Skiing can either be an exciting family adventure or a lesson in chaos management. Check out this week's "Ask the Instructor," our series designed to help you get the most of your days on the slopes. Follow our tips from the pro so you can make the most of family ski day for now and years to come.


Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe instructor Larry Maurice has 27 years as a ski instructor under his boots. He's a certified Level Three Professional Ski Instructor of America, examiner and clinician. In all of his years teaching, Maurice said one thing has always stayed the same. "I've never found a person who couldn't learn how to ski. It's a simple sport. In fact, we don't even call it a sport. It's an activity. A sport is outcome oriented, but what our outcome is here is that people just have fun – and they do."


Ski parenting 101: Gear first. Maurice advises parents of first-time skiers to start the introduction process at home. "Go to your local ski shop, get your child's ski equipment and bring it home long before you ever come to the ski area," he said. "Introduce them to their skis, boots, goggles, helmet and all of their clothing so that when they come to the ski area, it's all familiar to them." Maurice also recommends teaching your child some basics at home on the carpet before the first lesson. Teaching youngsters how to put on gloves, get up from a fall in their ski boots or how to make a "pizza" wedge helps build confidence early on. "It's like pre-school," Maurice said. "They'll be way ahead of the game and that will make them excited." The solution: Build excitement and start teaching basics at home.


Ski parenting 201: The backseat isn't bad. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a dozen times: You can't steer the ski from the backseat! However parents, the same might not be true for your children. "The idea is that with a child, because their center of gravity is so high they're going to stand on their heels in that nice wedge and they'll be perfectly in balance," Maurice said. Parents encouraging their youngsters to "get forward in their ski boots" may actually be throwing their child off balance in the process. "There is a certain time in a child's life when they'll be ready to get forward in their skis," Maurice said. "But, depending on their age, over their heels is where we want them." The solution: Let your child find their balance for their developmental level.


Three rules PSIA level one instructor Victoria Fontana, of Homewood Ski Resort, recommends parents exercise three rules when skiing to keep kids safe and having fun.


1. When kids can start linking turns, take them to longer runs first before advancing to steeper runs. "Control," he says. "Is the most important thing. You want your kids to be making wide turns to help control their speed."


2. Frequent breaks help save the energy bank. "Skiing for 5 hours might be your idea of a great day, but it won't be for the kids," he says. Fontana recommends taking at least one break every hour and more if the weather is bad. "Drink water, get a snack and go slow," he says.


3. No edgie wedgie! Fontana hates the tool because he says it puts the kids on auto pilot and teaches bad habits like pushing through the heels. To start the kids learning the "pizza wedge" stretching, walking around in ski boots and even sliding on the snow will do more for developing control than the edgie wedgie!


This article originally appeared in tahoe.com's 'Ask the Instructor' series. Click here to view the original article.