A place your five year old can introduce himself to an older kid and ask about pointers
We’ve been to three different skate parks in our city so far. (London, Ontario) There looks to be siz or seven that we will be sure to check out. (they call Victoria Park one, but meh…it’s mostly just some concrete blocks and broken glass)
The kids just get there and play. Scooters, little bikes, and just running…we’ll be back often. Whatever risks the kids are comfortable with (or are almost comfortable with) are right there. Have you heard about Parkour? (Where people jump from building to building and do crazy flips and things off of structures). Skateparks offer a great introduction to parkour – where it is learning to fall, learning to roll out of things with a little more height or distance than they are used to can be mastered off into the grass…important skills to have in your back pocket when it’s time to react to things.
Have I learned any lessons so far? The more painted a surface is, the less it will tear up their clothes…bring skate park clothes and don’t expect to bring them to Once Upon a Child! (or wear them too many more times…if they like ‘just sliding’)
The downside to this particular skate bowl (which I discovered after posting about how clean skateparks are because kids need them to be clean to ride more funly) is that it is an ideal garbage dump for passers-by on their way home from mcdonalds.
