Jake was skiing with the aid of an Edgy Wedgie, which helps children keep their skis in a wedge. Matt's initial goal for the lesson was for Jake to learn how to turn, and my idea of us losing the edgy-wedgie was a bit of a surprise. As you'll see in the video below, Jake lost his Edgy-Wedgie and learned to turn in one fell swoop.
Which brings us to the Q & A for today's post.
Q - How many runs should you do with the edgy-wedgie on?
A - As few as possible! Depending on your child's age and muscle development, I'd say 3 to 8 short runs.
Q- How do you know when your child is ready to ski without it?
A - When you can see that the tubing is not stretching (or not stretching much) between their skis. This shows that they're holding the wedge themselves.
Q - How do you encourage your child to be free of it?
A - When you first introduce the device, make it fun and even funny. I say "Hey, I've got this friend, Sammy the snake, and he's here to help you make your pizza with your skis. See how he stretches when you make a big pizza? OWWW! Careful not to stretch him too hard.... he's a delicate snake!"
Over the course of 3 to 6 runs, I encourage the child to try to ease Sammy's pain by holding their toes together. As soon as I see that Sammy isn't doing any of the work, off he comes, never to be seen again.
