How young can I start the kid?

My son turns one soon and I cant wait to get him up on his own board.Any parents out there got their kids up yet? What age and how?

At 2 years old, my daughter lacks the interest to want to wakeboard. She would rather swim. She is physically able. She even does pull ups regularly on her own on the monkey bars and can crank out about 8 in a row but I wouldn't put her out there yet. She'll just hurt herself if she doesn't want to be out there to begin with. Is your son showing an interest at all in wakeboarding? You may have a kid who wants nothing to do with the water. It happens. My daughter usually tolerates going out on the boat but she'd rather be elsewhere.

That being said, if your son shows an interest in watersports in general, I'd start them on a tube. I know. It's a tube but it's easy to learn and the odds of them getting hurt (and therefore discouraged/scared) while tubing is pretty low as long as you drive a reasonable speed, you can ride along with them at first, and you can start them as young as you'd like. Once they are comfortable there, get them up on trainer skis. The only reason I suggest trainer skis is that trainer wakeboards don't really exist as far as I'm aware. For someone that young, look for the horseshoe-shaped trainer. The rope can tie to the skis at first and that sucker pretty much floats on its own. I wouldn't start your kid on a wakeboard until they are comfortable doing deep water starts on training skis while holding onto the handle. The age doesn't really matter as long as they are physically able and wanting to try.

My advice is: Don't push it!

Let the kid ease into it at his own pace. If he is doing it because he wants to he will push himself and push harder than you ever would. If you push him into it he will resent it, never learn as much and will not enjoy it.

Kids also change. My son was rather chicken when he was little. His younger sister learned to water ski before he did. She shamed him into going down the intermediate slope at the snow ski mountain. In the line for the rides at Disneyland she would be crying because she was too short to get on and he would be crying because he was afraid.

Somewhere around 9 years old that all changed. he is 20 now, and can throw a number of inverts, 360s, etc.

Let it come naturally. The worst thing you could do is to cause him to have a bad experience which haunts him the rest of his life.

we pulled a kid at 6 yo last summer... was pretty cool listening to him telling his brothers and Mom how to get up and ride

my 4 year old gives everyone lessons on the boat on how to do it. He always yells and demonstrates how to hold their arms

AS soon as he learns to swim and be comfortable in the water its time. My son started on the boom right after he turned 5 and now he is up behind the boat and he doesnt turn 6 until November. The hardest thing to teach him was not how to wakeboard, but learning to turn over on his back in the water after a fall. Take your time, make it fun, and he'll come around...

4 yrs ---
My nephew got up this summer with me on my board. He isn't quite strong enough to hold onto the rope and get up b himself. Buying him a snowboard to teach him this winter so he will be able to get himself up next season and know how to carve.

The youngest kids i've thought to ski were 2 1/2 year old twins.
The youngest wakeboarder i've had on the water was a couple of days off turning 4(this was on the boom). He's six now and is ripping it up(behind the boat, and getting small air)!!

A friend started his daughters at the age of 2. One is 6 now and goes w-2-w hs and ts. The younger is 3 and gets a little air both ways. The entire family (3 generations) skis, wakeboards, wakeskates together all the time. The girls have been in the boat since they were 3 months old.

We didn't start until my youngest was almost 11. Today he will compete in the semi-finals of Jr Men at worlds.