Generally, children can start skiing from around aged four. The stronger they are, the easier they tend to pick it up and the more fun they will have, so although starting younger is possible, older may be preferable. Very young children (aged three to six) may only have the energy to do half a day on the slopes. The rest of the time might be better spent playing in the snow, or back in the resort.

Many instructors teach children to ski through a series of games, analogies, copying and races, so they pick up new skills without too much technical information. Kids may come home talking about how they were making ‘chips’ and not ‘pizza’ – this just means that they are moving into parallels instead of snowplough – or being ‘tall as a house’ and ‘small as a mouse’, which is a useful way to encourage children to move up at the start of the turn and down at the end.

Skiing is all about having fun, so don’t worry too much about the progress of very young children. If your child is having a good time, they’ll be hooked for life and the technical improvement will come. If you have any worries, speak to the instructor.

It used to be that in order for children to get the individual attention they need to progress technically, private lessons were the only option. However, ski schools now offer smaller group sizes for children (between five and 10 members) where the children can enjoy the social side of being in a class but still receive individual instruction. Kids love the interaction with other children that groups offer, so this can be the ideal environment to learn in. With encouragement and friendly competition, many children progress very quickly.

Ski school for children gets very booked up in Zermatt so it is important to book in advance if you are visiting over British school holidays. Every year, people are disappointed that they can’t get their kids into ski school. Before booking, check that your accommodation provider doesn’t have discounts with any of the schools.

When booking, check that your child will have an English-speaking instructor as not all the schools offer this. Also, it’s worth checking where the meeting point for lessons is, especially if you are taking lessons as well so that you can be on hand to drop them off and collect them.

- Write your mobile or other contact number on a piece of paper and place it in your child’s coat pocket in case you are needed urgently

- Plenty of high factor sun cream (water resistant and at least 30 SPF) is essential. Put the tube in their pocket so they can top up throughout the day

- Most experts recommend that children should ski with helmets (in Italy it is a legal requirement). You can hire these in resort

- Younger eyes are more sensitive so it is important to make kids wear good quality sunglasses or goggles all the time. If you only plan to buy one or the other, buy goggles

- Take time to find gloves or mittens that your child can take on and off easily by themselves; they’ll have to do this numerous times throughout the day!

- A small rucksack is useful for slightly older kids for carrying drinks, snacks and sun cream

- Children lose body heat faster than adults – make sure they are wrapped up warmly

- If you are booking younger children into ski school, remember to give them a drink and snack for the mid-lesson break (or money to buy them). Check with the ski school if you are unsure

- Talk to the instructor before the first lesson as any information will be useful (for example, do they get tired easily / hate drag lifts / have any allergies or other medical considerations)

- Even if your children are not in ski school, you will probably find it helpful to mark clothes, skis and helmets with their name as things are often thrown into a big bundle in the rush to get inside at break or lunch time! If you don’t have any labels for skis and helmets, write on sticking plasters

- If possible buy gloves and hats that can be attached to your child; otherwise they go missing endlessly...

- Complete beginners (especially the little ones) will probably not need to take poles to their ski lessons, at least for the first few days – check with your ski school