Toddler skates

cadeni01

New Member
Aug 15, 2009
21
Louisville, KY
Forgive me if this isn't the right place to post this, but I'm looking for opinions. My mother got me on the ice about as soon as I could walk. I'd love to do the same for my 2-year-old girl, who walks and runs with confidence. The problem im having is that I can't find skates that fit her. Part of it may be a regional issue--i was brought up in Mass, but we now live in Kentucky, where there are significantly fewer stores that sell skates, fewer still that sell toddler-sized skates. I've had no luck on Amazon.

Do you guys have any insight on how to get a toddler started?
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
14,461
Gallows Hill
I believe Bauer does make skates in toddler sizes. A few guys in my league started their kids at 2-3 years old. Given your location you would probably have to shop online. Try Monkey Sports or Pure Hockey sites.
 

Dropkick Izzy

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 28, 2003
5,978
Miltappan
Jackson / Softec makes soft boot skates with laces and a Velcro ankle closure. My two kids started around age 2-3 with ones like these and I think the comfort and warmth helped the experience.
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
What you’re looking for is the BAUER L’il Champs skate, or L’il Angel if she’d prefer pink.

The ratchet closure is superior to Velcro. Just make sure you get the right size for right now, and get a new pair when she grows. Don’t try to save money by buying big and making her wear thick socks.

Also - Go ahead and get her some in-line skates. Rollerblade makes excellent super small skates, and they do come in adjustable sizes.

Also #2 - Don’t let her use those stupid “skate-aids” or similar crutches. Go out and let skating teach itself to her, with YOU as a trusted piece of support. And make sure she bends her knees.

https://www.bauer.com/en-US/hockey-skates/youth-skates/lil-champ-skate-blue-613198.html
28369
 
Last edited:

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
What you’re looking for is the BAUER L’il Champs skate, or L’il Angel if she’d prefer pink.

The ratchet closure is superior to Velcro. Just make sure you get the right size for right now, and get a new pair when she grows. Don’t try to save money by buying big and making her wear thick socks.
Good advice, especially with the fitting.

Also #2 - Don’t let her use those stupid “skate-aids” or similar crutches. Go out and let skating teach itself to her, with YOU as a trusted piece of support. And make sure she bends her knees.
I've taught literally hundreds of kids (including my own) how to skate and started them all on milk crates. It's a good way to start them off with some confidence and get them comfortable with the feeling on the ice. Pretty easy "crutch" to remove and transition out of.
 

cadeni01

New Member
Aug 15, 2009
21
Louisville, KY
Thanks for the advice. The skates Verryfunny posted look like it would be the easiest to immediately be comfortable, but the Bauers look like more like real skates. I've also got some brand loyalty with Bauer, so I'm kind of leaning in that direction. I like the ratchet closure.

Verryfunny2, have you experienced any issues transitioning kids to traditional, single blade skates?
 

tonyandpals

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 18, 2004
7,856
Burlington
Thanks for the advice. The skates Verryfunny posted look like it would be the easiest to immediately be comfortable, but the Bauers look like more like real skates. I've also got some brand loyalty with Bauer, so I'm kind of leaning in that direction. I like the ratchet closure.

Verryfunny2, have you experienced any issues transitioning kids to traditional, single blade skates?
My personal experience, I was stuck on double runners for a while. My parents put me in them and I had a tough time transitioning out of them. So I've sworn them off for my kids :)
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
I've taught literally hundreds of kids (including my own) how to skate and started them all on milk crates. It's a good way to start them off with some confidence and get them comfortable with the feeling on the ice. Pretty easy "crutch" to remove and transition out of.
I’ve taught literally hundreds of thousands of kids how to skate, and the damn things are nothing but a menace...

(I mean the crates, not the kids.)

But seriously, give most kids a few minutes right off the bat to find their balance on skates by making knee bend adjustments and they’ll own that skill for the rest of their life.
 

Red Right Ankle

Formerly the Story of Your Red Right Ankle
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
11,937
Multivac
Thanks for the advice. The skates Verryfunny posted look like it would be the easiest to immediately be comfortable, but the Bauers look like more like real skates. I've also got some brand loyalty with Bauer, so I'm kind of leaning in that direction. I like the ratchet closure.

Verryfunny2, have you experienced any issues transitioning kids to traditional, single blade skates?
Those are the ones we have. Note that it's a bit harder to learn on hockey than on figure skates. We had to rent some figure skates to help my daughter balance better.

First thing to do is start on dry land and teach them how to stand in them and how to get up. Once they know that, they will do ok on the ice. At your kid's age i am not sure how you do that though. Mine was 5 when she started so a lot easier to teach if you can get her to pay attention.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,425
What you’re looking for is the BAUER L’il Champs skate, or L’il Angel if she’d prefer pink.

The ratchet closure is superior to Velcro. Just make sure you get the right size for right now, and get a new pair when she grows. Don’t try to save money by buying big and making her wear thick socks.

Also - Go ahead and get her some in-line skates. Rollerblade makes excellent super small skates, and they do come in adjustable sizes.

Also #2 - Don’t let her use those stupid “skate-aids” or similar crutches. Go out and let skating teach itself to her, with YOU as a trusted piece of support. And make sure she bends her knees.

https://www.bauer.com/en-US/hockey-skates/youth-skates/lil-champ-skate-blue-613198.html
View attachment 28369
We also liked using adjustable skates during the rapid foot-growth years.
5 year old and 3 year old right now. The 5 year old has been using the same pair of adjustables for three years. Not the LL bean ones, we got these Lake Placid ones. Theyve been great, they're cheap, and we have no complaints. The 3 year old is in his first season with the bauer's listed above. Frankly, I find them flimsier than the adjustable Lake Placid ones. They dont have laces, the inner boot comes out when pulling the skates off the kid, and they just dont seem to fit as snugly. They're fine, but I prefer the Lake placid ones above.