Walk me through a roller rink birthday party

[Anonymous]

My friend invited us to get child’s roller skating ring party. She’s 8. My kid is 5 and has never roller skated. Neither have I. We are not roller or ice skate people. He might enjoy it but I’m not going to skate. The party is at Temple Hills. Do they have some skate aids? Can I walk on the rink in street shoes? Is my son old enough to just send into the rink solo? Is that safe? I’ve never been to a roller rink- help!

[Anonymous]

Never been to that venue, but roller rinks don’t normally allow people to walk on the rink. If they don’t have age skate aids or anyone to help him, I wouldn’t take him. There is a logbook or falling down and while funny to the older kids, it can be very scary for the younger set. It’s definitely scary for me as a mom to keep hearing all the thuds of falling down.

[Anonymous]

You can't walk on the rink. We go to a place in Columbia and they have these things you can push for the little kids that helps them balance. I would call the rink you are going to and ask.
There are plenty of smaller kids when we go and they all do fine, yes they fall, but they get back up.

[Anonymous]

If you're not planning to/willing to skate, I would skip it. It's hard to do and your kid will likely need help getting back up when he falls. It's probably not worth the stress of it all for the party.

[Anonymous]

For this to work, you would need to skate with your five year old. It's a pain but honestly I would do it and get him used to skating, because it's so much fun for the kids for parties down the road, and you could then drop him off.

[Anonymous]

Please skate with your kid. Or if you've never done it before, ask around and see if another parent can show him the ropes. Most places have these "walker" type things on wheels that can help kids learn. It's fun, but it definitely requires a little help the first couple of times.

I feel like this is dying out as a source of fun and exercise. We should be teaching our kids!

[Anonymous]

Figure skating mom here. I am not too familiar with birthday parties at roller skating rinks, but I think figure skating parties are the worst. Kids falling all over the place, parents don’t know how to tie their kids’ skates, little kids getting in front of faster skaters and making them fall, it’s such a disaster. I would never do it for little kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend invited us to get child’s roller skating ring party. She’s 8. My kid is 5 and has never roller skated. Neither have I. We are not roller or ice skate people. He might enjoy it but I’m not going to skate. The party is at Temple Hills. Do they have some skate aids? Can I walk on the rink in street shoes? Is my son old enough to just send into the rink solo? Is that safe? I’ve never been to a roller rink- help!

I've actually been to a skating party at that skating rink, but I can't remember if you can walk on the rink in your street shoes. It's actually fairly common here - it wasn't done when I was growing up.

Yes, they have skate aids, but depending on how many people are there it may be a hassle to get one. I would go if your kid is coordinated. Both of my sons just waved me off the first time they went skating, and waved off the aids, too. If your kid has difficulty with physical activity, I would skip.