Skateboard for a 4 year old??

My son will turn 4 in September and I promised that I’ll get him a skateboard for his birthday. I used to skate years ago and now live my childhood through my kids :slight_smile:

Is 4 years too young? If not, which board would you recommend. P.S. we have an outdoor skatepark near the house.

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Get him on one, never to young!

Mine’s going to be on a board as soon as he can stand (wife permitting).

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I got my son one of these from Ideal in Brum. Instead of grip his has more like a layer of thin foam so he can bum board and knee board without wrecking clothes. We bought it like that ie didn’t customise it.

Edit: he’s 5 and about average height for his age and the width and wheelbase seem to suit him pretty well. Doesn’t have to stand like a cowboy on it.

https://www.slamcity.com/products/blind-7-pint-sized-soft-wheels-youth-complete-skateboard?variant=13585844863046&currency=GBP&utm_campaign=gs-2018-11-30&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInune08ny4gIVV-DtCh0D4gOqEAQYASABEgJ9B_D_BwE

Thanks!! I’m not sure I can wait for his Birthday. I want to see him ride :smiley:

Tbh, it’s never too late to start skateboarding I am 18 started around Christmas time and tbh I have made so many new friends. And it has helped with my mental health… So like best to skateboard early

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Welcome to the Forum mate. Glad you have found some really positive outcomes from skateboarding :slight_smile:

Four years old is the perfect time to start, get the balance skills going.
A skatepark is not the place for a four year old though. It’ll be way above your skill level, and way too dangerous for you and the other users. Find a nice quiet empty car park, or a good wide bit of pavement on a quiet road. Learn to roll and have fun doing that for a looooong time before attempting any kind of tricks or thinking about skateparks.

Agreed, a skatepark is probably worst place to start learning, unless it’s completely (and I mean COMPLETELY) empty. Which it will only be pre-9am.

Thanks, you’re right. We wouldn’t start on the skatepark. They do offer a session for young children under 10 every weekend but it’s still not for him. He just likes to watch the bigger boys and girls doing cool tricks.

Magenta do a mini, which comes in around 28" long I think. Kids that young need a shorter wheelbase for it to be the correct proportion for them, otherwise it’s like you trying tricks on a longboard.

DON’T get a penny cruiser (one of those 70s style plastic boards), they’re impossible to control and the proportions are all over the place.

Soft wheels will help with shit surfaces, and with learning to push inside on the carpet. Don’t get them too big, or he’ll find pushing hard due to the height if they’re 70mm or something.

Kids pick up scooters a lot easier because they’re easier to control than skateboards, so don’t be surprised if he finds it hard. Regularly using a scooter will help the kid learn with pushing and general control, you might have go down that route first.

Get a cruiser board yourself, your kid will be stoked to see you join in with him.

Show him videos of younger skaters, under 12 or so, as they’re far more relatable than Mark Suciu or Tiago Lamos, no matter how good they are to watch - this doc about Grant Taylor skating from age 4 or so might be a good start - Volcom's “GTXX - DOWN SOUTH IN HELL” Video - YouTube

Forget the skatepark - you go there to learn tricks, not to learn to skate. Try the local park, schoolyard, or even just the street outside to learn the basics of pushing and take it from there. Chances are he’ll be buttboarding all the time anyway.

My lad asked for a skateboard like mine at 4 too and was not ready for it at all, he’s a bit cautious and does not like to not be able to do things straight away so not sure he’ll take to it yet or ever. My second lad wanted one around same age and is way more gung ho and while he hasn’t taken to it yet he will probably refind it at some point.
They have an Almost mini complete.

My son is full on, he’s a total adrenaline junky and a real beast. He was skiding and jumping on his bike at the age of two. He has a scooter but lost interest when he learnt to ride without stablesiers. I think skateboarding will hopefully give him some sort of focus. He’s watching skating and surfing videos on YouTube all day, what have I created?

I said that but he’s now 6 and still too feckless.
I don’t fancy regular trips to the hospital.
Not sure if you’ll be the same by 6yrs but I do everything I can to keep him from hurting himself.

Advice though, my old neighbour has a son about 9 months older than my son and took him to skateparks and on skate days out while he was in a pushchair.
Then at the spots, he would be set free with a board to play with.
A few years on, he’s still at it, doing pretty well and and most of all having fun.
The setups he used was all regular sized hand me downs.
Not cut down for size or anything.
Ride what ya got.

My partner found our son (20months) a small sort of Penny board from a charity shop around Christmas and he’s been loving it on the wooden floors at home sitting on it and he either likes to sit and watch at a skatepark or he’ll have a little go and I’ll stand him up and move him along. He chooses to pick it up and bring it places which is cool.

I got our little un a Baker short board and stuck on some old trucks and wheels. Would recommend sanding down the grip loads though (as i quickly realised that if not, it rips their skin to shreds, when they are constantly picking up the board and putting it down).

Ha