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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Mantill Williams
Aired February 23, 2002 - 09:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get some tips on skiing with the kids. Joining us from the AAA is Mantill Williams, and he is out of Washington this morning. Good to have you with us, sir.
MANTILL WILLIAMS, AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION: Good morning, Miles, how are you doing?
O'BRIEN: I am well, I am well. What's the first thing we need to know about bringing kids skiing? First of all, you shouldn't go buy them a bunch of gear, right? You can rent it all.
WILLIAMS: Yes, absolutely. And the first thing you want to do is, you want to make sure you include your child in the planning and preparation of your trip. Because once you do that, it gives them an idea about what the experience will be like. It also lets to give them an idea of how far it is and the -- as you go to the destination.
And one good thing to do is, actually pack your child's suitcase with him, so that they understand that they need to put on layers, that they need lip balm, that they need sunscreen, so that they have an idea of the elements they're going to be experiencing out there.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Mantill, let's talk about these ski schools, OK, for the kids. I went through it as a kid. It was a blast. I remember it very well. But you see some of these slopes and the little courses set up, and how do you really know that your child will be well taken care of? I mean, it's a dangerous sport. You got a lot of people zipping around. How can you be confident?
WILLIAMS: Well, the thing we recommend is, definitely talk to your travel agent. The travel agent has details so that they can cater a specific package for your particular family. Virtually every ski lodge have programs from children from 3 years old all the way up.
But keep in mind that at an age around 3 years old, you're really just looking at balance and getting them used to the elements. Kids usually don't plow down the bunny slopes until they're about 5 or 6. That's when they start to get a little bit of coordination...
O'BRIEN: Don't try this at home, kids.
WILLIAMS: ... right now, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
O'BRIEN: Geez...
WILLIAMS: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: ... what we're showing right here.
PHILLIPS: Yes, we're showing the snowboarding right now.
O'BRIEN: Anyway, I'm sorry, go ahead. I interrupted.
WILLIAMS: Yes, yes, and one thing that you're showing now, the snowboarding, that's very popular right now, because parents right now are challenged with coming up with vacations that will entertain their teens and their tweens. And right now, that is a vacation that teens and tweens will be a part of. They're not ashamed to be with their parents if they get to go on a ski trip.
O'BRIEN: Well, that's an important thing, you want them to kind of come with you, because, you know, they get to that stage where, gosh, they'd rather stay home.
All right, what about some places? Obviously some resorts are better than others when it comes to family activities, ski schools, that kind of thing. What comes to mind?
WILLIAMS: Yes, well, at AAA we don't recommend one ski resort over another. But basically, most ski resorts are close to or very close to metropolitan areas. So we recommend something that's, you know, two, three, four hours away. Make sure that you ask about specific programs for children, because a lot of these ski resorts, virtually all of them, actually have skiing for free for kids at certain ages. So that's one thing you want to look at when you're trying to plan.
O'BRIEN: All right. Hopefully you don't get what you pay for in that case, but skiing for free is a good thing for the moms and dads, definitely.
All right, Mantill Williams, not Montel, as I might have said at the beginning, might be your friend or cousin, I don't know...
PHILLIPS: Mantill is much better looking.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I'm not going to comment on that. Anyway, it's good to have you with us. Mantill is with AAA. I appreciate your insights on skiing with the nippers, so to speak.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Mantill.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
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