When my oldest child asked for a skateboard for Christmas, I’ll admit that I was skeptical. He may be my oldest child, but he’s still my baby and the concept of him standing on a flat board with four wheels seemed a bit extravagant, if not completely insane.
The first time we took the board out on the town, it was really challenging for him to even balance on it- this is not a boy who is willing to to risk a skinned knee for…. Well….. ANYTHING. I decided the kid needed lessons, and after a mad Google, I learned that Skateboarding schools don’t exist. I even asked my favorite mom group on Facebook and they said wild things like “Just take him to a skateboarding park! The older children will help him”
…..I thought they were clearly insane.
I’m not one to shy away from a challenge, so I called various skateboarding shops in the Fort Worth Area and asked if anyone on their staff would be willing to teach a 7 year old how to skateboard for pay. Turns out, yes, there was someone.
Skateboarding has been an incredible addition to my kiddos life, and since I was so hesitant, I decided I should spread the word. Without further aides, The three reasons you should consider encouraging your kiddo to skate:
- The Skateboarding Community is Very inclusive. It still shocks me when grown teenaged humans stop to give a tiny human a round of applause for getting their first drop in, or making it into a pipe for the first time. It doesn’t matter what park we hit up, the inclusivity and love they give is at each location.
- Skateboarding is a self-reliant activity. You aren’t the best because you don’t want to let someone down, you continue to practice to see what YOU can accomplish. I think it’s important to instill this in your kids, because let me tell you- 80% of what I do at work has to be a self propelled project.
- It takes a lot of hard work. I double dog dare you to go try to skateboard, but before you do, grab a helmet. It’s harder than it looks. In order to skateboard, you have to balance well, you have to jump, you have to overcome some real challenges… It’s good to see your kiddo working hard for themselves.
- Shhh…. But it’s all principles of physics in real life. Truly, you can watch the tricksters and you will see what I see. They use their arms to propel, they lean to and fro depending on what they want to do, they are like a rolling science fair out there. This can’t hurt when they get to later education and have to learn this stuff from a book.
In short, I learned an important lesson here in my 39th year, and that is to not judge a book by it’s cover. Also, I learned that skateboarding is a gift, but not for me because I would like to keep my bones in tact, thankyouverymuch.
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Such Pretty Faces 