2 Year Old Too Young to Ice Skate?

Chuckle. Call the ice rink and ask if they have shoes small enough. They could also tell you their experience with skaters that young. They may not want a child that young to skate. They do have to consider liability issues.
They will err on the side of safety.

NOT TOO YOUNG AT ALL! My son has been on the ice since he was 18 months old. It's better to get them on the ice early and at a young age. Kids don't have fear and learn much faster, where as adults are the ones who struggle the most. Make sure he has a helmet (can be a bicycle one), elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves. If he falls (which he will), whatever you do, do NOT make a big deal about it. Just act like it's normal (which it is) help him up then continue. Also, if you can, maybe bring a chair out on the ice that he can push to help keep his balance.

Good Luck and have fun!

mine both skated younger than that. it isn't pretty but you don't have far to fall...

Our skatium uses plastic chairs. The kids hold on to them and kind of glide along, with you holding on too. They also give the little ones helmets. Just be ready in case he gets tired in the beginning :)

Oh yeah. They have skates that small. I used to compete, and 1yos -sometimes not even walking yet... just able to stand- were on the ice with their parents all the time.

You'll want to call, though, with your child's shoe size to make sure/ place a hold on them since they don't usually keep very many in the very small sizes. Often only 2-3 pairs. So holiday season they may already be checked out.

My son started lessons at that age and they do have skates that small....but we also live in MN "The state of Hockey" :) They actually might have a "walker"/trainer that he could use. Your husband will probably need to provide some resistance on the front of it though because they slide pretty easily.

How skilled are you and hubby at skating? I'm not very good (I think that's the real reason I no longer live in Minnesota), so I wouldn't be comfortable with it, but as long as the parents are either wearing shoes, or solid skaters, I think it is ok. They should have some aides as well for little kids to help them learn.

They can skate at that age. The question is...do you or your husband want to skate behind him, holding his arms all the while being bent over the ENTIRE time Or one of you holding each arm and constantly keeping him from falling. It is tiring!!!!! Have fun :)

Here they start lessons at 2. They have tiny skates for them, and stabilizing bars if they are brand new to it. He is not too young at all :). But this is Alaska, our kids are playing hockey by 4 or 5 years old! If you are not sure it they have small enough skates where you are, just call ahead.

My son is 2 1/2 and we just went ice skating last week. They do have small enough skates. And they had little walkers for the kids...like the same as an elderly person would use but small. Very funny. But really helpful. So they hold onto those and push along. I mean we still held onto the walker, but once we got him to keep his feet kinda still then we could help him glide. He also thought it was fun to watch mom and dad go around. Not the longest staying power though...but then you get popcorn and sit and then try again! :) Have fun!

My daughter went last winter when she was 2.5.

It should be okay as long as an adult is with him. Call your rink. Both of my sons wanted to skate at 2. My eldest started taking skate lessons at 3-1/2 which is when he was old enough to take the class. Now, at 6, he plays hockey and is a very good skater. Ask the rink if they have walkers for little kids who want to skate. A walker (it's like an old person's walker), is a device that the child can hold on to so that he can learn to balance then skate. This is a great tool to help learn to skate:) Ice skating is so much fun and great exercise. Have fun and enjoy!

Hey Sally I'm a Cali girl too...no hockey playing here...but I had my daughter out on the ice before she was two. She had a blast, and now loves to skate.

The only thing I would advise, in addition to the excellent comments here, is make sure it's a fairly calm time of the day/not too crowded with teenagers. They have great energy on the ice, but some of their enthusiasm outpaces their ability, if you get my meaning. I didn't want them wiping out my kid : )

Have fun! Teaching your kid to skate early will really pay off later.

I personally think it is too young. But you know your child. Is he brave and likes new, sometimes scary experiences? Show him a video of people skating and ask him if he wants to do it.

Go for it but make sure the little one wears a helmet at all times while on the ice.