When to start your child skating
Kids Roller Skating - How to Teach
Hey
a skaters I'm dirty Deborah hurry with
the dirty school escape and sure-grip
roller skate I'm here at the fountain
vallye skating center with a very
special video for parents parents is it
time to teach your kid how to skate
did you skate when you were younger and
just want to get back to it and you want
to drag your kid along teach your kid
how to skate from my experience with
parents is either delightful or a
nightmare I am here to help you make it
more on the delightful side of the
spectrum and avoid the nightmarish stuff
that happens sometimes when you try to
teach your kid something new now the
reason why I know this video is
important is because I know that skating
brings together the generations I get so
many messages from grandparents that are
now back skating and their skating with
their grandkids what other sport can you
do that
parents skating with kids cousins
skating together just bringing families
together and I love it and I love it and
I want it for you and I want it to be a
good experience so parents this video is
for you to watch not necessarily your
kids I'm gonna give you all the tips
tricks and secrets to get your kids
skating later on I'm gonna release a
video that is absolutely for your child
I'm gonna literally look through the
camera and speak to them and tell them
how to skate okay but this video is just
for you so let's get started
the number one thing you have to tell
your kid is everyone falls in skating
it's part of skating learning how to
fall learning how to get back up and try
again is one of the hallmarks of skating
falling doesn't necessarily end after
you learned how to skate some of the
best skaters fall quite often because
they're constantly trying to do new
things reach new heights where you just
have accidents where you fall ok so we
need to incorporate falling as something
fun in skating so number one you tell
them
everyone's gonna fall in skating oh my
god you're gonna fall so much I'm gonna
fall you're gonna fall Filene's fun
let's make it a game now here are my
rules for falling your kid's gonna fall
in their own way you literally don't
have to hold on to them kids fall all
the time right they're running around
they fall it's not a big deal for a kid
to fall down not like it is for an adult
ok we don't like fall down every once in
a while the kids kind of fall out so
it's not a big deal
your reaction to them falling is so
important you need to tell them hey
you're gonna fall and when they fall
you're like oh my god and help them up
you can help them up that's fine but
when they fall you can't be like oh my
god are you hurt are you ok
trust me your kid is fine so tell them
that every time that they fall that it's
not their fault it's no big deal it
happens all the time
and then tell them you're gonna play a
little game where they have three
seconds not four not five not ten they
have three seconds in which to get up
when they fall so when your kid falls on
the ground you say up up up one two
three and get them to get up now what I
really like to do when I'm teaching my
kids here at the rink is tell them to
say up up up every time they hit the
ground I have all the kids say up up up
they continue to say up up up until they
actually get up you know why that's
important
it helps trick the brain when they have
fallen sometimes they get scared they're
not hurt trust me they're not hurt what
they are is shocked so I will tell
children honey before you know you're
skating you fall down you know most of
the time you're not hurt you're just
super shocked by the experience because
you were out skating around and it boom
all of a sudden you're on the ground so
I give them a tool to use I tell them
see up up up up up up and then you got
three seconds and I count one and two
three now here's the point straight up
you might have to bribe your child you
might have to say hey there's something
in it for you if you hit the ground and
get up in three seconds and say up up up
I'm gonna give you a sticker candy money
a puppy I don't care whatever it is you
got in your arsenal to wheel out to help
this kid would be perfect if not you're
just like I'm just gonna need you to get
up with that up up up
now when I was teaching kids for a
little while
I had like a moment where I realized
something when I say to a kid something
really loud like I go up up up I
realized that some of them would have
this look on their face and in their
mind I was yelling at them so I had to
literally explain when I get super
excited and you fall down and I yell up
up up at you I am not mad at you you
have done nothing wrong I'm just highly
encouraging you to get up as quickly as
possible so when that happens I'm like
yeah good job good job good job
I don't care about the fall I care about
that get enough that's what the
important thing is okay care about the
getting up the fall does not matter let
me say this - I know that we're really
into protective gear these days you know
helmets pads and all this stuff and we
think if our kid Falls are gonna hurt
themselves just remember if you're a
dolt of my age or anywhere
my generation we did lots of things and
we had zero protective gear including
like seat belts okay I'm not suggesting
that you now driving around without seat
belts and nothing like that
I'm just saying understand they did your
kids a lot more durable than you think
and with you with the right attitude
being happy and fun about it and be like
oh and they jump up and you're like oh
my god good job your kid's gonna be just
fine now your kid when they're on their
skates and they're not falling they're
gonna need to know how to skate properly
let's talk about this proper body
posture just have your kid go like this
stick those heels together
penguin feet just tell them to put their
feet in the penguin position which's
heels together now have them put their
arms out to the side now tell them get
down a little bit low now all I need
them to do is shift their body weight
from side to side the biggest challenge
here is oftentimes your kid won't want
to pick up their foot why they've all of
a sudden got this giant apparatus
attached to their foot it's got wheels
on it it already make them fall it feels
heavy it's bizarre there's a lots of
stuff going on they don't know so this
is my little trick I tell them I want
them to make some noise you tell a kid
you want them to make some noise I tell
penguin position put your arms down
don't stomp on the floor make some noise
literally someone out there can make a
million dollars if they could just make
a skate that every time you stopped on
the floor came out with a different
sound effectively like Springs
boeing-boeing boom boom boom boom I tell
them like this we're gonna go boom boom
boom I tell these kids make some noise I
have them do this for the sheer fact as
I need them to pick up their foot and
set it down pick up their foot and set
it down
otherwise they do this they do this all
the time in it gets them know we're also
this this or my favorite I know how to
ride a scooter this I'm a skateboarder
same thing just pushing that one foot so
weird for you
penguin position get down low make some
noise once they know how to do that now
arms sometimes your kids arms are all
over the place you tell them that you
need them to act like a little airplane
I need airplane arms out now when you
tell your kids don't want airplane arms
out also have to tell them what you
don't want I don't want spaghetti arms
I don't want airplane wings that flap
I need airplane arms out penguin feet
make some noises it pounds forward right
now once they can do that I can
guarantee you there is going to be a lot
of bobbling around as they find their
center of balance over their skates it's
just natural so I tell my kids listen if
you think you're gonna fall I need you
kick to get down in my favorite position
which is drag a tiny car now I see drive
a tiny car because I need them to get
down as low as possible especially if
they think they're gonna fall and then I
need them to do something with their
arms I don't want them to put their arms
in the back I don't want their arms to
go way up high so I tell them airplane
airplane airplane oh I think I'm gonna
fall driving a tiny car complete with
steering wheel so that their hands will
come in front of them so let's review
it's going to be penguin feet arms just
out you're gonna say make some no try
the tiny car it is literally as simple
as that I want you to review those
things over and over then once your kid
has that I want you to have fun with
them and tell them we're gonna walk
around in a circle have them get their
airplane arms out remember no spaghetti
arms I want you to look ahead at them
and then look over your shoulder when
they look over their shoulder tell them
to pick up their feet and make some
noise in a circle and I can guarantee
you they will go like this the more I
can get them this the more I can get
them to make turns on the floor so
again penguin feet arms out like an
airplane oh my god I'm gonna fall it
drive a tiny car get up and tell them
turn turn turn look over there turn and
turn and turn kids love it they love it
they love it they love it
now the last tip I have for you is very
very important you have to manage your
expectations for a lot of you you may
have been a very good skater when you
were young and you may have been the
type of kid that just strapped on skates
got out in the street and just killed it
and then you may look at your child
today and think like or you may be just
the type of parent that really wants
their child to be very very good at
something and I want them to be very
very good at something but we both need
to realize that it takes a ton of
practice a ton of practice and if you
get your kid off at the very beginning
on a good foot of just playing with this
of just being a penguin with your
airplane arms and driving a tiny car and
then spinning yourself in circles I
promise you that your kid will want to
do it over and over and over again they
don't have to be great right at the
beginning I cannot tell you how many
kids I've taught that struggled so hard
in the beginning and then over time they
got better and better and better to the
point where they are amazing now so
manage your expectations rule of thumb
have fun have fun with your kid because
you only get to teach them this one time
and if it becomes a situation where they
are frightened by it because they didn't
know that falling was okay or they they
think that they're being yellow that
they may not want to do it again and I
don't want that for you so parents have
a blast teaching your kids how to skate
please leave me comments
and me messages ask me questions I am
more than happy to help you okay you
could even send me a video of your kid
skating and I'll tell you what you need
to do with them if you're really really
stuck
later on we'll come out with a more
advanced video for you to teach your
kids more advanced stuff other than that
you could come on down to the rink or
your local skating rink generally every
skating rink has kids classes on
Saturday so make sure you check it out
so again please leave me comments please
send me messages questions and all that
and if you could subscribe to my channel
that would be great and then heads up
coming is the video where I talk
straight through the camera to your kid
and get them to skate alright you guys
I'll see you in my next video now go
practice
you
