There’s a big hurdle to raising a ski family today: The now norm of hyper-scheduling of kids and their activities makes the notion of grabbing a few ski days with the family (never mind choosing to partake for an entire season) seem nearly implausible.

While this is all, of course, done with a goal of fun, learning and health, this lifetime skier who grew up back in a time (insert “Get off my lawn!” vibe here) when you could be on a school winter sports team and still have most of your weekends free is here to take a perhaps controversial stand: letting your kids miss a soccer/cheerleading/hockey/semipro paintball/whatever it is they are signed on to do here and there event to get out on snow is a worthy choice.

I”m here to suggest (OK, urge): Fight the hyper-scheduling and throw some ski days into the mix. To me, it’s good for your child, your relationship and their future.

And yet, more and more, friends tell me they cannot get their kids out skiing because of other sports, because their time is limited and because of the cost. Let’s dig deeper.

Other sports get in the way: First, ask yourself why you want your child to take part in a sport. For me, the answer was never hoping for a future scholarship or even an added impressive line on a future college application.

For me, it was introducing them to sports they can carry with them — and easily take part in — all their life.

Skiing and riding fit that bill. When you equip your child with the gear, lessons, knowledge and the experience out on a ski hill, you’ve set them up with a sport that will stick with them for life.

Let’s put it this way: Almost everyone I know who grew up skiing still identifies as a skier. They may not get out every weekend, but they get out there.

My friends who played, say, football, soccer, baseball or other high intensity league sports? Very few still play. They have memories, sure. But in most cases, that sport is no longer part of their routine. It’s a memory. A nice one, but a memory.

By finding youth and school sports that don’t demand constant overnight travel and total dedication, you can keep your kids’ lives open to other worthy experiences, like skiing.

I want my kid to learn how to get on with others via sports: I am all for team sports. Team sports are where I, my kids and now my grands learn how to work cooperatively, how to support others in a quest and how to find your place to help realize a goal. Skiing does that and more.

Skiing teaches kids social etiquette. There are the rules of the hill (skiers ahead of you always have the right of way, for example), and then there are the social rules all over. Don’t wear earbuds and ignore folks on the chair. Rather, chat and be friendly – you learn a lot out there. Do clean up your table after eating in the base lodge even if others do not. Leave any spot you take up in the world as good – or better – than it was when you arrive.

Skiing also teaches kids responsibility. I still remember the first day we sent our kids off to ski on their own – no ski school or parents to guide them. By then, they knew how to read a trail map, understood which trails they were capable of and how important it was to avoid others. They were well-learned on the whys and hows of taking on a ski trail; powerful metaphors for life in general, if you ask me.

They also learn to pay attention to their bodies (take a break when you are too cold or tired), and to be responsible for valuable equipment; good skills for life in general.

Skiing can also – should you so choose – teach your kids competition. Programs like NASTAR and the Dew Tour are like drop-in competitions: compete when you are in the mood and you are looped into a national group also competing. Should you love it, you can win your way to some cool events.

I want to cheer them on as a family: Skiing and riding are the perfect family sport. Learning together if you are all new to it, or guiding your children through lessons and early years of the sport that you’ve loved all your life, and of course, that first thrilling time you can all take on trails together is the breeding ground of family bliss.

I cherish the memories of skiing with my parents, and then my kids. I’m in the process of building those with my grandchildren, and it’s powerful, beautiful and special. I loved watching my kids play tennis, field hockey and other sports in their high school years, but it’s the ski memories we tend  to all reshare the most.

In a perfect world, kids could join a local or school team and totally commit but also have the time and flexibility to get out on snow. Think of the mountain like a place of worship of sorts. A day on snow here and there – away from the pressure of the crazy schedule and the super intense traveling youth sports team – outside in the bright cold, free from constraint but still close to family, really is good for the soul.

And that kind of good sticks with you a lifetime.