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Learning to skate for children improves their coordination, endurance, and increases self-esteem. The sooner we start learning to skate, the better! Under the watchful eye of an experienced instructor, the child will learn safe driving techniques. If our child does not have any significant he alth contraindications, he can successfully try his hand at the ice rink. Learn how to teach your child to skate and how to choose the right ice skates for them.

Learning to skate for children is a great idea for spending free time in winter. Ice skating is very popular among children, adolescents and adults. No wonder, it is an attractive and easy-to-learn sport for almost everyone!

So how do you teach your child to skate? When it comes to our children, first of all, we want them to be able to safely enjoy the great opportunities of ice skating.

Here, experienced instructors come to help, who will take care of our children. Because skating with the right skating technique is completely safe! Check what it is.

Learning to skate - when to start?

It is never too late to learn to skate, but it is best if we introduce the child to this winter sport from an early age. You can start ice skating when you are around four years old! This is the best time for the first skating steps, because a child of this age is big, fit and knowledgeable enough to successfully learn ice skating and gain knowledge useful for a lifetime.

Ice skates for children - buy or rent them?

If we are focused on the fact that our child will skate only occasionally, once or twice a year, it is not worth investing in good quality private skates. However, you need to pay attention to several important aspects before choosing the skates in the rental shop, so that our kids won't get hurt at the rink.

Children's shoes should be comfortable first of all - neither too small nor too big. Nor can they rub or hurt them. If we do not take care of this, ice skating can not only be tiring and troublesome, but also dangerous.

When our child wants to skate regularly throughout the season or also outside of it, we should present him with good quality, professional skates. Unfortunately, skate rentals are characterized by the fact that we do not always find the right skates in stock, and their quality can be very different. When buying ice skates for our child, we should pay attention to their quality.

Usually, cheap skates are durable only at the beginning, but it is enough to ride them for a longer period of time to lose their functionality. If our child is serious about skating, we shouldn't save here. The safety of our child on the ice rink depends on high-quality skates.

Adjustable skates - yes or no?

There are adjustable skates on the market, the size of which can be increased as the child grows up, as well as skates with a detachable skid that can be changed into wheels for roller skates. Although this solution seems very convenient, specialists advise against buying this type of skates.

Their basic drawback is the lack of adjustment of the skid length - it is the same all the time, even if we enlarge the shoe by 3 numbers. As a result, the child may have problems with the correct center of gravity, the skate may be unstable and increase the risk of falling.

How to dress a child for ice skates?

You do not need any specialized outfit for skating, but you have to remember that it should be comfortable and universal. When we go out on the ice, we are initially quite cold and only after some time of activity do we start to warm up. Therefore, it is worth making sure that our child is dressed in layers. It's a good idea to wear something to take off when you're warm in motion to prevent excessive sweating, as it's an easy way to catch a cold.

If we choose an indoor ice rink for our toddler in a sports hall - there is no need to put on a jacket, just a fleece sweatshirt. The child should wear gloves that will protect their hands from a possible fall, and a hat, regardless of where they are skating. At the beginning, when the toddler learns to ride, a helmet is also necessary (it can be a bicycle helmet), it will protect the head in the event of a fall.

What does learning to skate for kids look like

Learning to skate is relatively simple for children. However, you have to remember that children are different - some have an excellent sense of balance and are perfectly coordinated, while others do not have such well-developed motor skills because they acquire them more slowly. On average, it takes about three lessons for a child to learn to skate smoothly. In other cases, it can happen after the first lesson as well as after tenlessons.

If we choose to learn with a professional instructor, learning to skate will certainly come much faster and will be easier for our child.

Teaching your child on your own is not always a good idea. A trained specialist has a wide range of skills, experience and knowledge that can be passed on to our child from an early age. This will make our child acquire the right movement patterns from the beginning and will shape the correct driving technique.

The first lesson always starts with learning the basic principles of he alth and safety on ice. The instructor teaches the child how to fall on the ice and how to get up from a fall. It also shows the correct riding technique, which starts with learning to walk on ice.

Once the child has mastered the basics, the instructor shows how to perform bends and gentle squats on the ice rink. Then he goes on to learn how to brake safely. The instructor protects the child against a possible fall.

Learning to skate for kids - safety measures

Every time your toddler goes out on the ice, remember to provide him with adequate protection in the event of a fall. Remember that in small children they will happen more often than in older ones.

The first thing your child needs to do before going on the ice is a helmet (it can be a bicycle helmet). It will be needed especially during the first visits to the ice rink. Over time, your child will learn how to brake safely, how to fall down without injuring yourself, and how to move on the ice so as not to hurt yourself or others. Then we can let him give up his helmet.

Additional protection will also be knee pads, which will help to cushion the fall and protect the child from injury.

When it comes to the basic principles of safe skating, keep the following guidelines in mind:

  • you shouldn't look down under your feet, because then it's easy to lose your balance
  • hips should be in a neutral position - they cannot "run" backwards
  • make sure that your hands are coordinated with your legs and that they help keep your balance
  • knees should be slightly bent, excessive hyperextension causes the lightness of the ride to be lost
  • when losing balance, fall forward and cushion the fall with your hands in front of you (elbows should be slightly bent!)
  • if we are already falling backwards and cannot control it, always point our head towards the chest to prevent it from hitting the ice sheet
Contraindications to skating

There aren't many contraindications to ice skating for kids. So who can safely play this sport? Ice skating should not be practiced by children who have serious problems with their locomotor or nervous systems.

All diseases related to the skeletal and muscular systems or psychomotor problems unfortunately exclude our children from this type of activity. Ice skating should also not be practiced by children with balance disorders and problems with the labyrinth - it may end up with serious falls on the ice.

Ice skating for kids - benefits

Ice skating can have many rewarding benefits for kids! Ice skating is a sport that ensures constant development and gives you plenty of opportunities to reach higher and higher levels of difficulty. This makes the child learn to be systematic, fight weaknesses and perseverance in achieving goals from an early age.

Ice skating is a great opportunity to use up your excess energy and just have fun.

Ice skating certainly rules out boredom and repetition. Each visit to the ice rink is a great opportunity to perform some new figure, trick or evolution on the ice. This motivates our child to achieve more and more complicated and daring levels of skating.

And finally - skating improves the child's motor coordination, increases their physical endurance and teaches balance. What's more, it also has an excellent effect on the mental he alth of a child - it improves their self-esteem, gives them self-confidence and increases their mental strength.

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Category:

Winter sports