When do kids start ice skating?

[Anonymous]

I think our almost 3 year old would love to try to ice skate? Is this too young to give it a shot? When did your kids first try? Not classes, but just lacing up and holding hands with parents and trying it out?
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My nephew went at about 3. He had double blade skates though. Do they still make those? They provide much more stability.

[Anonymous]

Montgomery County offers classes for three-year-olds, so it must be an okay age to start.

[Anonymous]

Do you know if Mont Co has the double blade skates for the little ones or has anyone taken their 3 year old to these classes?

[Anonymous]

My kids both started at 3.5 at Kettler ice rink in Arlington. Their lessons start at age 3 and they do not use double blades.

[Anonymous]

Our DS will be 3 yrs. in a couple of weeks and we just took him for the first time over Thanksgiving. He LOVED it. No double blades - just regular skates. We held his hands tight between us the whole time and he went a lot longer than we thought he would. We were traveling at the time but we plan to take him back again to a local rink soon.

[Anonymous]

I took DS when he was 4.5 and he loved it. He's now doing a class at Kettler (a year later)

[Anonymous]

My husband played hockey growing up and I mentioned the double bladed skates the other day and he said they are the worse.

Anyway, we took our 2 1/2 yo skating while visiting his grandparents this week. He went around the rink about 3 times with his dad and had enough. Bottom line 0 I think 2 1/2 is too young but we were getting stir crazy so it was worth the $6 the entrance fee and skate rentals

[Anonymous]

Mine learned to step and glide short distances on single blades before age 3. We got lessons at Wheaton Regional Park ice rink, though I think that she preferred going 1-to-1 with me. They can definitely skate by 3, 3.5. My advice as someone who skated since childhood-- skip the double blades. They don't do much to prepare the child for skating on singles. Better to re=learn balance only once, not twice.

Have fun!

[Anonymous]

We took our daughter around 3 and it was a disaster. Her ankles were not strong enough to hold her up. My DH had to hold her under her arms the whole time. They did one full circuit around the rink and came home, both unhappy.

Maybe other kids can do it, mine couldn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband played hockey growing up and I mentioned the double bladed skates the other day and he said they are the worse.

I loved double blades! I've been skating for almost 40 years now, so they didn't hinder my skills at all. Perhaps it depends on the kid.