All About Inline Skating/Roller Blading
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Hi,
For those who’d sent their kids for skating from as young as 3 years old, I have some questions:
1) Are there skates small enough to fit their tiny feet? Are those adjustable ones even small enough or suitable?
2) Can they take instructions?
3) Will they loose the skill if they don’t practice often? -
hey everyone... i saw that Skate With Us, a skate school for children age 3 onwards gives free skate class twice a week. you may want to check them out http://www.skate-with-us.com. u need own equipment though.
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I came across a skating lesson by accident at Pasir Ris last weekend. The lessons seem to be free if you rent the skates. I checked with the young trainer and he explained to me that from experience, 3 year-olds need to get accustomed to the weight of the skates by first practicing walking on the grass. They may take about 1 month to be able to skate, not just in 4 days like 5 year-olds! So I didn’t even bother asking if the lesson is free…
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mother_teresa:
Skateline taught the classes in both our dd & ds' schools. For ds' school, it was for p1 & p2. They split them into a few groups. Ds1 could already blade well so was in the \"advanced\" group. Ds2 actually learnt to sucessfully blade from the weekly lessons in school !
personally, i did not have a good impression on skateline because abt 3 years ago, i used to hire them for our school PE programme at a former school that i taught in and they only provided 1 instructor to 40 students! all my students were pri 1! We were told that there was to be 2 instructors but 1 got sick etc...but it happened every other week.... was quite disappointed to be honest. the main instructor only gave verbal instructions and did not really help the kids (i guess there were too many!)....i spoke to their supervisor, a lady i cannot remember the name...and she was really rude and non obliging!
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our school send us PE teachers to a sports workshop done by sports council b4 where SSC shared with us information on sports and pointed some sports suited for toddlers and rollerblading, swimming were some. i guess it makes sense cos it;s a sport that's easy to pick up and really does improve coordination and motor skills, not to mentioned confidence.
i think the walking on grass part, u need to clarify with whoever is the instructor as when we conducted the class here in school they did make some P3 kids walk on grass with skates on..so it's really not an age thing. just make sure u choose the correct school for your children with SMALL Class sizes no more than 6!
i personally don't like those \"skate all u can classes\" as u cannot control the size of the class cos it's \"more worth it\" psycholoically but class size will go up to 10 or 15....which is not quality learning for preschoolers...i think paying a bit more for small class ratio is VERY IMPORTANT.
parents can use trials are good to suss out their interest in those sports...like me we tried out yoga with the children and my kiddos were quite restless...hahaha
actually my friends in vancouver sent their children for ice hockey at age 5! their children learnt to skate at age 3. but i guess in sg we tend to be more conservative. whichever sports or activity u choose i hope parents will start the kids young as keeping the kids active will be good for their growth. as a teacher i/c of fitness club (which is the former TAF club) i see kids who join us to be simply disinterested in sports because it they are not used to the such activity. it really boils down to habit at home. so other than sending children to academic classes...do send children to try out stuff like ballet, yoga or swimming etc..it's worth the investment in the long run. -
dd attended one centre in Bukit Timah which teaches children from 2 and a half years old to skate. I signed her up when she was two and a half yrs old together with her pri school big brother because I could not tahan all her pleadings. The centre said that they could teach the kids to skate after only lesson and they did. Both kids were able to skate after only one lesson. No fanciful stunts, though.
No, the kids do not forget how to skate once they learnt them - at least not after half a year. -
I just want to share my experience with skate-with-us after we just had a trial class with the school. We are very disappointed after the recommendations here that they are good with young children.
The instructor basically said out the command like knee down first, v-stand that my 5yr old has totally no clue about it. My hubby has to physically adjust my boy’s feet to comply to the instructions given on the hard ground. All the instructor did was just standing there and watch. Totally no effort to bond with the kid whatsoever. There was no starting off at grass patch and luckily my hubby was by his side, too many times that he fell backwards; I can’t imagine how anyone could do more before he could even balance himself on the rollerblade. The lucky thing after class was that my boy just told my hubby that he just stick to this Fisher price roller skate. But nevertheless, we intend to check out Skateline in east coast this weekend… hopefully kiddo will pick up rollerblading this school holiday. -
momresource:
The lucky thing after class was that my boy just told my hubby that he just stick to this Fisher price roller skate.
I also bought my kids a pair of Fisher Price adjustable roller skates for them to practice at home! I never did let my kids take up any lessons after my last post on roller skates - thought I might as well wait till they're older in case they outgrow their skates...
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@momresource
Youngest age for learning to skate:
The youngest known age for starting to learn skating is 2 plus years old. However, every child has a different athletic ability. For every early-bloomer, there are as many late-starters. Children starting to skate at this age are rare, and is often more common in countries with a strong history/culture of skating, like Canada, North America and Northern Europe. Also, if the child has a certified and experienced instructor, the chances of starting young is much higher. In Asia, general, 4 to 5 years is a very good start age. If the child is already regularly swimming or cycling, the chances for an early start is much higher. This is because the child is likely to have a higher muscle tone in the main muscles associated with inline skating.
Inline skating requires muscle strength in the thighs and lower back. For young children whose thighs are not strong enough, they will be unable to maintain the skates in a posture to remain standing. This causes them to be fighting gravity constantly. Many young children start before they are ready, or without proper instruction, resulting in frustration even when the child tries his or her best. The end result is that the child may find skating un-enjoyable, and so lose interest in the sport.
If a child is taking lessons from an ICP certified instructor, but is unable to standup unassisted, and move unassisted without falling after a total of about 2 hours of supervised skating lessons, most likely, the child does not have enough muscular strength needed for skating yet. In such a case, the solution will be to defer the skating lessons, and first take swimming lessons, or start to cycle. Cycling with training wheels is acceptable. The purpose of swimming/cycling is to increase the muscle tone of the child in the calfs and thighs before trying to skate again after 6 months.
Regarding outgrowing of skates, it will be useful to know that most junior/children skates from major manufacturers are adjustable for up to 3 sizes. This usually means a growing child can use the skate for 2 to 3 years.
I also take this opportunity to remind all parents to ensure that for the safety of the child, full protective gear (helmet, wrist, elbow and knee) should be worn at all times during skating. I also strongly recommend taking lessons from a certified instructor to avoid unnecessary injuries or bad self-taught habits.
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@mother_teresa
I'm sorry you didn't have a positive experience with a lesson conducted by Skateline.
Presently, Skateline's policy is to have a student-instructor ratio of no more than 1 instructor to 15 students, for lessons in MOE schools. Our instructors adjust the ratio based on the needs of the school. For example, for younger children, our ratio will be 1:8 or smaller, and for children with special needs (like autism), 1:3. Skateine also fields only ICP certified instructors, unlike other schools which may field un-certified instructors, or a single certified instructor supported by a number of un-certified instructors.
Skateline is continuously improving our skating service to schools, and is privileged to have provided skating service to more and more schools. You may see the listing of the schools we have taught here:
http://www.skateline.com.sg/article/view/Students-We-Have-Taught-00010101.rails
For more information about our non-school skating lessons, you may visit http://www.skateline.com.sg/article/view/Skate-Instruction-Lesson-Fees-20080324.rails
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If anyone has any questions about skating for young children, I will be very happy to answer them here.
Warmest regards
Edmund Vong
Head of skate school, Skateline.
edmund@skateline.com.sg
http://www.skateline.com.sg -
[Editor's note: Topic selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/choosing-skating-equipment-juniors.]
@concern2
Some points about choosing skating equipment for juniors:
Since inline skating became popular in the early 1990s, many manufacturers have produced low-price copycat products which are available at a very low price. This has resulted in a wider range of choices for parents, but remember that you get what you pay for.
A pair of good qualify adjustable inline skates for children, made by a reputable inline skate manufacturer like Rollerblade and K2 (these are currently the Nike and Adidas of skating products), will cost between S$150 to $300. You will be able to find skates at as cheap as $59 in certain big department stores. Many parents buy the low-priced products because they can't tell the difference between good and poor quality skates. I will compare them here, part by part.
A)Skate boot:
Good quality:
a single or double piece synthetic material, which should feel and fit like a pair of running shoes. The foam should be SOFT, PLUSH and THICK. This will hug the feet, ensuring good fit, comfort, and avoiding compression muscle aches or blisters.
Poor quality:
Plastic outershells encasing a thin liner. Liner is removable, and often made of thinly padded foam, which gets compressed with repeated use. These boots are painful to use, because the hard shell boots compress and rub against the skin and muscles through the thin liners. Poor fitting also affects the skating motion and balance. The most common symptom of poor quality boot is if the ankles are consistently tilted outside or inside (not straight/vertical) even when a correct sized skate is properly worn.
b)Skate frame (the part that holds the wheels)
Good quality:
light Aluminum/Magnesium alloy or high quality composite plastics. These are durable, light, and stiff. They transmit power through the frame resulting in an efficient stride. End result is a faster skate with the same effort.
Poor quality:
Heavy plastics with poor molding, often with rough or sharp edges OR thick aluminum frames which are cumbersome and heavy. These frames transmit power poorly, and are often heavy. The result is an exhausting skate, and a constant feeling that one is not going fast enough for the same effort.
C)skate bearings
High quality:
ABEC/SG/ILQ rated 3 or 5, made by a reputable brand. These are high precision parts which spin efficiently, resulting in a smooth glide with little effort.
Poor Quality:
ABEC/SG/ILQ rated 3 or 5, made by an unbranded manufacturer, or unrated bearings. These are often slow to roll, resulting in a slow, tiring skate.
D)Skate wheels
High quality:
polyurethane made by a reputable inline skate or wheel manufacturer. With this you get high rebound, and a smooth, efficient roll. They also grip the ground firmly even when cornering or on wet ground.
Poor quality:
hard plastics which makes a \"clack, clack\" sound when it hits the floor, OR low quality polyurethane which have low grip and wears away quickly. Hard plastics in the wheels transmit shock from the ground to the ankles and knees, which increases the chance for injury for long term use. Poor material means reduced grip, increaseing the chances of falling due to sudden loss of friction on wet ground or when making a turn.
Skate specialty stores often refer to low-quality skates as \"toys\". You can tell that a skate is really a toy if a very young child can step around (with little or no roll) in the skate without learning to skate. Skates of low quality can cause discomfort, resulting in the child not enjoying the sport, or cause outright injury. Whereas skates of proper quality will let the child focus on learning the sport with little or no equipment distractions.
Edmund Vong
Head of Skate School, Skateline
edmund@skateline.com.sg
http://www.skateline.com.sg
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