and restaurants, and just a few minutes’ walk from the cable car. Mark Warner offers family breaks during school holidays (over-sevens only) for a week, including half board, flights and transfers, from £1,095 per adult and £1,035 per child.

Across the pond, head to Whistler, which has been voted the best ski resort in North America for eight years in a row and a firm family favourite. Snow-covered mountains provide a spectacular backdrop to the pretty pedestrian-only Whistler Village

There is nothing like seeing your child whizzing down their first nursery slope. Staggering how, in such a short space of time, they crack it – low centre of gravity and no fear seems to be a winning combination.The pleasures of a family ski trip

. Carefully consider which option you think is going to work best for your family. For local babysitting requests, try Ski Pals website which aims to hook up parents and local services.3. Select ski tuition carefully You want small groups and child

charming chalet-only villages. Le Grand Bornand is particularly family-friendly with a range of crèches, ski schools and non-ski activities, like ice skating, sledging, farm visits and walks in the stunning forests of the region. La Tania, also in France

and need a big chunk of après-ski each day, that hotels that only open their dining room doors at 7pm for dinner are a killer, and that a friendly, English-speaking instructor makes all the difference to your child’s experience.  But wouldn’t it be great

like their animal mascots and in St Johann in Tirol, a chocolate-box village an hour from Salzburg, the children’s ski school is run by Bobo, a giant penguin, and offers a mix of skiing and indoor activities. Skiing here is fairly gentle, so it’s a good