Rollerblades for a 4 Year Old?

I don't think kids at this age have the coordination to handle roller blades. In addition to the helmet, you need to get knee, elbow and wrist guards too (essential to prevent those broken bones you speak of!), and most kids even at 7 find these a hassle to put on. I doubt a 4 year old would enjoy this. At 4, most kids still don't have the coordination to ride a bike - they are still negotiating with training wheels. For a 4 year old, I would try something else - even a scooter with a brake would be easier for him, assuming he wouldn't go too fast. Don't rush him - you'll be glad you waited.

K out grew her pre-school skates at about 4, the ones that have 3 stages, no roll, only roll forward, and full roll, her foot just got too big and they were boring to her. We bought her roller blades at Academy with a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, and hand pads for $18.00 or so. She took off on them and hasn't looked back.

She was by no means an experienced skater but the skates are very stiff in the ankle area and they can just stand around and walk, I haven't had any problems with them at all.

my daughter was 4 when she got her first rollerblades. hers had wheels that popped out to the side for her to learn balance. she had a helmet and elbow and knee pads. she was never allowed to go off by herself..i always went with her and held her hand while she was first learning. in a month she was off and running by herself and was very proud at what she could do. now she ice skates,rollerblades,uses rollerstakes,snowboards....she has the confidence that i would have loved to have as a child if my parents hadn't held me back from some of the things i wanted to do. i dont think they are too dangerous if supervised...and when i mean supervised i mean you being there with him every step of the way while he is learning. make sure it is somewhere that no cars come in and out of...like a skate park or your local outside roller rink during the day...you could make it a day trip with a packed lunch and all. BTW my daughter has no broken bones...only a few scraped knees when she chose to not put on the knee pads...but nothing kids dont get these days from just running in flip flops on the side walk..lol. All of my kids were riding bikes without training wheels at the end of the summer when they were 4. If you ask them now they would tell you they would love to do it all over again, and i wouldnt have changed a thing.

My 4 year old loves her rollerblades. All her older siblings skate so she decided to put on an old pair last fall in an effort to keep up with the big kids. Of course helmet and knee and elbow pads are a must but she basically has taught herself to use them and is now skating with the other kids and very proud to be keeping up!

We started our son on rollerblades at around 4. When he was 3 he was using some starter rollerskates that had locking wheels but he much preferred when we got him the rollerblades. He always wears wrist guards, helmet, elbow pads and knee pads. Of course he has fallen down a lot but at his age he is so close to the ground and he has all the protective gear that it has never resulted in an injury. He still can't cover a lot of distance but he loves hanging on to a rope and being towed behind my DH on his roller blades. I would add though that my DS is pretty physically adventurous. If your daughter is bothered by falling down then you might want to wait until she is older and better coordinated.

I would say follow the age requirement on the roller blades and make sure Your 4 year old is more likely to use them, and of course get all the safety gears like a helmet and arm and knee pads. Finally make sure he skates in a safe area and keep and eye on him and help him with getting the hang of it! :-) it should be lots of fun.

Hi R.,
You've received some good advice about rollerblades. I just wanted to let you know that this weekend we were rollerblade shopping and saw an interesting alternative for younger learners. They were like rollerblade tricycles: one wheel in front and two in back, so sort of a cross between inline skates with four wheels and roller skates with two-and-two configuration. We saw them at Toys R Us. You might want to consider them. We didn't get them because our son is 10 and ready for the inline version. But we did think they looked like a great alternative for younger kids who want eventually to move up to inline skates.

Good luck!

I bought my daughter roller skates for her 4th birthday from Walmart... they are adjustable from size 10-13, i think.... for $26! I used the free "site to store" shipping. She does awesome in them! Here is the boy version http://www.walmart.com/ip/Chicago-Skate-Boys-Auto-Adjust-...
As for roller blades... i took her to a roller skating rink and there were little kids there using them and doing fine!!! She used ice skates with a single blade before she turned 4, which I think would be the same issue of balancing. Kids are amazing at what they can do!!!

Here are adjustable inline skates... they are a little pricier, but cheaper at Walmart than Toys R Us. These say girls, but they don't look girly to me. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Roller-Derby-Coyote-Adjustable-...

Skates maybe with 2 wheels each sides but I wouldn't do roller blades at age 4. I don't know what your son is like but my son age 4 no way could be have rode those things , he will be 7 this year and I still don't think he could manage them. Look online & I bet the age reccommendation for them is something like 8+ , I agree with your husband on this.