ice skating

My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

Beliavsky wrote:

My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

My girls started at the local rink behind two milk crates
that were stacked and secured together. I don't think we
used double blades, but really can't remember.

It wasn't long before they ditched the crates and went off
on their own. Both still enjoy skating at 20 & 21, although
we seem to go less often the past few years.
--
Ruth B

On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:51:57 -0800, Beliavsky
wrote:

My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

Personally, I'd take him skating before the company party. This way
both of you can practice. If he falls, do what you'd normally do if
he fell when not skating.... I always say in an upbeat voice (unless
my child is clearly hurt), "Oops! Let's get up and try again". If
you can handle making fun of yourself for his benefit, try falling
yourself and then laugh with him about it.

Good luck, a skating party sounds like fun :-)

Nan

"Beliavsky" wrote in message
oups.com...
My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?



Milk crates.

On Nov 7, 9:51 am, Beliavsky wrote:
My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

Honestly, I'm a bit more worried about you getting on the ice than
your son! ;-)

People have mentioned milk crates, but definitely ask the rink if
that's OK. A lot of people put their littluns in bike helmts and
pads, but at the very least put him in a nice cushy hat, gloves or
mitten, sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Make sure his socks hit at
least mid-calf, so they're taller than the tops of the skate boots.
The falls aren't likely to be worse than the ones he has at the
playground, and at 4 (when grownups fall, apart from the rink, it's
sufficiently unusual to merit attention; at 4, he's used to falling
and getting back up), he's likely to catch on fast.

Since you don't skate (does your wife?), have you considered a learn
to skate class for your son? Even a private lesson or two isn't that
expensive, and would probably be enough to get your son moving around.

I hope he enjoys it.

Barbara

Beliavsky wrote:

My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

Have you ever skied? Roller skated? Has he? Roller skating and
skiing both have some transfer skills for skating.

None of my kids ever were turned off something by falling. Falling on
the ice isn't as bad as falling on regular pavement because the ice
makes you slide. The stop isn't as sudden and you don't get skinned
knees from the ice.

Unless he is an unusually sensitive child the problem is going to be
more with your attitude than with his being put off of it by falling.
If you dread it because you think it is going to be terribly painful,
then he will too.

However you do need to protect his head somewhat. After I fell
backwards on the ice and hit my head, my mom used to make us put a pad
in the back of our hats. My ds also fell and rendered himself
unconscious by falling on a farm pond.

I would agree with the idea of going in advance of the party. At a
regular rink, there will probably be a railing which you can hold
onto. On a farm pond, beginners sometimes skated pushing a light
chair. The chair is better because the railing makes your balance
lopsided and your feet tend to go out sideways.

Sometimes a better skater can give someone a start by holding their
hands and skating backwards pulling them along, but you probably won't
be able to do that yourself - at least not ATM.

If you are going to rent skates, try to get them that fit really tight
and lace them tightly for support. You don't want soft limp leather
in the shoe part of the skates if you can avoid it. Wearing multiple
layers of socks doesn't really help keep you warm (I just wore nylon
stockings or tights under my skates) and doesn't let you 'feel' the
skate under you as well. There is no such thing as "weak ankles"
although badly fitting skates will give that impression.

I think I did use double runner skates for my son at about that age.
IIRC, I started when I was 8 or 10 years old, and we didn't live
anywhere that my girls could skate until the older two were 8 and 10
(the younger ones were 3 and a baby and they never did much skating -
when they were 12, 10, 5 and 2.5 we moved down here and there was no
convenient rink).

On Nov 7, 9:51 am, Beliavsky wrote:
Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

My child went to a birthday party recently at a local skating rink.
She had never skated before, so I was also thinking about this ahead
of time, but it was a non-issue.
When we got to the rink, they got her a pair of skates (be sure to
lace them tightly) and they also provided a helmet (definitely a GOOD
idea). Make sure your child wears gloves or mittens, and that her
clothing does not have any ties or strings hanging anywhere because
they could trip her or get her all tangled up. When the party
started, an employee of the rink gave the children a short lesson. It
is possible that this may be provided at the function you are
attending as well (ask ahead of time so you can prepare you child with
this information). They also provided an apparatus for the children
to lean on which looked very much like a walker that you would see an
elderly person using...the children who were not confident of being
able to skate were able to push the walker thing around in front of
them if they wanted. After a while, they all stoppe using them and
instead stayed near the edge where they were able to grab onto the
boards on the side as needed.

And yes, your child (and most likely YOU, too) will fall.
Repeatedly. Just keep positive and cheerful about it, and your child
will be fine.

Oh, and if there is not an employee providing a mini-lesson, ask an
employee or an experienced skater to show your child exactly how to
get back up after he falls. It is a lot easier if you know how to
position your feet and do it 'correctly'.

Beliavsky wrote:
My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

Get out there yourself and do it with him. The best
way to show him how to give it the ol' college try, have fun,
and get back in the game after a fall is to do it yourself.

Best wishes,
Ericka

In article .com,
Beliavsky wrote:
My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

Some rinks will have bent metal tubes that can be used on the ice
for beginning skaters, which give a beginner something to hold on to
while they shuffle along. If not, sometimes a chair of the right
height can be used - check with the rink to find what is available
and/or allowed.

If you think there may be more than one occasion this winter, many
local skate stores will have used skates that can be purchased. In
our neighbourhood we go every year and trade in the old skates and
purchase one size up used skates. So long as the ankles still provide
good support - and a good skate shop will check this as well as
sharpen the blades for you - you are generally okay.

If there are 4 year olds on the ice, there will be a wide range of
abilities, so you son will certainly have company in being the first
time on skates. I find at that age that they tend to fall, get up
(sometimes with help) and then just shuffle on. If you wind up giving
advice on how to skate, tell your son to look ahead to where he wants
to go, NOT AT HIS FEET. For beginners the tendancy is to look at
one's feet, which makes one more unstable.

Hope it turns out to be lots of fun.

Carol

On Nov 7, 9:51 am, Beliavsky wrote:
My company's Christmas party for children of employees will be held at
an ice skating rink this year. My 4yo son has never skated, and
neither have I. When he sees other kids skating I am sure he will want
to try it, but I don't want him to get hurt or be turned off from
skating after the inevitable falls. Any advice on how to get a kid
started?

Go to an MDC rink, immediately. If they aren't open yet (I know that
the small ponds around here are very far from skate-ready), go to a
roller-skating rink for practice with roller-blades, which aren't
dramatically different. The local rinks around here have 'skating
lessons' on Saturday mornings.

The Frog Pond on the Common opens in mid-November, which is always
good for a pleasant afternoon, and aesthetically far more interesting
than an MDC rink.

Caledonia