[blparent] Roller-Skating

Tue Jan 7 18:39:38 UTC 2014

We actually went ice-skating a year ago, and I thought it was going to be 
really hard, but it was a snap!  Dad and I didn't get on the ice.  It didn't 
turn out to be ice at all, believe it or not.  The people at the outdoor 
rink said ice was too hard to maintain in Colorado, where it doesn't stay 
consistently cold all winter.  So it was wood, heavily varnished with 
uruthane, then coated with this awful, sticky wax and what amounted to 
cooking oil that got on your skin and clothes and wouldn't come off for 
anything till you ran stuff through the laundry several times.  Anyway, 
Sarah got on the ice with an older cousin.  I didn't know how she would 
fare, but she took to it like a duck to water.  She said she learned from 
Olivia on TV.  Push, push, glide.  Push, push, glide.  She fell a few times, 
but she got right back up.  Of course, that was before her "Band-Aid as a 
fashion accessory" days."  So we'll see how roller-skating goes.

I hadn't thought of the walker thingies at the rink.  Maybe we'll have to 
look into a trip before her birthday.

Jo Elizabeth

Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may 
kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at 
evening.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Melissa Ann Riccobono
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2014 8:57 AM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] Roller-Skating

It's really too bad about the roller rink. I was going to suggest that, 
thinking sometimes they actually have walker type things to hang onto so 
kids can learn how to skate, and also that she could stay with you near a 
wall and hold on until she gets more comfortable. I'm sure you'll do fine on 
the sidewalks around your complex. It's funny because my daughter, who will 
be four in May, just told me she wants roller skates for her birthday. She 
may be a bit young... I'm not sure. I believe I was five when I started 
skating, so we'll probably get her some cheaper skates to start with and see 
how she does. She's actually been ice skating before and loved it. Please 
pass along any tips and tricks you develop while teaching Sarah! I'll need 
them so I can help Oriana.
Melissa

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jo 
Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2014 6:03 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] Roller-Skating

I probably will buy the skates because I found a really good deal on some 
and because it's a pretty big activity with the neighborhood kids, and there 
are safe places to do it.  We live in a condo complex, so there are long, 
flat sidewalks that don't end in busy streets.  There are older kids that 
tend to take my daughter under their wings, so she may soon have better 
teachers than Mom anyway.  She has a bike helmet that she will always wear 
when skating.  She tends to be pretty agile as a whole, though I'm thinking 
that she'll be sporting Band-Aids for a while.  She used to be pretty tough 
about injuries--"no blood, no foul" was her favorite line for many years, 
but since she started school, the other girls have made quite a little drama 
queen out of her.  There's a roller rink, but we haven't ventured there yet 
because it isn't anywhere near a bus route, and the few times my boyfriend 
has dropped his son off there, the kid has said there are a lot of young 
teens who go crazy and don't watch out for anybody but themselves.

Jo Elizabeth

Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may
kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at
evening.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jennifer Stewart Jackson
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2014 3:02 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] Roller-Skating

I think I would buy the skates. She wants them, she has a place to skate
with other kids regularly, and it is easy to learn to do. I suspect that a
few extra trips to a roller rink will add more in expense and trouble than
you will want to
mess with.

I was fortunate enough to find them at a thrift store for my boys. I did not
move my collection of various sizes because the new neighborhood has brick
sidewalks and steep driveways so I do not want to encourage them to play in
the street.

If your daughter will accept them, roller skates are easier on ankles than
the roller blades.
It is really fun to take a little one out for the first few times. It will
not take more than that, but it is so much fun to be witness to the joy of
learning.

My most memorable times were with my oldest son but that may be because I
first had him on skates a few months before his second birthday at my vice's
birthday party. He loved it. He was the victem of a mom with a degree In
child development. There was a great experiment done on two twins in the
sixties. The one twin who was introduced to physical activity such as
skating and other balance related things while the other was just not.
Twenty years later the boys still had widely different abilities with
balance and physical aptitude. I waited for the younger boys to be more
typical ages, but we still had fun.

Jennifer

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Star Gazer
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2014 2:06 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] Roller-Skating

I wouldn't buy skates just yet. Take her to the rink and see if she enjoys
skating and what type of skates she is comfortable with.
Then when spring rolls around, see where you are. If you have a bunch of
skaters in the neighborhood they'd probably love to teach her and she'd
probably be more receptive learning from them. Expect her to fall down and
insist on a helmet. Also have neosporn(sp?) to treat cuts and the like.

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jo
Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Friday, January 3, 2014 11:42 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: [blparent] Roller-Skating

My daughter wants a pair of roller-skates for her sixth birthday, which will
be coming up the first of March, if you can believe it.  I know I can’t.  It
seems like I just carried her home from the hospital.  Anyway, we have some
nice long, flat sidewalks here, and the neighborhood kids love to skate on
them.  It will fall to me to teach my daughter, since her dad has a bad knee
and not a whole lot of patience.  I’m hoping I can just hold hands with her
and walk along at first, at least till she gets some speed up.  Have any of
you tackled this with your kids.  Is there anything special I should keep in
mind?  I have a few months to think about it and plan, but March will be
here before we know it—thank goodness, I’m about done with this winter
stuff!

Jo Elizabeth

Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may
kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at
evening.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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