Skateboard Suggestions

Hi, my son is 17 and has been skating now for years......... he has many friends that skate. Top safety suggestion is feed him well, lots of milk!

Lots of dairy and of course........ gear helps.

Enjoy it may just be a faze or it may be his talent.

PS, we buy skateboards at a skate shop, and the wheels and boards are interchangable. For example, if the board breaks...... they can use the same wheels and bearings. Or assess them at the shop. They will construct them for you. The boards are about $60- $300. And the better they get they do break the boards. It seems costly, but worth it. Our other son is in baseball and any sport can be costly.

My son is also very coordinated and has been riding a skateboard since he was under 2. You can get one at Target or Walmart for around $15-20. There really are only two sizes if you go there; the mini one and full size. I would go full size since my 5-yr old rides a full size. The bearings are pretty slow on those ones, so he should be fine as a beginner. Make sure he always wears a helmet and pads (knees and elbows).

If you want to spend more, he can create his own board at a skate shop. That is going to run you more like $150. You can choose from more designs, sizes, speed of bearings, etc. The people who work in the skate shops can help you with what would be right for him. My son chose his own board this Christmas at 5 yrs old.

Just make sure you have good health insurance ! I say this only because my son got a skate board at 8 and was very coordinated as your son obviously is, but he twisted his legs as he stumbled on the sidewalk while beginning to go down the sidewalk and broke his femer. To young for pins to be put in the leg, so he spent two weeks in traction at the hospital and three months in a body cast. How fun is a skateboard at 8? I think it was $16,000 worth of fun.
Enjoy and be safe.: )

I live in the Santa Cruz area, so skateboarding is big here! I would avoid going the ToysRus, Wallmart, Target route. The wheels and bearings on those boards are very cheaply made and extremely frustrating for riders. You'd think the 'slowness' of these wheels would make them safer by limiting the speed, but actually they cause more spills with their uneven motion and inability to deal with small obstacles, like twigs and such on the pavement. As far as size, brand, etc. With the exception of specialized boards for racing and such, there really is only one standard size. An 8 year old would be fine with that and able to develop his skills and tricks. Board brand has more to do with design/color/logos etc. A matter of taste. Smooth running wheels and bearings are key though, so a specialized shop is best for this sort of thing.

I don't know much about the Sacramento area, but I'm sure you would have a decent shop. In this area I would highly recommend Santa Cruz Skate on 41st Ave.,They really know their stuff and gave us excellent advice with our beginner. It was clear that everyone there loved this sport and were not just out to sell you something. They really are very focused on the younger kids there and helping them get off to a safe start. Injuries are bad for business! Maybe a birthday beach trip?

Eight years old is plenty old enough for a board as long as he understands that if he is caught without his helmet he loses his wheel privileges for a month. (wheels meaning bike and scooter too! That is still the rule at our house and my kids are 13 and 15). Not even down the driveway without a helmet. :)

Good luck in your continuing adventure!

We got our son a skateboard from Big 5 and paid around $45. I think it's Tony Hawk. He's had it a year and a half and it's held up nicely. I definitely have him wear a helmet, and the dr. says he should wear wrist guards also when skateboarding.

My 7 year olds are avid skateboard riders. I would recommend not getting him a skateboard from Target or Walmart. Like bicycles there is a huge difference in quality. The better the skateboard the longer it will last. I have had very good luck buying used sporting equipment on Craigslist. But you might want to start at a skateboard shop.
A helmet and pads are very important. I have a not exceptions policy for helmets. If they are on something with wheels, they have a helmet on. Find a skate park near you. Our city skate park requires helmets and pads or you will get fined. Therefore, the little boys see the older boys with pads and helmets and it makes it cool.

Take him to an actual skateboard store (ie Surf and Skate). They are the experts who can help you get a really good quality one and give you/him tips and tricks on what to do and what NOT to do. The Wackford Complex has a skate park that you can take him to so that he can learn how to ride without being in the street and in danger of getting hit by a car. Above all, LET HIM FALL DOWN AND GET SCRAPED UP. It is the the way that they learn and if you don't make a big deal out of it, he will keep practicing.

We got a skateboard park along with a BMX track in a local park a few years ago so I am by no means an expert. We bought boards from a store and the salesperson was very helpful. The kids who got boards were 5 and 7. The older kids at the park stole the first ones and since we hadn't written their names on their boards we couldn't prove they were ours so don't go out and buy expensive ones at this point. He may hate it or he may love it and be the next Shaun White.

http://www.shaunwhite.com/

I don't know any kid-friendly shops in your area (but there's always at least one in any decent sized city). What we did when kiddo got his first board for his bday, was I went and checked out a couple local shops... and then we brought him in on his bday as a surprise (hehehe... get in the car NOW). That way he picked out his board (there are several companies that make kid friendsly graphics; robots, aliens, etc.), wheel color, helmet color, etc. We paid about 120 for the deck, trucks, wheels... and $50 for the helmet.

He was 5 at the time, we just got a regular sized board... and the helmet has 2 different sets of pads inside... so it fit then, and still fits 3 years later.

:) :) :)

Gosh I had the same debate with my now 9 year old son. The reason I decided to go ahead and purchase one is because he wanted to skateboard soo bad that i found out he was trying it out at his friends houses when he would go over for a play date. So I bought a Skateboard and helmet, knee pads, elbow pads etc. This skateboard was only about $40 at Toys R Us I think but what I found out though is that the "real" skateboards have certain wheels and bearings that make for a smoother ride and they don't trip as easily etc. Now, mind you this board was extremely expensive. It was from Vans and I gave it to him for Christmas as a gift certificate from Mommy and I let him pick out his own board etc. it was about $100 but well worth it because he doesn't trip or fall. If you get a regular board you can always go to a skate shop or Vans or Zumiez, or Sports Chalet and just change the wheels & bearings. That makes a big difference. And by the way... yes.....I know waay too much about skateboarding for my age-lol!!! Have fun, make sure he knows that even though other kids are not always responsible with no head gear that the only way you will allow him to skate is with a helmet!!

I don't know much about skate boards but try to find a specialty shop (instead of a toys r us) and they should be able to give you the best information on what would be the best skate board and safety equipement for your son. That's what i would do.