l plan to take my 4 yo ice skating this weekend and am uncertain if she should just try it out on her own with me nearby holding her hands and encouraging her while she falls or if l should put 2 crates on top of one another (cable-tied, of course) so she can actually move along a little bit and enjoy herself as she will be able to keep up with her older sister a bit.She is not normally one to get frustrated and is generally easy going and athletically inclined, but l am unsure as l do want her to learn how to skate eventually.l guess my question is.... Does the use of a crate prohibit one from learning the proper way to skate or do you think it might be encouraging to them to feel like they are moving along as they are getting the feel of what being on the ice is like.Thank you.

Use a crate if u want, it wo not hinder ur child. However the best motivation is to watch her older sister do it or you. What really helps is if u can have a decent skater holding her hand on both sides. So she can try to shuffle her feet alone & still feel stable from both sides. My daughter learned at wolman in NYC & l held one hand & she was able to touch or grab onto the wall of the rink with her other hand. Thus enabling her to build that self confidence & have the support she needed. Have fun & good luck!

We used to use a chair..it wo not take her long to get rid of it. l turned out to be a pretty good skater.

Took a 6-yo and 4-yo skating for the first time not too long ago. The 6-yo was doing great pretty quickly. The 4-yo needed a hand to hold, but by the end of the session even he was skating by himself.

It may just be that he does not need the crates for very long. l do not think there is any lasting harm to using them - when he is ready to try it by himself he wo not be ruined by whatever technique it took to push the crates.

She is only four.

Far more ''damage'' will be done if she learns to be afraid of something than if she learns to be dependent on something.

Put the crates out there & tell her they r for her to use to skate around with. They u & sister go skating & come over an play with her a bit & then leave. do not say anything more good or bad about the crates/chair/bar or what ever just go on. Pretty soon she will get tired of being left behind & go after u guys THEN come over & play more & help a lot & encourage.

She will know when she is tired of a crutch but do not make a big deal of it there.

Just like a sippy cup or diapers from the past. She was not wrong for those things just younger & then there came a time when she did not need them anymore.

Hold her hand l guess.
Here on some tips on skating. l hope these can help also.
l play peewee ice hockey AA. You stride sideways. Do not lean back at all. Move ur arms straight like when u run u know how u move them back & forwards? Do that also. Here is a link to a 3d skater doing it.

http://ellentonice.com/Ice%20Hockey/.

This guys moves his arms differently than l told you. But the way l told u is the way my coach told me. Whatever works for u though. Hope l helped. Actually he does move his arms like l told you. It is just that from that view it does not look like it. Pay close attention & he is holding a hockey stick moving his arms like a told you.