Yelled at four year old

– I think it is unnecessary to yell at a little four-year-old who is trying to learn to ski, Marléne Edin tells Dagbladet.

The mother of three reacts to how her four-year-old son was yelled at by an adult skier, because he ran down a hill on the left side of the ski track, during a ski trip at Frognerseteren in Oslo.

– Only four years

– We drove down a steep hill, where there were only ski tracks on the left side of the ski track. As my son has not quite learned to turn and stop very well yet, I did not dare to let my son stand on the outside of the track.

– He is only four years old and it is the second time he has gone cross-country skiing, so he is a complete beginner.

– It’s right-hand traffic!

But at the bottom of the slope, Edin and her son met some skiers who did not agree with her decision to let the four-year-old run down the left side.

– He is tough and accelerates, and reaches the bottom completely painlessly. But as we are about to go off the track, someone comes past and says to my little son: “There is right-hand traffic here in Norway!”. It was especially the way she said it that made me react.

– I was a bit put off at first, but then I turn around and ask: “is this really necessary?”. She herself had children with her, so I had thought she would show some understanding that my son needed to use the track.

– People

The trail manager at the Ski Association, Birgitte Giæver, is clear in her call to skiers and others who travel in the fields:

– Be generous with each other, have patience, especially with children. We want to have children outside, so hello to them!

She believes that special consideration must be given to the smallest on the ski slopes.

– I think it is sad that mother and child experienced such comments. I think that you should rather come up with invitations, so that they want to go skiing more.

– It’s usually right-hand drive, but four-year-olds don’t know such things, but they might think it’s fun to go skiing anyway. And then I believe that it is our task as adults to be generous with the little ones in the ski track.

Unwritten rule

Marléne Edin knows that it is the norm to drive on the right side of the ski slopes, but believes that exceptions must be made, because not everyone is equally good at skiing.

– I know that there is an unwritten rule on the ski slopes to drive on the right. But since there were only tracks on the left side of the ground, I asked him to drive in the track. I saw that there was no one going up the hill, and had good control of the situation

– There is a lot of ski traffic up in Nordmarka and people have different skill levels. And then I think it is very important to show some consideration to those who may not be as good as yourself. Especially for the children who don’t understand everything yet.

Recurring problem

Birgitte Giæver says that how to behave on the ski slope is an annual topic of conversation.

– This is a theme that comes up again every year. But fortunately there are a small number of adults who talk to young children in this way.

She clarifies that driving on the right is the norm, but that exceptions must be made for different conditions and track layout.

– We have a general call for driving on the right. This is to create the best possible flow and to ensure that those arriving at greater speed can pass on the outside.

– There are slightly different track layouts in different tracks. Ideally, you would have a track on each side, with the possibility of skiing in the middle, but it is clear that this is not always possible. And then you often have to go a little in and out of the track.