How do you know when kids are ready to ski?

Ski season is starting. For parents, that may mean getting kids on the slopes for the first time. But is there a perfect age to learn to ski?

Nate Gardner, ski and snowboard school training manager at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont, in the New England region of the northeastern United States, says that what's more important than a child's age is his or her readiness.

How well does the child handle other physical activities? Does the child separate well from parents so that he or she is comfortable spending a few hours with a ski instructor and other kids on the slopes, away from mom and dad?