teenagers. Too much focus on hard core skiing is not good. Years ago we had some friends with elite level kid skiers visit. The kids skied, but really wanted to tube, get on the rope swing and have fun since their parents pushed them so hard. It was eye-opening to see hard core elite kids just wanting to have fun for a change.

 

My kids would ski, but loved tubing with their friends, especially with several kids on a tube and 2 tubes. Its really good fun on the water.

 

My disagreement is that for a 7yo, you SHOULD be in the boat most of the time when she skis. You know enough to coach everything she’s learning and she will listen to you now. When she’s a teenager it’s a whole different story, so its important to establish the bond and trust while you can. Yes, make it fun and don’t be a drill sergeant, but enjoy the time on the water with her while she still (?) looks up to you.

 

[RichardDoane]

resist the urge to be a "little league parent", but reminders about proper technique in these formative years will pay off big as she gets older.

 

bring her up to the PNW when there's a kid's tournament at Winlock Waters, it's a great group of kids skiing the course

[2Valve]

My daughter got up on one ski her first try at 6 years old. But she only did it because her girlfriends were in the boat and never went out with me to ski the course.

 

22 years later, she still slaloms, but only when there's someone to impress.

 

I never worried about it, never wanted to force her into slalom. As others stated, the boat was about having fun and most of her weekends at the lake as a kid were tubing and knee-boarding, and just hanging out in the bay swimming with the dog.

 

She'll tell you she had a great childhood. :)

 

 

[unksskis]

Expecting people to be pro tube, while being anti-wakeboard is interesting. Wakeboard, kneeboard, multi-board, anything but tubing. Tubes are transmission killers and create more stress than most other towed activities, to use a promo boat to pull a tube is somewhat surprising.

[Hallpass]

Our daughter was only on a tube a few times. She didn't like it that much (particularly after banging heads with another kid). We went another direction. We have 3 or 4 knee boards. Put two or three kids out there at the same time and they will ride for hours. Also spent many hours pulling two or three skiers at a time. Last couple of years have been pulling two at time on trick ski. Kids love it. Sure, it's not hard core training. But they learn a lot about stability in all conditions, handle pass, edging, variable speeds, manipulating the board/ski, etc. and it's fun. Also sent my daughter to a bunch of youth ski camps. She liked the camps as much as the skiing, which led to increased skiing skills, which led to more interest in skiing. One guy's results. Your kid will likely vary.

 

[Hucklefin]

@unksskis Do you have any evidence that tubing is a xmsn killer? Seems like total heresay to me. Stress on the pylon, fine, but too much stress on the xmsn, don't know about that one.

[lakeaustinskier]

I just don't understand the anti-tube conversation - except to just give Horton a hard time (maybe). When my kids were young I took them several seasons to the JD weeks at Bennetts. At the end of every single day the lakes were full of kids being dragged on tubes as a reward for 3EV skiing. Are people saying that Bennetts is a soft place that does not encourage 3EV?

 

And that factory tower will open up the resale market to a lot more people. If you order a boat with a factory tower the factory will automatically add some more support and strength into the area where the tower bolts into the hull.

 

Good for Horton for buying a tube and making his daughter a happy girl!

[unksskis]

@Hucklefin I trashed a transmission due to tubing in the past, haven't pulled one since. If you ask most shop mechanics they'll say it's not the best on your transmission. It really depends on how gnarly the driver gets with the throttle, as to what extent the damage may be.

[IGski]

The rule in our boat is everyone has to ski before the tube comes out! The other challenge I give kids is "How many different things can you ride?" As long as they are riding something on their feet, we are happy.

 

Totally agree on keeping it fun but you can push them to do more all at the same time. Just have to keep it balanced.

 

This is a good discussion topic.

[BraceMaker]

@unksskis hmmm my experience has been that once a transmission is fully engaged you can do whatever you want if anything deep water starts kills transmissions as if you go too quickly forwards the transmission hasn't fully engaged.

 

Once in gear the trans will only slip if you let it be low om fluid.

[unksskis]

@BraceMaker sure, but after a big whip, often times it's put in neutral, then gunned to 3000+ RPM if the rider is still on. Running and gunning, it's up to how gnarly the driver gets, now I highly doubt people are doing this with their young children, but it happens.

[fu_man]

Honestly, another fun towable that often gets overlooked for kids is the kneeboard. I always felt better about pulling a kneeboard as opposed to a tube. Teaches one how to control oneself, the board, and the rope in the water. Pretty easy to get up on one. They can mess around pretty quickly as a beginner.

[unksskis]

@fu_man agreed. Kneeboards are great alternatives to tubes, they can lay on them and learn handle control. There are also options now from most companies that is a combination kneeboard, forward ski, surf, etc to mix things up and get kids behind the boat.

[BraceMaker]

@unksskis - that's just user error if you care about your trans go into gear, bump it up a few hundred RPM and throw them around. If you treat starting like a deep water start, neutral, gear, go - all will be good.

[escmanaze]

Ha ha ha!! I just love that we are all such a bunch of elitist pricks around here that Horton has to make a specific post just to explain his purchase of a heretical device.

 

I've had tons of fun tubing in my younger years, so I get it. It's just hilarious the way we all are.

[thager]

I hate that I can't disagree with @Horton on this one.

[Mastercrafter]

Okay.. serious tubing question…

 

Ski pylon or rear tow eye on a late-model Prostar? Is the “rubrail mounted” rear tow eye strong enough to not get ripped out?

 

Unfortunately we own tubes and it’s all some guests want to do.. for now.

[Bongo]

@Horton: "Don't worry guys I will never never never never get her a wakeboard." BS. BS. BS. If / when the next step that makes her happy after making big spay on her slalom ski and a break is a wakeboard, she'll be on a wakeboard. And should be. In my view, anything that improves skill at the end of a handle is a good skill to learn.

 

@IGSki: "Totally agree on keeping it fun but you can push them to do more all at the same time. Just have to keep it balanced." Ditto.

 

My basic rule when my kids were younger was that after they did something that involved skill, or skill development, I'd pull them on whatever they wanted. Tubes were fun for a bit, but they and their water friends, eventually became disinterested. And when new excited friends would come to the lake, my DDs would rather sit in the boat and cheer them on rather than partake. Now we've got a long surfboard pulled by the nose that 3 or 4 of them can get on at the same time and that's the best fun they ever have when messing around. What "team" can get to their knees at the same time, all stand up, ride the longest as a group....

[wettek69]

If we are so elitist that we look down on, or make fun of people who use tubes or any other water toy (yes, even wakeboards) so their kids get off their devices and get out and have some fun in the fresh air and on the water, we need to reconsider our priorities in life. Good on ya @Horton

[chrislandy]

@Horton anything to let them enjoy being in the boat / on the water / at the lake.

 

someone mentioned kneeboards, but an overlooked and mostly forgotten great source of fun (for adults and kids) is the 4ft disk, great for trick training without them realising and always a gaff when you ski past the dock, with your kid on your shoulders while sitting on a chair with a parasol, on a ladder, on a disk

 

A wakeboard can be a fun release and a mess around, and to be fair could be used as a gateway to tricking and if other kids are wakeboarding, then she'll end up wanting to do it too - although it shouldn't really be go-to ski

 

You could always bolt a trick binding onto a small 120 wakeboard, it's basically a trick ski anyway!

[ScottScott]

 

[skistrom]

Fun is fun. Plenty of time for the more serious stuff!!

 

[jpwhit]

I completely agree with @Horton's view that you must make it fun. I just don't agree that fun "has" to involve a tube. My issue with tubes is that it doesn't require skill or learning, it's not enjoyable for me as the boat driver and water sports "teacher", and I've seen too many kids that start with tubing not be willing to do anything else behind the boat.

 

We made water activities fun by encouraging about anything else pulled behind the boat. knee boards, wake boards, trick skis, saucer-stool-juggling, how many people could we get up behind the boat at once (10 btw), show skiing tricks, etc.... I also never told any kids no to tubing. I always said I just didn't have one and suggested one of all the other choices. For my own kids, I didn't tell them no, I explained that I wanted to have fun too and these other activities are the things I enjoyed teaching and driving. I also said if you want to tube, go do it with one of the other dad's that liked pulling tubes. For my own kids, I just made sure they learned to do other activities first.

 

I do acknowledge that it can be made to work and managed by a parent, just like anything such as TV or device screen time. Especially for kids that learned to ski first. But we did our summer boating/RVing with 6 other families. So, there were always tons of kids and their friends involved. It was just much more practical to not have a tube if I didn't want to do tubing.

 

 

[Hallpass]

"Don't worry guys I will never never never never get her a wakeboard."

 

I guess all kids are different. Erika Lang seemed to stay pretty focused on skiing while also

becoming a pro wakeboarder.

 

My daughter rode a wakeboard for a couple of years because that's all her friends wanted to do. Then, she asked me to sell it. Just liked skiing better.

 

[TomH]

I've got no problems with a tube, anything to keep it fun. I actually just pulled one behind our boat for the first time last week (neighbor's). I've just never had one because prior to living on the lake, hauling around inflatables was just a giant pita when you don't have a dock or shore to go pitch it on, but I'm sure I'll have one by summer's end.

 

Maybe it's the show-ski background, but I've always enjoyed doing a bunch of different things behind the boat, with slalom and footing always topping the list. So, I'm the same way with my kids and their friends and keep the equipment on hand for them to do just about anything on a handle (slalom, combos, jumpers, kneeboards, wakeboards, wake skates, shoe skis, barefoot, disc, etc.). Just need to add a sky ski and a wake foil for when the lake's blown out.

[6balls]

Neither of my kids chased...I think I pushed them too hard. So it wasn't working and I wanted family fun on the water--I sure grew up with a ton of and no buoys til I found 'em later.

With that we ended up with a tube, and maybe more importantly kneeboards. The easiest thing to get a kids friend up with no experience on and put out multiple ropes. In a day they are doing side slides and 180's, 360's...with getting up the first or second time. With two boards out there they can spray each other and totally dork around. Now they want to try skiing.

The kids had a blast and didn't turn out to be tourney skiers--but they are great kids chasing other passions and that's ok. They can both slalom, they can both knee board, my son foots on the boom. It's all good.

[UWSkier]

Honest question. How interesting can you really get pulling a tube on a slalom ditch? Our best times tubing (after skiing, or when we have friends to the lake who don't do water stuff) involve big arcing turns, setting up standing waves... lots of space. Seems tubing on a ski lake with docks and the like requires an insanely high level of driver awareness.

 

Agree with others on the kneeboards. Did anyone else make a plywood disk? There's a photo of me on one of those in my diaper as an infant. We lost that disk a while ago, but about 10 years or so ago I made a new one. It's a huge hit with everyone who tries it. Here's my sis and I making a column. :)

 

 

[chrislandy]

@UWSkier 7 posts up ;) was on one a couple of weeks ago

[LK_skier]

As much as my 9 and 7 year old love slalom there are days or even weeks when they just aren’t interested in chasing buoys as much. No problem they still love being out in the boat but just doing other things… trick is awesome for that but so are tubes and discs and kneeboards. Have fun everyone

[ALPJr]

Imo for most kids, who are oriented towards enjoying boating, water-sports, etc. at first it needs to be fun and somewhat easy. Some may just not like it. Good on you Horton.

[rawly]

Just got a tube ?? She’s been running a tubing school behind your back for the last few seasons ?

[B_S]

Ain't nothing wrong with taking your kids tubing, so no reason to explain or justify. Only questions I

have since you're on a purpose built lake: Are they limited to 6 passes, and do you shorten the line each pass?

[CGSki]

For us, the tube is a gateway to skiing. It's the first thing my son was comfortable enough getting on behind the boat. A year later he is on the ski trainer and he tried combo skis on the boom for the first time. That didn't go so well, but we're taking baby steps in the right direction. I just want to encourage the kids to enjoy their time on the water and try new things.

[Horton]

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Looks like @brooks finally found something he is good at!