When to get a little one on skates

[andysly 1]

My son is 2 and a half and I've been itching to get him onto the ice for the first time. Of course my wife has different idea....like waiting until he's 20!

Anyway, for those of you who have kids or have been involved in getting little ones out there, what (if any) is the ideal time to get a young child on the ice to start teaching them to skate?

[adam14 182]

my dad put me on the ice when i was 3. got my skates on my third bday. but i think that present was more for him then for me.

[saber26 0]

my dad got me to start when i was 4.

[Jordan 13]

I had my kids on the ice at your son's age. So long as you don't expect too much, no harm in it.

At that stage I pretty much just taught them to walk around a litlle on their skates. What I think it did do, was to get them comfortable with it for the next year. Make it fun, your back will not thank for this, and keep the sessions short and fun.

One idea I saw at a kids skating lesson that I really liked was to put down a door mat (piece of carpet) on the ice, so that the kids a had a non-slip place to stand on the ice.

[tro 4]

I started taking my little guys on the ice when they were 3, most times just skating them around the ice in my arms to get them excited about skating. They then started skating lessons at 4.

Best advice I have is when they hit 4, put on the skates at home(with skate guards) and let them walk around the house.

[#44wannabe 4]

ASAP!!! I didn't learn to skate until i was 12 or 13 i think and wish i had learned sooner.

[coryroth24 15]

If he's done breast feeding, then it's already too late...

[chef_ducky 0]

I was 7 before I started skating. I would recommend probably 3 though.

[andysly 1]

I actually did not learn to skate until I was 21. I bought myself a pair of rollerblades and a case of bandaids for my scraped knees.

Thanks for the suggestions. keep 'em coming!

I'm thinking along the lines of what tro and Jordan said, taking him onto the ice a couple of times to get him used to the idea. Then having him walk around the house with skates on. He'll turn 3 in April so I'm figuring to start lessons next September when he's 3 and a half.

[Aussie Joe 0]

Get a tots pair of inline hockey skates. They can skate on the carpet and you can wack some old bearings in there (rusty and rough) to stop them from going head over heels every time they hit a hard/smooth surface. We took my 2 yr old god daughter inline skating a few months back and it was amazing. No matter how many times she fell she just kept wanting to roll.

I guess really though you have to pop the kid on the ice eventually and just see how they go. Some will love it and never want to leave. Some will be overwhelmed everytime after only a few minutes. Different strokes for different wee folks.

[biff44 0]

Get a milk carton and let him skate!

[JJ Thompson94 0]

I started skating at 5 but my girlfriends nephew began skating just before 3. His father played D1 college, so he couldn't wait to put him on skates. Ended up pushing him a bit to hard with the lessons, and he started to lose interest. They pulled back and waited...3 months later he asked to go skating. They now go to a public skate twice a month, and only a month away from being 4, he's skating well, and enjoying it.

I think you have to introduce skating in fun way with no pressure and you can watch hockey on TV and take him to games, eventually they'll ask to play hockey all by themselves. I know I did.

[nickerjones 8]

i wish my dad would have put me on skates when i was younger..... im from oklahoma though and hockey isnt the biggest thing... i started tball when i was 3 a year earlier than everyone i knew and football when i was 6.... i can only imagine what a terror i would be on skates if dad would have started me earlier. Instead my wife got me into skating not to long ago and im horrible lol but have fun doing it none the less

[Bender 0]

I started skating when I was 5 or 6 and started hockey when I was 8 or 9.

Still remember my first pari of hockey skates (I'm an inline type of guy) wore them every single day at home for about 2 weeks until i could use them more :P

[Jordan 13]

Here is the definitive answer for when to get started !!!!!!!!

New Toronto Hockey Camp For Fetuses Attracts Hundreds of Expectant Mothers

[gymmonster 4]

Here is the definitive answer for when to get started !!!!!!!!

New Toronto Hockey Camp For Fetuses Attracts Hundreds of Expectant Mothers

hahaha WTF?!?! that's hilarious

"Get the hell up!" yells a youth hockey coach to a latecomer to the sport.

hahahaha

[misfit 0]

my nephew is prob a year and 4 months, and they have a brand new pair of CCM skates that he uses on the deck ( with the help of my brother-in-law)

[JJ Thompson94 0]

Here is the definitive answer for when to get started !!!!!!!!

New Toronto Hockey Camp For Fetuses Attracts Hundreds of Expectant Mothers

hahaha WTF?!?! that's hilarious

"Get the hell up!" yells a youth hockey coach to a latecomer to the sport.

hahahaha

Where do I sign my kid up for that. I can't wait till 3. Thats just pure insanity. I need to teach my kid the left wing lock now or he has no shot.

[Goonsquad 209]

True story..

I was taking care of the kid this morning and dragged her to one of the malls in the area. Amongst the things we did, we stopped at the KB Toy store. She hops in the ball pit. Right next to the ball pit is a rack and it has Franklin package of 2 hockey sticks, 2 hockey balls and a puck which was cracked open. I grab the stick, show it to the daughter, she rips it out of my hands, grabs a ball from the ball pit and is pushing the ball around with said stick with a smile on..

Still hoping she does not decide on figure skating... ;)

EDIT: OOps.. my bad

[jrhky36 1]

i started my son at just over 4yoa. took some lessons until june. when i took over. he's now starting hockey int he fall. i'm really looking forward to it, b/c i get to help out. i just hope he enjoys hockey as much as i do.

[JJ Thompson94 0]

I don't have kids and don't plan for it for a while, but my plan to get my kids to like hockey is simple. No pushing, just have NHL games on all the time. I do that anyway. Take the kid to some games. Not introduce any other sport, so he thinks hockey is the only sport in the world. Then wait for the natural feeling every young boy gets to make daddy proud to kick in, and he'll ask me to play hockey. It sounds calculated but thats how I got into hockey, so I'm sure it'll work on my kid.

When I went to school and someone told me they wern't a hockey fan, I thought they were crazy. "You like football?! What the hell is football?!"

[Aussie Joe 0]

...so he thinks hockey is the only sport in the world.

There's other sports? Man this board keeps me informed more and more each day. ;)

I think my GF will leave me as soon as she realises that if we have kids they it will be tough to bring them up NOT with a love/obsession for the game.

[Bender 0]

...so he thinks hockey is the only sport in the world.

There's other sports? Man this board keeps me informed more and more each day. ;)

I think my GF will leave me as soon as she realises that if we have kids they it will be tough to bring them up NOT with a love/obsession for the game.

In that case, try not to leave this thread, or even the forum up on the screen if your not in the room :lol:

[chippa13 1844]

I don't have kids and don't plan for it for a while, but my plan to get my kids to like hockey is simple. No pushing, just have NHL games on all the time. I do that anyway. Take the kid to some games. Not introduce any other sport, so he thinks hockey is the only sport in the world. Then wait for the natural feeling every young boy gets to make daddy proud to kick in, and he'll ask me to play hockey. It sounds calculated but thats how I got into hockey, so I'm sure it'll work on my kid.

When I went to school and someone told me they wern't a hockey fan, I thought they were crazy. "You like football?! What the hell is football?!"

That is horrible advice. Kids shouldn't focus solely on one sport and shouldn't just be exposed to only one sport. There are so many benefits to being involved in a variety of sports since they develop different skills and abilities.

[interpathway 9]

Here is the definitive answer for when to get started !!!!!!!!

New Toronto Hockey Camp For Fetuses Attracts Hundreds of Expectant Mothers

hahaha WTF?!?! that's hilarious

"Get the hell up!" yells a youth hockey coach to a latecomer to the sport.

hahahaha

haha absolutely hilarious!

+1 for age three though, i think the safest way to nurture a desire for the sport is watching the games as a family on TV and maybe making a trip out to your local pro team, whether it be NHL/AHL/ECHL. watching the 'big boys' play inspires a desire within the little ones.