Professionals agree that already at the age of three, children quickly and without much difficulty master the basics of figure skating. At this age, they are plastic, flexible, and have no fear of falling. And if you start classes at three years old, then by the age of five the child will already be able to perform a number of simple sports elements. But if you don’t set yourself the task of raising an Olympic champion, you can start training, if you wish, at any age.
How to choose skates?
The main thing is not to buy plastic skates, or skates with sliding boots. In “oversized” skates your feet will feel uncomfortable. The size of the boot must strictly correspond to the size of the child’s feet (exceeding one size is acceptable - for a warm sock).
Boots should be just above the ankle, ideally from genuine leather. Then, during training, they will become somewhat deformed and will fit the leg more tightly. This is very important from a security point of view. 
You should also check that your skates are well sharpened. To preserve the blades and avoid the formation of “burrs”, it is necessary to have covers (made of plastic or fabric). After training, wipe the blades dry and only then put on the covers. If moisture remains on the skates, rust may appear on the blades by the next training session.
Let's go to the skating rink
Which skating rink is better to start classes at: open or closed?
On an outdoor skating rink, it is difficult to achieve ideal ice quality, which means it is more difficult to learn how to skate on it. If possible, it is better to take your child to the first training session in a closed complex. It is advisable that the ice be poured recently, as it becomes rough within an hour after pouring (especially if more than 30 people are skating on it at the same time).
Exercises for Beginners
- Herringbone. The child stands on skates with a straight back, legs slightly bent at the knees, toes pointing to the sides. We draw a Christmas tree: one leg goes to the right, the other to the left. It’s good if parents can hold the baby’s hands. When the child feels more confident, you can suggest: “Come on, run to mom!” - and let go of your hand.
- Flashlight. Legs together, back straight. The skates slowly move apart, while the knees bend slightly. Then the knees are straightened and the skates are connected. In this way, “lanterns” (“figure eights”) are drawn on the ice.
- Heron. When the child is already sliding quite confidently on the ice, you can try to lift one leg while sliding (as in gymnastic exercise"martin"). At the same time, to maintain balance, you need to spread your arms to the sides.
Don’t be lazy to find time and take your children to the skating rink. After all, visiting the skating rink is not only an undoubted health benefit. Sliding on ice with your children will bring you a lot of fun and will bring your family even closer together.
Many parents would like to instill in their child a love of sports. But most of them do not know at what age a child can be placed on. If a child loves winter and is interested in ice-related activities, parents may consider buying skates.
If we talk about sports sections, then enrollment of children in such groups begins at 4 years old. At this age, the child’s body is ready for stress. However, many parents and experienced athletes advise starting to take classes earlier. On the Internet you can find many stories about how a child should be put on skates at one and a half years old. In this case, it all depends on the age at which the child began to walk. If he stands confidently on his feet, he can get up independently after falling, gradually on a non-slip surface.
Doctors' opinion
Many doctors (including Dr. Komarovsky) do not recommend putting a child on skates under 3 years of age. They explain this by the fact that until the age of 3-4 years, the child’s foot begins to form. Early placement can lead to the development of flat feet. Up to three years of age, there is a risk of serious injury, which can cause a lot of trouble. This is due to the fact that the child’s body is weak, and the musculoskeletal system is not adapted to additional loads.
It is better to start skating at 3-4 years old, when the child will quickly learn new movements. During this period, the child’s body is very flexible, and he himself is not yet afraid of falls and can quickly master complex exercises.
Choosing equipment
When parents find out at what age they can put their child on skates, a new problem arises related to the choice of skating equipment. The equipment should fit comfortably on the leg without causing any inconvenience to the baby.
Depending on their purpose, skates can be divided into three groups:
- Amateur or . These are lightweight and comfortable products designed for skating on any skating rink. They are not suitable for professional types sports. However, there are combined amateur models with which you can master complex elements from.
- . Specially designed for performing complex elements. They are also suitable for simple walks. These models have a long and low blade. The boots are made from genuine leather.
- . These are skates on which you can quickly gain high speed and stop. They are made of tough materials to protect the hockey player's foot from being hit by the puck or being hit by the stick. The shape of the blade is rounded, without sharp ends. In length, it is slightly larger than the boot itself. Due to its short length, maneuverability increases. The blade itself is made of heavy-duty steel that can withstand heavy loads.
Hockey is a difficult sport that requires athletes to have a strong physique, lightning-fast reactions and the ability to calculate their actions in advance. It is better to send your child to hockey only after he reaches 5 years old. For hockey, you need to purchase a large number of protective equipment and also the skates and stick themselves.
- a non-aggressive sport that involves mastering various techniques and elements of skating. You can enroll your child in figure skating classes from the age of 4. Until this age, you can learn new movements on your own.
For a successful start to skating, it is better to choose artificial ice. It has a uniform structure, smooth surface without irregularities. Thanks to this, the child feels more comfortable and falls less. Moreover, skating on natural ice areas has many dangers associated with the risk of falling through the ice.
In principle, you can put your baby on skates at the age of 1.5-2 years: than younger child, the easier motor skills are given to him. However, not all children are ready for such a load; not all have sufficiently developed muscles of the legs, abdominals and back.
If you are not confident in the strength of your child, do not rush. It’s better to work out with him at home and on the street with simple exercises such as goose steps, squats, jumps on one and two legs.
Olympic method
Have you already bought your skates and is your little one looking forward to getting on the ice? But first you need to get used to the new equipment on a non-slip surface, just like everyone else started Olympic champions. Put on your skates at home (the blades should have wide plastic covers). It's time to do your first exercises!
Skater stance. Let the child take the correct position: legs slightly narrower than shoulder width, slightly bent at the knees. The arms are also slightly bent and slightly apart for stability. Very important: the body is slightly tilted forward! Let the baby walk around the apartment like this, squat, spin in place, even jump. Always make sure that he leans forward slightly, otherwise on the ice there is a risk of falling back and hitting the back of his head!
Skater movements. This exercise should be done on compacted snow, but not yet on ice. It's time to remove the covers from the blades. Let the child repeat the same thing: take a stance, walk around, turn around, squat. The purpose of these exercises is to develop a sense of balance. If your child really wants to go out on the ice, practice for at least 20 minutes and only then go to the skating rink.
Holding on to mom
To begin, let the child stand holding the side, and you ride in front of him, showing simple exercises. Then start doing them, holding his hand (preferably both, if you can drive backwards).
Don’t force yourself to ride on your own; let your baby hold on to your hand until he feels confident. However, do not let him hang: the support should be soft, encouraging the child to maintain his balance on his own. Gradually use less and less force to keep your baby upright, and only catch him if he really is in danger of falling. However, hardly anyone has managed to avoid falling while skating, so one of the exercises is learning how to fall correctly.
March-march. Just walk on the ice without trying to slide.
Herringbone. This is the basic step for moving on ice. Have the child place one leg slightly diagonally. You need to push off with the inner edge of the other leg so that the first skate moves forward and slightly to the side. After pushing off with one leg several times, switch legs. Then try alternating: one push-off with one leg, the second with the other. Immediately teach your baby to push off with his teeth and ride on straight legs: this is the most common reasons falls.
Flashlights. At first the legs move together, then they move apart, describe a round “flashlight” and return. You can carry the child by the hands, and let him write out the figures.
Snake. The legs move together, now to the left, now to the right, drawing a double “snake”. At this time, you can also initially carry the child by the hand, but not too quickly.
Braking. Show your child how to brake with a plow. Spread your legs as if for a “flashlight”, and when bringing them together, strongly press your heels into the ice, crashing into it and thereby losing speed. The second option is heel braking.
Skating on two skates in parallel, put one forward with the toe up and touch the ice with the heel until it comes to a complete stop. The supporting leg is noticeably bent, the braking leg is straight. Learn both ways.
Turns. Have your child place his legs parallel first, remembering to bend his knees and lean his body forward. Now ask him to tilt his body in the direction he wants to turn. The sharper the turn, the greater the lean! When he masters this, let him additionally push off with the outer edge of the skate that is outside the turn: this will help him turn along the minimum trajectory.
A fall. Not the most pleasant exercise, but what if you suddenly have to fall? Never go back! Explain to your child: if you feel like you are falling, it is useless to resist. You need to squat as low as possible so that you don’t fall too high. It is better to bend your arms slightly and press them towards you: sticking out your elbow or hand will not soften the fall, and you can hurt them very badly. And let it gently “flop” on the soft part of the thigh on the side.
It is ideal not to “stick” into the ice, but to slide onto it and even ride further on your side. Do exercises whenever possible, alternating them with games and just hand-holding. Gradually, the baby will get used to it and feel comfortable on any slippery surface.
Winter is in full swing, which means winter fun became the favorite pastime of all children.
While on the street very coldy, kids either stay at home or have fun in shopping centers.
While waiting for warmer weather, you can teach your child to skate at the skating rink, so that later he can show off his class to his peers in the yard. When can you start putting your child on skates and what is the best way to do it?
The time has come
Ice skating is an excellent training for children's muscles, development vestibular apparatus. An hour of ice skating will be an excellent preventive measure. colds, because the cold air formed above the surface of the ice hardens the nasopharynx and increases the protective functions of the body.
As you can see, the benefits of this sport are undeniable. But this does not mean that a child should be taught to skate as soon as he learns to walk. Experts advise starting no earlier than 4-5 years. By this time, the baby’s musculoskeletal system, muscles and ligaments will be ready for this kind of load.
Choosing skates
You won’t envy modern parents: in order to choose the right skates for a child, you need to be an expert in this field. We will try to make your task easier.
Mom Katya thinks so: “Before you buy your child expensive leather skates, think about how he feels about everything new and how much activity he will have enough of. My daughter was raving about skating, she wanted to go on the ice so much, she whined all summer and autumn that she would practice and not go back on her words (4 years old). In the end, we went on the ice, skated for 5 minutes - and that’s it: I’m tired, I want to go home. And this happened five times throughout the winter. It’s good that the skating rink is not far from home.”
Double pole or single pole?
First, you can opt for two-poled ones. They are more stable and durable thanks to two blades, moreover, they do not require special sharpening (unlike single-blade ones). True, they are not very popular: most often they are bought by parents who decide to put their 2-3 year old kids on the ice. An older child is already ready to buy single-slide skates.
Figure or hockey?
Often parents decide that boys definitely need hockey skates, and girls need figure skates. The difference between them is very big. Figure skates have a special teeth , with the help of which you can push off and at the same time place your feet straight. But this technique is useful only to those who intend to engage in professional figure skating. For amateurs, trainers recommend training in skating (herringbone riding). Therefore, do not be afraid to buy your daughter hockey skates with blades without teeth - they will suit her better.
Sliding or classic?
Sliding skates are a hybrid of skates and rollers. They can “grow” with the child: the sliding mechanism allows you to increase the size of the boot by as much as 4 sizes (taking into account the prices of skates and the growth rate of the child’s feet, parents can subsequently save a lot of money).
They have both figure blades and hockey blades. The boots themselves are made of synthetic materials or textiles. These skates are often equipped with a removable anatomical boot to keep the child's foot warm and comfortable.
Of course, a young athlete needs special equipment: knee pads, elbow pads and a helmet.
Mom Yulia shares her experience: “My poor child, at the dawn of his acquaintance with skates. Due to constant falls, he constantly had bruises on his butt. They told us about knee and elbow pads, but not about other special equipment. One of my mothers told me during training that you can sew a small pad or piece onto your panties (on top or inside) thick fabric, folded several times to soften the fall. If it weren’t for this advice, my daughter would have quit classes a long time ago.”
The question of when to put a child on skates and skis has been tormenting us for a long time... Previously, when I still went to a sports school, it seemed to me that 4 years was the normal age for a child to put him on skates. It is from this age that groups of beginners are recruited into figure skating schools. And then, as a child, they seemed so small to me... Now, when your child has reached 2 years old, 4 years is a respectable age...
Last winter, somewhere in March, this child was one and a half years old, we rented size 17 skates... and put them on... This had to be seen... At first, the child and I all brought a lot of joy, then the whole child also rejoices... and mom’s back is slowly starting to unfasten from the continuous “G” pose. I want to say right away - this small child You need very tough boots, I would even say professional ones, and renting them is even dangerous.
The rental boots are not reinforced, their condition generally leaves much to be desired, with such boots you will not let your child go far from you, or rather, you cannot let him go at all, and you need to constantly hold him by the scruff of the neck. By the way, a kangaroo is useful here, if it allows you to fasten a 1.5 - 2-year-old entrance into it, then it is easier for the parent to hold the child. 
This year we approached this issue responsibly and bought skates for the child. Just imagine, the difference is heaven and earth! We have such love for our skates! At home he puts them on and walks around in them. This, by the way, is our first exercise: the goal is to get used to the boots themselves and find balance on a non-slip surface. The first time we went on the ice, there was no fear in letting the child go, she stood on her own two feet and her legs didn’t go anywhere. Of course, she didn’t immediately go to Akseli and Toolup to dance with us, but what we did bring us a lot of joy. At first we just stood there, realizing that the ice was slippery, that the skates were slipping on it, more so than the boots.
Then you need to teach the child to fall correctly.
Of course, it’s difficult to explain to a two-year-old how to do it correctly, but it’s worth lying on the ice and carefully dropping it, if only so that the child is not afraid of falling. And the main thing is how fun it can be, children love to roll around. After this, you can move on to moving on the ice. Naturally, you can’t go anywhere without an assistant. The main thing now is not to take the entire weight of the child on yourself. That is, you don’t need to take his armpits and carry him on you, so that his legs dangle without load on the ice - this way the child will relax and think that this is all that is required of him, and he will not soon go on to further feats, and the parents’ backs are not official. It is best to support either a kangaroo or take the child by two hands.
At first, the child will not ride for long, and if you don’t lie around or stand, but move, then for 10-20 minutes, and then the child gets tired, starts to be capricious, or simply asks to change clothes. It is best to exercise periodically, once or twice a week. Less often - there will be no particular benefit, because Children forget everything quickly, more often - it’s also not worth it, the child can get pretty tired of all this.
Every time we repeat the same thing - we stood there, felt the ice, rolled around, laughed, grabbed our hands and drove off. 
And most importantly, special achievements are not noticeable at all at the beginning.
But after some time, the child finds his balance and can ride next to you holding one hand. What is he writing with his feet?
One more exercise. When a child is just learning to walk, the parents put the child down, walk away a couple of steps and extend their hands to the child, inviting him to “take a walk.” A similar exercise can be done on skates. Just better not to overdo it. If you move too far away, you won't be able to catch him in time. Once, having fallen painfully, the child begins to be cautious and afraid of everything.
I tried to teach her the basics - the Christmas tree, lanterns, etc. It’s still stressful with the Christmas tree. The flashlight only works halfway - it’s possible to spread your legs, but getting back is problematic. They also did a snake on two legs, very cool... on two straight legs... In general, it’s difficult to teach a child to keep his legs half-bent. We encountered the same problem on skis.
Artificial ice Artificial ice is just a fairy tale after the street. No wind, temperature above zero. There is no need to put a bunch of extra clothes on your child - he has more freedom, success is just a breeze. Another plus- it’s only “absent” for a month or two a year, when the skating rink is closed for summer maintenance. But there are also disadvantages - at first the child gets lost in a new environment. Usually there are a lot of people there, and some teapots, who consider themselves aces, drive brazenly and dangerously.
LDS "Sibir", tel. 76-34-91, 76-34-71, 76-34-69.
Novokuznetsk: LDS "Metallurg", tel. 45-23-52. 
Choosing skates for kids
For now, let’s dwell on the choice of skates for very young children and up to 4-5 years old, while the child does not know how to do anything.
As I already said, boots should be tough. In ordinary amateur boots, only the bottom of the boot is rigid - the toe and heel, and the shin can hang to the side like a rag. We need reinforced boots. Approaching practically, we take the shoe and try to bend it over the heel to the side, the angle of inclination should not exceed 30 degrees. For example, place your foot on the floor and try to tilt your shin to the side until it stops (for example, outward), feel your ligaments... and now imagine your child. In children, of course, the ligaments are more elastic than in an adult, but the muscles are not particularly developed, so it’s not worth the risk.
At one time, I opted for the following boots - Klinskie (Factory sports shoes Klin) and the Moscow Experimental Sports Shoes Factory. If you take them new, they are quite hard for a small one, and his weight is not enough to shake them into a rag. They say that there are reinforced versions of these boots, they write so on them, but I have never seen them. Klinsky ones cost 2000 rubles. Moscow small sizes 1500 rub. We were buying at the peak of our time, and neither of them were in stock. And our dad, at his own risk, bought Italian AXEL CF for 3,000 rubles. outwardly they are somewhat similar to botas. They turned out so cool! They are reinforced, and soft material is laid inside under the bones.
With blades everything is much simpler. Since in our country you can mostly skate only on the street, it is better not to take English and other imported blades; they are intended for artificial ice and are too soft. Our domestic blades remain. The cheapest and I think the best option for a beginner is Volga blades from the Samara plant, 180 rubles. (Prices December 2003)
I don’t recommend buying skates at all from local stores. Neither little ones nor adults. Not only do they sell there without understanding what and whose production it is, but they also have blades installed incorrectly. Where you can buy all this - LEDO, you don’t have to go to Moscow, you can order by phone, but their method of transferring the goods is very original, delivery is free. I can give out contacts directly at the factories, but the prices at the factories are the same as at LEDO. 
In conclusion, I will say that all this will seem complete insanity for those who are far from sports and skating in general. Many will think, it’s not too lazy to do such nonsense!
I can tell you where it all came from.
We're not going to raise an Olympic star and all that. I am even absolutely against my children going in for sports professionally.
We do this only for the sake of instilling a love of sports and maintaining the child’s health. We ourselves are former athletes, and as is usually the case, sports never let you go for good.
Every weekend we do something sports - skiing, skating, swimming. And, you know, we put the child on skates and skis not for the sake of the desire to show off or to listen to the touched exclamations of some aunts; teaching a child is very difficult physically, because you practically have to carry him around. Again, there is also a psychological burden - you must not overdo it, so as not to discourage the desire and love for sports.
P.S. As I already wrote, you need to do it periodically. We haven’t been on skates for about a month, we went skiing for two weeks in a row, yes, and all the work, work... And then we got out - like a child was replaced - I don’t know how to do anything, I don’t want anything, I want to skate in mom's arms...
