Skates for a 3 year old?

[Iceblade 0]

Hey guys,

So, I'm looking at starting to bring my daughter to the rink with me for at least the public skate sessions when she turns three. I was hoping to lean her more towards the hockey side of things than the figure skating side. I'll let her have the choice when it comes right down to it, but I'd like to at least introduce her to the hockey side. :)

Anyway, I know that Bauer makes some sort of kids entry level hockey skate, but I was just wondering if there are other options. This is the Bauer item:

http://www.skate-buys.com/bauerlilcham.html

What do all the dads out there do to introduce your kids to hockey when they are toddlers, or do you just wait until they are like 5 and capable of getting in a youth size skate? Any thoughts?

Regs,

Jeff

[Jason Harris 31]

Those are the ones we used, although in our case it was the Lil Angels.

You know, pink accents and all that.... :D

[misteremanca 0]

My son started when he was three.....I bought him a youth pair of vapors....the only pair of new skates he got. Since then he has got a good pair of used skates on trade-ins each year. At my lhs we get there early in the year and pick through the trade-ins and get a good pair. Now he is (soon to be) 8 and next year he gets new ones again.

My daughter is now three......with big long flippers like her dad! She got her first skates this winter, a nice used pair of youth Nikes.

I say find a place with used skates and try find some that fit well. Very economical.

Good luck!

No figure skates in our house!

Cheers

eman

[sdh 0]

My son is 2 and I've had good luck with these:

http://www.skate-buys.com/bobskates.html

The good thing about them is that your child can stand wearing them, so they aren't so freaked out. It gets them moving on the ice and when they get comfortable you can switch them to skates.

and they're only $11!

[jrgretzky99 1]

This worked for all 4 of my kids:

I bought a pair of CCM rollerblades to fit a 2 year old. I let them start skating or getting their sea legs on the rug in the living room. I then let them venture out onto the linoleum floor in the kitchen. Eventually I put them in full equipment and let them skate on the basement floor until they could pick themselves up from a fall.

To give you an example, my youngest son Jeremiah is only 2 and a 1/2 and he immediately skated on ice with hockey skates the first time he ever stepped on ice. We bought him an old pair of Bauer 1000's for like 5 bucks at PlayitAgain.

The best part about doing it this way is that it is gradual and when you finally do enter them into a developmental ice hockey program at 3 years old, you'll be one of the only parents on the ice that doesn't have to hold their kid up on his feet the entire time.

Just look around for an old cheap pair, the kids won't be wearing them long.

[Rustybender 0]

I got these http://store.yahoo.com/skatebuys/ccmtykyoutfi.html

The black ones look a bit like hockey skates, but it really makes no difference what they look like. Your kid is going to think they are hockey skates if they are interested in hockey, and think they are figure skates if that's what they are interested. A 3 year old isn't going to get caught up on skate design. Don't you get caught up either.

After we bought them, I waited a long time before I got them their initial sharpening. I let my daughter (2 at the time) run around the house in them. She had no problems with balancing on the single blades.

Ice was a different story. She just couldn't keep her feet under her. She wasn't wobbly on the blades, the blades were always close to perpendicular to the ice. She just didn't have the muscle control to keep upright. She was always losing her balance as her feet slid forward or back underneath her.

We tried a few more times, but she was getting frustrated and I decided to take a break before she developed a fear of ice skating. She's starting to ask again now so we will probably give it another try soon. She's a year older now so I'm hoping we will have better luck.

[iceholes 0]

My 3 year old started this winter... I bought him ccm 452's... they were out of pro tacks his size...lol

they fit him very well, and we started walking around the house in designated areas... that helped.. Ilike teh rollerblade idea

[Iceblade 0]

Thanks for the great ideas, guys. I'll look into the other products suggested. Unfortunately, there aren't any used gear places around here... or if there are, I'm not aware of them, so ebay would be my next best chance. Of course, that makes it somewhat tough to "try before you buy". She'll be 3 in May, so there's no rush. I'll have to see about the roller blade idea first. That's a pretty good call. And like you said, she can graduate from carpet to the tiled foyer or bathroom or paved patio once she gets her legs under her.

Regs,

Jeff

[Hooah4 12]

My son is 2 and I've had good luck with these:

http://www.skate-buys.com/bobskates.html

The good thing about them is that your child can stand wearing them, so they aren't so freaked out. It gets them moving on the ice and when they get comfortable you can switch them to skates.

and they're only $11!

Went that route for my son. It worked to get him the idea of balance. I quickly transitioned him the the bauer little champ series. Started him when he was three.

[majg65 0]

For skates, I just bought the cheapest new pair I could find on ebay.

The more important thing for me was to put my daughter in knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and helmet. She fell hard several times, but never shed a tear or complained, and she was not the least bit afraid to get right back up.

[Jason Harris 31]

The more important thing for me was to put my daughter in knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and helmet. She fell hard several times, but never shed a tear or complained, and she was not the least bit afraid to get right back up.

I'd throw pants on that list, because they'll land on their tailbone often.

[jcp2 2]

I got my 2.5 year old son a pair of Jackson Softec skates. They look like sneakers, but they have a figure skate blade on them. They're a bit more stable front to back than the Nike Quest hockey skates that he had before he outgrew them. We go during the broomball session. He gets a broom and pretends to be the Zamboni sweeping the ice.

[misteremanca 0]

There are some fond memories......

Our boy got his first pair of rollerblades the summer after he started skating. He ripped around the basement, on the carpet, for months and months. The stick and the net with dad in goal helped him get fired up, for sure. He would skate down there for hours....snagging the cheap carpet, hitting the wall, etc.

By the time the next winter came around he was a holy terror on the ice.

The daughter can't do that......we replaced the carpet and have laminate in the basement. And the walls can't take her stick damage either. Mom wouldn't stand for it. Dad figures he could repair another season of stick work, but that is a fight I won't win.....

For both kids, the first few times we went on the ice Dad hit the ice and immediately had a world record wipeout.....rolling around on his back and sliding around. The idea is to let them know it is ok to fall....you just get back up and keep going. Worked like a charm. Never had to deal with them getting majorly upset.

I did put them in a helmet, but laid off the big pants (unless outside in the cold) and other padding. I never had that, and would have thought to put them in it but I read somewhere it gives kids a false sense of security and perhaps sets them up for a nasty turn later when they take them off. I am not sure about that, but our experience is it seemed to work out ok.

Good luck getting the little one carving up the ice! Going to go see if I can get the 3 year old onto some ice somewhere tomorrow!

Cheers

eman

[hockeyblood 11]

Ive Seen this one time on a website but can't remember it. It's Nike recreational skates... Come's in blue or pink.

[Blueice 0]

We started with CCM's but his coach said the Bauers were better for starting and esp. his ankle development....at 3 he had to have ample support. Also even with burning them, they were way to hard and he got blisters. We tried everything....

They were $25 at our rink....

[Langenbrunner15 0]

I started skating when I was exactly two...that winter...I had the double bladed skates that worked very well when I didnt have the best balance. Hope this helps put a bit!!

[Iceblade 0]

Yep, all these suggestions are great. I think I'll snag the double bladed runners for her first time on the ice and some "grow with you" adjustable roller blades for home to get her acclimated to being on crazy wheeled "shoes". :) The idea of progressing from carpet to the tiled foyer or bathroom or the concrete patio or driveway is a nice idea.

Thanks again for all the advice,

Jeff

[hyprlte 0]

go to a play it again sports, or somewhere where you can get a second hand pair of skates

[Petey21 1]

A friend of mine has a 3-year old son, and he got him a pair of CCM 2.0 skates and so far they seem to work just fine.

http://www.mcsports.com/product/index.jsp?...rentPage=family

[Texhock12 0]

Good topic. I have a 2 year old girl that I'm getting ready to introduce to the ice. I've never started one of my kids this early. The earliest was 5. I'm going to invest in some of the Lil Angel skates. They look perfect for a toddler. I just hope they give enough ankle support since they pretty much have no strength in their ankles at that age. But like a previous post was mentioning. She's easily scared and I have to make sure not to force her so she'll hate skating. If she really doesn't want to do it, I'll give her another year then try again when she's older.

[DarkStar50 679]

Don't any of your rinks have Learn to Skate Programs? We have little guys and gals 3 years old and up in our programs. They get on the ice with chairs and push the chairs around for balance. I know it may not be practical and it would be a great experience to have teaching your kid to skate. Just a thought.....

[asdfa 0]

the bauer "lil champ" or "lil angel" skates seem to be pretty popular where i work. i think the most important thing is making sure your kids skate has edges and that they understand it's okay to fall, so it's a good idea for you to fall in front of them like mistermanca said or else they'll be afraid of moving

[jimmy 194]

We started with CCM's but his coach said the Bauers were better for starting and esp. his ankle development....at 3 he had to have ample support. Also even with burning them, they were way to hard and he got blisters. We tried everything....

They were $25 at our rink....

His coach don't know squat! The brand skate does not matter, the proper fitting and quality skate does.

[ktang 34]

We started with CCM's but his coach said the Bauers were better for starting and esp. his ankle development....at 3 he had to have ample support. Also even with burning them, they were way to hard and he got blisters. We tried everything....

They were $25 at our rink....

His coach don't know squat! The brand skate does not matter, the proper fitting and quality skate does.

Yeah, I can't see why Bauer would be better than CCMs or any other brand.

My son started in the hinged plastic skates when he was almost 3.

[hip check 0]

Our little guy will be two in a couple months. He's wearing the moulded Microns from the '80s. Not going to shell out too much for something that gets little use before it's outgrown. They have good side-to-side support for him. He basically walks around the rink in them - no stride yet!

We get him holding onto a chair or those T-bar devices and he wanders around the rink pushing that in front of him. We were in no hurry to get him skating, but he seems to really like it. He gets on the ice once every couple of weeks. He's falling a lot less, keeping his balance and looking around. The grin is priceless.

We have him wearing a helmet (req'd) with a face mask and just his snowpants, coat and mitts. We haven't had any big problems about fear of falling, fear of the ice, etc. He's not too far from the ground at this age!