Hi Guys,

My 9 year old tells me he is keen to start kiting.
I have a 6m kite, but it is really a strong wind kite, so feels pretty heavy to me.

What advice/suggestions do you guys have for me/him.
Helmet and lifejacket are no brainers for him.

But should I do the traditional sequence - body drag first? Or should I go somewhere real smooth and shallow and help him get back up wind etc.

I'm thinking about teaching him to windsurf first (that is what I did and it is easy to learn light wind wind surfing, and I have some old gear - big board etc).

Happy Aussie day.

Get hold of a trainer kite (2m or so) and teach him to fly that - including safety, wind direction, etc., etc. It'll give him a real feel for it without scaring him. After that, if he's keen to proceed, I'd definately put him with a professional instructor. In any event, I'd put him on that windsurf board as well, he'll decide what he prefers.

Hi General Dude,

Here is a few pointers to help getting your grommy into the sport.

1. At any age under 12, kids just don't have the mental and emotional maturity for dealing with things when they go tits up. It is possible for any child to as young as 5 to learn to kitesurf, it's not hard and kids learn readily. Problem is when the kite stalls, inverts and won't relaunch. Lines wrap around a foot or arm and then they panic, or a tangled bridle and looping kite!!! They just don't have the maturity to deal with this sort of problem logically and methodically. Problem is, you can't teach this maturity.

2. Use a lightly built kite, there are a few around which are appropriate. Problem is most manufacturers manufacture small kites for 80 kilo riders in very strong winds. They build them tough to handle the conditions expected which makes them really bad when trying to be flown in 10-15 knots by a light weight. They will fly but stall readily in the lower part of the wind window, making them stall and fall in trailing edge first into a difficult to relaunch position.

3. A larger, less powerful kite is better than a smaller more powerful one.

4. As others have said, don't push and when they've had enough, pull the pin immediately, don't try for "one more go" no matter how close to getting it they may be. Lots of 30 minutes sessions is better than a few 1 hour sessions.

5. Managing their emotional and mental state at all times is in the realms of professional quality coaching. Your local instructor may not have what it takes, and you may not either, so maybe look for a suitably qualified instructor to guarantee better more comfortable progression. Our Cristiana teaches kids all day in her other job as swim and SLSC coach. This is the sort of coach you want. Probably best to do the basics yourself with a trainer kite, and then employ the services of a good pro coach so you and your child don't have the emotional connection.

6. A kite like the 4m Ozone UNO, is a good one to start with for body dragging as trainer kites on the beach will only take you so far.

If you want any further advice, please feel free to contact me via PM. I've had extensive experience in this and am happy to offer advice.

Best of luck.

DM ;-)