Skates for my daughter - couple questions

[Rathji]

So I am looking at getting my 4 year old her first pair of skates. I never skated as a kid, so I really have no idea what's should be looking for.

Where is a good place to get a decent pair of used skates? I don't want to break the bank and find out that she isn't interested once she is on them a couple of times. Is there any good reason to go with new over used?

What should I be looking for? I have heard you should get them anywhere ranging from loose fitting to tight as possible. Any brands or types I should stay away from? Mrs Rathji says she wants to have her consider figure skating, should we start with figure skates or just let her get the hang of normal skates first?

Thanks in advance.

Don't let her become dependent on the toe pick! That's how I learned and it took me forever to unlearn it.

Give her some good hockey skates or look at getting some used ones seeing as she'll likely grow out of them in a season.

We had Pux Jr. skating on BOB skates at 1 year and a half.

[DropIt]

I think a used pair of skates is just fine for a 4 year old. With how expensive new ones are and how fast kids grow I wouldnt be shelling out for a new pair for a while.

All skates fit differently as well, a size 10 in eastons isnt a size 10's in Grafs, dont go by sizes, go by how they fit. Chances are your choices will come down to Nike or Easton. two of the three mainline skate brands that come in kids sizes, CCM being the third but they generall fit longer rather than wider and I've found that most kids dont like them at all.
Tightening skates is pretty simple also, you can tell right away when a skate is too tight when your child starts to scream bloody murder, and you can tell when they are too loose if when she is walking it appears that she hasdeveloped a 3rd joint in her ankles that bend 90 degrees outwards.

Also, remember that the more you do to break them in before she goes out, the better and less painful it will be to skate the first few times. Most places nowadays have the skate oven that they warm up so that the skate will mold to your foot, but if not you can also use the oven at home, it tends to cut down the break in time significantly.

[prarieboy]

Off topic but plastic knee pads make it really hard for the kids to get up. To slippery. Under the pants might work.

Fotze gave us a good tip a couple years back. Get a scarf and put across the kids chest and then under the arms so you can hold them up from the back when they fall. Don't hold them up but just use it to keep them from falling hard.

[Cheerio]

Play it Again Sports would be a good place to look for kids skates. If you're in the youth/child sizes new ones shouldn't be more than ~$50. It may be harder to find the really small sized ones in used (at least it was when I worked at Play it Again). Bauer or Easton are probably going to be your best bets in terms of what brand.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by fotze

Youth sizes, there are hundreds, four year old and younger, zero.

and my shame, bought my two year old, skates yesterday....

By youth I meant kids size 10 and down

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Originally Posted by fotze

Yesterday there were none 8 or lower.

Also, do not buy those walmart ones that adjust. Total pieces of garbage, no point.

Don't let the kid use those chair things. Falling is the best way to teach them to not fall.

I second that. I was forced to get over my fear of falling at 5 when another kid took my walker thing away from me while I was in the middle of the rink. I got back to the boards without falling. I thought, this is easy, and never looked back.

[ma-skis.com]

I bought one of those grey adjustable sets for my kid last year (he's 5 now) from canadian tire, he's still wearing them this year, but they are wearing down, the clips are barely holding together and the blades rust easily. They served their purpose since I managed to get a second year out of them, but I will definitely get him a nicer pair once these ones fall apart.

In Retrospect I'd probably get the cheaper non adjustable pairs for him to learn on, as my original thought was getting a second year out of them, but he learned pretty quick and I've thought more than once this year that a nicer pair would be better for him. And when I bought the skates, I was told they should be fairly snug, not too much movement around the ankle or foot.

Also agreed with those walker things, first thing my kid learned was how to fall down and stand up, after that it was easy. and elbow pads were a pretty cheap investment for him. That old thread was pretty useful actually.

Get ready to learn how to skate yourself, I had to teach myself last year after never really knowing how, it's way more fun to skate with your kid than sit on the sides or walk around in your shoes holding them.

[annasuave]

I learned to skate with figure skates toe-picks too - and wish I hadn't. Most of the mechanics of skating are the same, no matter what kind of skates you've got on. If you're daughter has the desire and aptitude for figure skating - she can always develop those skills later with the appropriate skates. Edges, push, glide and stop are the same in "boys skates" or "girls skates". These days, if I put on a pair of figure skates, I trip on the picks and hate life.

I like Play It Again for used sports equipment.

You want good ankle support, and you don't want their little feet to be cramped or flopping around inside. But whatever skates you get her, they definitely won't fit next year, and she might even outgrow them this winter.

My dad (and I'm willing to bet a lot other kids dad's did this too) always made me wear two pairs of wooly socks when trying on skates, with the idea my feet would get bigger and I could always shed socks.

[Wormius]

We had good success with Play it Again also. We tried the bob skates and the adjustable ones, but our kid never took to them. As soon as we got him skates that were fit to him, he really loves skating.

Further to this, I don't know whether it is the skating lessons he is in, or the better fitting skates, but before this year our son hated skating and now he is excelling at it. I also wouldn't have imagined the ways to teach skating to a kid, so a lot of kudos to skating instructors.

[conroy22]

Coming from a skating coach...don't get those (stupid...as I like to think) adjustable skates, or the strap on ones parents still seem to manage to find and then put their kids in skating lessons. Drives me mental when kids come to CanSkate in them and then they can't properly skate in them because they aren't very good. I play hockey and figure skate, but I would recommend getting her figure skates. Not because I've figure skated for way longer then I've started playing hockey, but because it is a much easier transition from figure skates to hockey skates, unlike the other way around. If she can learn to skate and balance on figure skates that have toe picks, it will be easier to move to a skate that has no toe picks and a balance point that is more in the middle of the boot.

Or, you could just buy her both figure skates and hockey skates and alternate them each day!

As for where to get used skates...sport chek, source for sports, sport mart usually has used hockey skates, and the best place to get used figure skates would be from ProSkate. There is one located in Midnapore and Mardaloop!

[chalms04]

Originally Posted by Rathji

So I am looking at getting my 4 year old her first pair of skates. I never skated as a kid, so I really have no idea what's should be looking for.

Where is a good place to get a decent pair of used skates? I don't want to break the bank and find out that she isn't interested once she is on them a couple of times. Is there any good reason to go with new over used?

What should I be looking for? I have heard you should get them anywhere ranging from loose fitting to tight as possible. Any brands or types I should stay away from? Mrs Rathji says she wants to have her consider figure skating, should we start with figure skates or just let her get the hang of normal skates first?

Thanks in advance.

Whatever brand the Sedins wear.

[Rathji]

Thanks for the input everyone.

We picked up a pair of Bauers frkm Play it again. Also grabbed some bob skates for my 2 year, but am considering getting a real pair if his balance in these seems decent because he is a very clumsy boy.