Learning how to skate is a great way to not only gain a new skill but also to improve balance, kickstart new brain activity and increase overall health! Find out everything you need to know about how to teach your child to rollerblade with this informative guide and help from Crazy Skates! Get a great pair of children’s rollerblades when you check out the inventory at Crazy Skates today!
First Steps
Your first step in deciding how to teach your child to rollerblade is to choose whether you or a professional coach will be teaching them. Most parents choose to self-teach, and if you know how to rollerblade well, teaching them yourself is a great way to create a bonding experience! However, if you can’t rollerblade, it may be safer for your child to enlist the help of a seasoned professional. The first step to learning how to rollerblade is to ensure that the shoe is properly fitted. If the shoe is too loose, your child is at risk for ankle sprains and more frequent falls because there’s no support. If the shoe is too tight, this can cause cramping in the foot, which can also lead to frequent falls.
Continue communicating with your child while they’re skating to make sure their feet still feel supported throughout the entire lesson. It can also be fun to pick out a pair of rollerblades together! Rollerblades come in all kinds of colors and special effects, so your child is guaranteed to find something awesome!
The Teaching Process
When people are first beginning to rollerblade, they often go to a park with a rink and hold on to the rails while they learn. This can be a good idea for you and your child, but it is not necessary to find a rink unless you don’t have open space anywhere else. No matter where you choose to practice, there should be enough space to rollerblade in wide circles and the ground should be relatively flat to avoid unwarranted falls. To begin, get your child standing in their rollerblades and get a feeling for how they move. If the shoes become uncomfortable quickly and the fit is right in the boot, your child may benefit from wearing thick socks, or multiple layers of socks to add more cushioning to the arch of their foot.
Start teaching your child slowly by first introducing small movements. Take small steps in the rollerblades either with the help of a guard rail or through your assistance. After some time walking in the blades, have your child start trying to put more force between each step. The key to rollerblading is using your hips to propel your steps. Have your child attempt to move each step forward without picking their feet up off of the ground. To accomplish this, they must use their hips to propel their legs forward, and they’ll have less of a chance of falling because they’re not actually picking up their feet! Once they have learned how to use their hips to increase momentum, they can begin slowly picking up speed by lifting their feet up off the ground slightly to get more distance with each step.
Once your child has learned the basics of how to move in rollerblades, it’s important to teach them how to turn and stop. Turning is a natural movement to learn, as it simply requires specific placement of the feet. To turn left, the left foot must guide the right in the proper direction, and vise-versa to turn right. Stopping can be much more difficult to learn, and there are a few different options depending on where you’re rollerblading. If you’re in a skate park with a guard rail, you can teach your child to slow their momentum until they come to a stop.
Unlike roller skates, rollerblade shoes do not have braking equipment, and the slowing process is more difficult. To brake in a short period of time, roller blades need to be forcefully kicked down at an angle. Most people use the outside leg to brake while the other leg is used for balance. If your child is not ready to learn how to brake immediately, you can teach them how to slow down to a comfortable stop. Use the railing or other stationary objects around you to teach your child how to slow down and come to a natural stop.
Once your child has become a rollerblading pro, it’s time to outfit them with the best gear for their activities! Find a full collection of awesome rollerblades online at Crazy Skates today!