Figure Skaters: Do you want your kids to skate too?

I would LOVE for my kids to skate, have natural talent, and to be serious about the sport- just like I've been. It would be a dream.

Would I be upset if my kids didn't like skating? No. Maybe a little upset, but not mad at my kids. I'm not going to force my kids to do any sport. I'm not going to limit them either.

My plan is to introduce my kids when they're young, about when I started- 3 years old, and take them to a public session to see if they like it. Ask them about signing up for lessons, and if they want to, I'll sign them up for Learn to Skate. If they don't like it once it's over, I'll take them out. Introduce them to other things- dance, swim, gymnastics, etc. It's really up to them. I do want them to be involved in SOMETHING though. They can choose, I just want them to do something.

If they were in skating for awhile (skated for a few years and were already competitive) and wanted to quit, I'd probably ask them to wait it out a bit. Maybe 2 months, maybe until the next competition and then make a decision. Just to make sure that they aren't just frustrated over a jump or a bad lesson, and that they won't regret their decision later.

But we'll see. We all want to be perfect parents before we have kids (yes- even the moms who force their kids to skate when they don't want to ;)) but we don't know what we'll do until we're in the situation.

Thanks for the question! I really enjoyed it :)

I would absolutely want my kids to skate. If not, maybe dance or gymnastics. I love these fun, artistic individual sports. They build such great character, as well as being good exercise and very rewarding.

Of course, I would never be one of those moms who forces their children to do something and puts a lot of pressure on them. I would feel terrible!

But here's the thing- as a figure skater myself, I often wish that I had been signed up for figure skating at the age of 3, and that my parents had pushed me to be the best.

I had a late start in the figure skating world (could skate at 4, took lessons at 7, got serious at 11). Now, I am completely in love with the sport, and I wish I could go back to being 3 so I could get a serious start in the sport.

But that's just me. Maybe my kid would want something different. Maybe, if they even happened to like figure skating, they would prefer learning at a slow pace. There is no way of knowing what your child will be interested in, or how they'd like to progress!!

That is why I won't wait for them to ask. I will register them for figure skating or dance or soccer or whatever else seems appropriate, and help them to be the best they can be without being pushy. But if the first sign that they want to quit appears, I will allow them to do so.

:)

My biggest skating pet peeve of all time is when skaters cheat jumps in competition. The landings look horrible. Sorry, it just bugs me, lol. Working on the jump is fine, but I think if you don't have it the jump, you shouldn't put it in a program. Another one is when skaters don't have a feel or passion for the music and they just go from element to element with no emotional output. It makes the skating boring to watch and doesn't captivate me into watching more. When people don't fully finish an element before they go onto the next. It makes the program look sloppy! During practice, is when people don't watch where they're going. Just Thursday we had a girl doing a biellmann spiral backwards and ran into a coach and knocked her over. I nearly got my head sliced off by someone who randomly went up into a spiral and I had to fall on the ice and duck so I wouldn't get hit by her blade. When there's a line for music and coaches feel they have the right to play their kids music 9 times before the next person can go. When really young/ small kids go on a practice session with no coach and don't know what they're doing so nobody can practice because they're afraid of hurting the kids. I totally agree with you on when other skaters don't get out of your way! I constantly feel like I am the one getting out of other peoples ways even though I'm in a lesson. And when skaters criticize something they can't do. It's really annoying. They typically don't know what they're talking about, and they usually end up making a fool out of themself. Happy Skating! ~L (:

I'm... hoping not. For one thing, I know from personal experience that skating is hideously expensive, and while I'm extremely grateful to my father for paying for mine for the last 9 years, I know what I'd be getting into if I gave my hypothetical kids lessons. I don't necessarily mind the idea of spending a lot of money on my kid's sport, but I'm not sure I'd willingly sign myself up for it...

On the other hand, I'll probably be coaching on the side by the time I have kids, and even if I'm not, I'll probably still be skating myself in some capacity. Which means I'd be pretty much obliged to take my children skating at least a few times to see if they like it.

So the answer is, I'd prefer that they find something else productive to do, but if they end up deciding that they really want to do it, I'll be supportive. :P

That's a really interesting question , I am still 14 but I will answer anyways .When my kids reach the age of 4 I will put them in swimming , skating , rhythmic gymnastics, ballet, tennis and piano . Then when they reach the age of 9 I would remove swimming unless it's their favorite or they want to be professional at it . For the gymnastics , skating , ballet , tennis and piano I would love them to do all but if they don't like one or two of them then I will let them drop out . But they must be involved in sports , I don't want to force them into something they don't like or maybe even hate.

I would love my kids to skate and I would never force them because if they get into it earlier they will probably end up liking it ( I hope ) also if they were girls i would get one into gymnastics and the other into figure skating and get them both to take ballet lessons - I would let them quit if they wanted but I would do what you are saying like staying the whole Competition season and not quitting on a bad day :)

Yes! I would love for my children to skate. I didn't start early, so I want to be able to give them the chance I never had…yes, I would like to see my child learn a pivot spin at six instead of me learning it at eleven, but it's really up to them. If they hate it, I wouldn't force them. It's not like figure skating is the only sport in the world. I definitely think swimming is a must as an essential skill, but I won't let my children ruin their feet learning ballet pointe.

Every kid has different interests. I think that mother was being to hard on her daughter. I've seen similar situations at my rink, too.

I would sure want them to be able to move on the ice, because when I was a kid it kinda sucked going to the rink and having so much trouble I couldn't enjoy myself. I couldn't skate properly until I was 21!

If they wanted to learn to figure skate, I would encourage them to do so (if we were in the financial position), but I would wait until they asked. I would never force them; if they said they wanted to stop, they could stop (although there are lessons in commitment to be had and by golly they will learn that).

There are a couple of kids at my rink who I feel are forced. They don't learn very fast at all and they certainly don't enjoy it. Sometimes I just want to slap their parents. Man you were ever restrained with that "mother" at the rink...

I want all my future kids to do some kind of sport too, but I'd encourage them to find something they really loved. I spent 16 years playing team sports I hated. I don't want that for them.

It's funny, Evgeni Plushenko's son takes Learn to Skate classes...in hockey skates. He was asked once if he would like to see his son become a figure skater, and his answer was simply, "No. It is too lonely and too hard a life and I do not want that for him. But if he wants to, then I will help him."

im 13 but still...

i want to take my kids skating when they are two and introduce them to the ice.

i would start lessons when they want but for definite at 3 1/2. they will go once a week for the first 6 months and twice a week after that they will do group lessons and private lessons.

when they start skating i will start them in ballet and gymnastics and afteri will get them lessons in swimming and acting and dance.

i don't want them to be forced into it but i will encourage them.

they will have to do sport though.

Of course I want my kids to skate! I would never force them to, but I will push them to be their best. I hate the skater moms that yell at their kids, so I would never ever do that. I wish I was put in skating earlier than I was, so I'll start them young. I just hope they'll love it like I do.