One of Liam's big birthday wishes this year was to get rollerblades. I am not sure what turned him on to the idea, but he had been talking about inline skates for months before his birthday. Funny enough, we had offered to get him some for his birthday the year before and again at Christmas, but he was not interested. One morning whatever magic switch that lives in Liam's brain flipped and he then knew that skating was the route to happiness.
So, we got him a nice pair of blades that will expand for the next couple of years as he grows and all of the appropriate safety gear. Of course he had to try on everything right away to make sure it was as awesome as the fantasy.
Clearly he was a pretty proud guy. Sadly, the day he got them was pouring rain and we could not take them out for a spin. Our house is not nearly big enough for indoor roller blading, so he had to be content with standing and smiling at them for a little while.
The weather did clear up later in the week and the ground dried out enough to go for our first lesson. At the end of our street is a tiny dead end road that is flat and empty. It is pretty newly paved so its also nice and smooth to roll along.
For the first outing, I taught him how to stand and roll along, and we just did some laps back and forth on the road with me holding his hand. I was pretty satisfied with his progress, and by the end of the session, he would hold my hand for one direction and then go on his own for the other. Very adventurous for Liam. Of course there were quite a few spills, but he did not get discouraged and was right back on his feet after every fall. The safety gear was quickly broken in.
After about an hour, his ankles got tired and we called it a day. He did keep at it though, and now he is scooting around the neighbourhood with his friends that can also skate. He has told me that he wants to play hockey, so when he is stable on his skates, I think I will get him a bigger stick and we can give that a try.
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