What age to start?

Max is very correct and echoes my experience with my daughter.

Some classes appear no more than baby sitting, with terrible instructor/student ratios. Not only does this make for a poor learning (and general) experience for the kid, but the duty of care often poor.

Kids benefit hugely from an occasional private lesson (as do we all). It really makes them feel special. Girls do better with female instructors and single sex classes ( as do boys, with no one to show off to). Getting together with other people for a semi private lesson is a good way to go.

As Max says, checking to see how things are going is very important. Last year my daughter started snowboarding (having skied for four years). We bought a block of three weekly lessons. I was a little disapointed with the first group lesson, size of group, group control, poor instruction technique. It went further downhill the next week with the instructor totally overwelmed by the group of ten 8/9 year olds. I called the ski school director and detailed the problems. Ended up with the third lesson being replaced by three hours of private instruction, which made a huge difference.

The hardest thing with your own kids, is to understand that you can not teach them yourself. You maybe can plant seeds of ideas, point out someone who is good, but you are flogging a dead horse directly trying to teach them.

Trencher

I'd like to add my thoughts if I may. We started our little girl skiing when she was 6. On a friends advice we actually started her on our local dry slope and she skied there for a good 3 months before we went out onto the snow. I personally think this is a great way of doing it becasue she could plough turn and stop and take a button drag before she even got to the snow.
Unfortunately (and this is where I have to disagree with Max) Our first ski trip was Obergurgl Austria and it was a complete nightmare for out little one. Basically we explained that she had three months dry slope and could plough turn and stop etc but they were completely uninterested. She spent the first 3 days walking around on one ski and just playing in the snow. Problem is she wanted to ski and so hated it. Mid week I spoke to her instructors to re explain she could plough turn and stop well etc but they refused to take her up the first blue run because she was struggling with the rope tow of all things! I pulled her out took her straight up the nearest blue on a T bar drag and she flew down. They stood at the bottom and didn't know what to say to me. They then offered to move her up a class but I was so annoyed I just took her myself for the rest of the week.
There is also a big logistical problem with Austria in my opinion because the lessons are morning and afternoon with a lunch time break - This is too much for little ones. Also we took some lessons that year and one day our instructor said we were going up the mountain. I said we need to be back to take our little one for lunch and he said no problem. The guy was clueless, he lost track of time and I ended up riding a lift back down as I couldn't have skied down in time to get her for lunch. Suffice to say that I was the last parent to pick her up and she was very upset.
In stark contrast and this is where I disagree with Max I'm afraid, the french ski schools have been great. OK maybe the ESF are not renowned for there compassion with the little ones at times but I found them first class tuition. More importantly though in Flaine/La Plagne etc we have all had morning lessons and have all been able to go off in our separate lessons for the morning, all back in time for a nice lunch leaving us to ski as a family in the afternoon. My wife,daugther and myself are all different level skiers so this works perfectly as you are in your own ability group but only apart as a family for a couple of hours in the mornings. Add to this the fact that with young kids you simply cannot beat the ski in ski out convenience of the French purpose builts and you have a much easier experience. Try walking for 10 minutes to the nearest lift with a kid in tow in ski boots and carrying their own skis - it ain't easy and you'll probably get a few tears.
So my recommendations - stick to the French system - pure convenience and the morning lesson is enough for them until they are secondary school age in my humble opinion.

yes I think if you can - it is a good idea to start early but slowly. If you visit the mountains regularly or live there, the ideal situation is just to introduce kid as young as 3 to the feeling of having skis on. Even if it is just for an hour once a week, it will make the feeling less alien when they start in earnest at 6 or 7

All this sounds like another very good reason to take ski vacations in the States. My experience with ski schools here has been very good (less the one mentioned above and that was at a small local hill, but my complaint was taken very seriousely and resolved).

At the big resorts the programs for kids are very profesionally run. Not only in terms of instruction, but also in thier whole approach to children. There is ofcourse no language problem. Most of the bunny hills now have "magic carpet" lifts, which are great, even for the smallest kids. Beginner runs are always served by real chair lifts, which are always slowed at an instructor's request for small kids. All day programs include lunch with the instructors. You would have no worries letting your eight year old kid take the chair lift on thier own as the lift queues are totally polite and organised, even at the busiest times.

All this and it's cheap (atleast if you have sterling to spend).

This and other threads are certainly putting a damper on my enthusiasm to ski in Europe

Trencher

Hi Trencher - one question if I may on this.
Having always skied in europe with my little one I have always wanted to ski the USA and intend to in a couple of years when I think my little girl will handle the travel/jet lag etc a bit better (She is only 8 at the moment). The big attraction for us brits with Europe is that if you take this year as an example, I left my home in Bristol - South West England at 6am in the morning and was on the slopes in La Plagne France by 2.30pm that afternoon - only a 2 hour flight and 2 hour coach transfer. A friend of mine visited Breckenridge this year with his kids (11 and 14) and said the main problem was that even though his flight from the UK was only 11 hours (If I remember rightly) if you take into account check in and transfer times etc he said it was effectively 24 hours door to door. He also said that as well as jet lag, they suffered altitude sickness which he thought may be a problem due to Breckenridge's resort height. However all told it took them a good 3 days to recover and ruined the first half of his holiday. This is truth is what makes me a bit weary of a USA trip.
Trust me for all of France's bad points - there are many many good ones which vastly outweigh the bad in my opinion. It is very easy to reach for us brits and the ski areas are vast. Also with kids you simply can't beat the ski in ski out convenience.
So my question if I may now that I've waffled on.
If I am to embark on a trip to ski the USA what would your recommendations be to try and avoid as best as we could the sort of problems that I have described above.