[SweetPotato]

We live in a neighborhood with lots of older kids whom my dd adores- and she wants to do whatever she sees them doing. Last fall she got obsessed with scooters and basketball, then we had been planning on getting her a "big girl bike" with training wheels this spring, but she has suddenly decided that she wants roller skates instead. Ugh. What's your experience with skates for a child this young? Are those plastic adjustable things any good at all? I honestly don't have a feel for whether this would be a short try them out a few times, realize it can be hard to stop, thing- or if she'd be comfortable skating while holding my hand (which would potentially allow for more/longer walks, which I'dlove to be doing for health) Should I try to find some second-hand ones so that we're not putting a lot of $ into what may be a very short phase and then upgrade to nicer ones if she really gets into it? Or should I tell her that we'll get roller skates when she's 4 (or 5) and go ahead with the bike?

 

[meemee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SweetPotato Should I try to find some second-hand ones so that we're not putting a lot of $ into what may be a very short phase and then upgrade to nicer ones if she really gets into it?

i prefer this option. i usually prefer to let her experience her answer rather than tell her anything. esp. if you have a headstrong girl like mine.

i like doing that so she doesnt have this longing that she remembers as a grown up - which really isnt that at all. and also because you never know - she just might surprise you.

for eg. my dd longed for wheelies. shoes with wheels on them. i KNEW she would never like them. she is not v. good, has never had confidence when on 'moving' ground. so i took her to the store and had her try one. oh boy did she learn quick and stopped asking for one. maybe you can take try them on her at the thrift store and see if she likes the feeling of being in them.

 

[kalisis]

My son had skates at that age and they were really hard for him to use. His balance wasn't that great to begin with and then put him on wheels and he had a time trying to keep it all together. Mind you, he's not very coordinated, very smart, not good with using his body, so maybe your daughter is a little more coordinated?

What ended up happening when he wanted to skate is we would have to hold both him arms and keep him upright as he skated for a bit. It was hard work on the part of the adult - no way we could just walk down the street with me walking and him skating. It was a full on endeavor.

That was just our experience, not to discourage you, but even now at 4.5, he still can't really skate just holding my hand.

 

[rainyday]

:

Skates looked a lot harder for DS than I remember them being for me. I don't think the plastic adjustable ones work all that well, and I couldn't find metal ones like I had as a kid. Could you take her to a roller rink and let her try a rental pair there?

 

[4evermom]

I don't think it's a bad age for skates. Ds started stomping around in some about that age. We found some Barbie ones at a thrift store. When his feet were big enough, we got this kind which adjusts from size 12-1.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=1919358

I think it's generally a good idea to go with the interest. So if she's into the idea of skating, get the skates this year. She might not progress to gliding on them so soon, but she'll get comfortable with balancing with wheels on her feet. Maybe you can pick up a bike later in the season when they go on sale.

 

[maya's mommy]

my dd has a pair of skates that go over her shoes. I found them at a garage sale a few years ago and they have lasted through both girls. dd2 turned 3 in Feb. and loves them. She is just very slow on them. She is steady but is so sad when i won't let her go far in them because it takes so long. She only wants to go at her own pace, she gets really mad if I try to take her hand and get her going faster. My dd1 was not as steady but loved to be pulled along, it made it much faster to go places with her on the skates.

 

[pigpokey]

My children have big feet and if your daughter has small feet you may not be able to do what I could. Both have used higher-end inline skates that adjust through several sizes. My son started at 2 and my daughter at 3, both ice and inline. No problems. We only use them inside though, so stopping is not an issue. The roller rink does not charge much (or at all) for kids their age (currently 4 and 5) and we also attend weekly church gym skate nights when we can.

I think my son's skates adjust from 11-1 and are Tour ZT660s, and my daughter's are K2's and I can't remember what sizes they adjust through. But they should last about 2 years or more even with the fast growing giant feet.

I did try cheap ones from Target that looked similar before I got expensive skates. They hurt their feet.

 

[pbjmama]

My ds has been ice skating since 18 months, independently since about 2 yo. I think roller skating at 3.5 is doable, although your street is harder to fall on than ice. I would check play it again sports or similar stores, craigslist. You can always sell them back when they are too small or not used. Don't forget the helmet

 

[EVC]

Quote:

Are those plastic adjustable things any good at all?

Not really, but....My dd has a pair and LOVES them. We got them for her when she was about 2 and a half and she has loved them ever since (she's 3 and a half now). They are clunky and awkward, so totally impractical for "real" skating, but dd just likes clunking around in them, so she's happy

 

[SweetPotato]

*update*

So we got a ToysRUs flier in the newspaper yesterday, which featured roller skates for 50% off-- so we packed in the car and got them (dd and I were both a bit overwhelmed at the store-never been there before- but that's another story!) They're cheapy plastic ones, but they do adjust to let you make the wheels only go forward, etc. so that they child can get used to them one step at a time (Barbie model from Fisher Price I think)-- we paid $13, which was a small enough investment for my taste. After waking us up multiple times last night to ask if it was morning yet, she went out first thing this morning and stalled. Poor monkey- she was so excited. I picked up some elbow and knee pads at Target, which I think settled her mind a bit, and then she went out with dh on one side and me on the other. At first she was holding on really tightly, but by the time we made if halfway around the block she was going by herself!! She's always been very coordinated and fairly gutsy with physical feats, but she also tends to get frustrated and give up easily-- so I'm really proud to watch her keep trying

 

[Landover]

Cool that she did well! I was at the park the other day and there was a 3 year old skating very independently with roller blades. He was a little crazy man! The dad told me that the key is to also get them a hockey stick so that they can use it as a balance tool when they are learning. They think they are "playing hockey" and they really just have a crutch.