Hi, my son has saved up enough money for wheel shoes. He is 7 years old. Any particular brand that you suggest?
Thanks!
You can't wear them to school and many places ban them.
You really DO have to treat them just like roller skates - there are a lot of injuries that can happen.
All I am going to say is that yes, the brand is Heely's and PLEASE teach him proper wear/use and manners with the dang things - not assuming you won't but just a reminder.
Heely's are the usual name brand, my household went through 3 pair. But be very careful with them and make sure your son understands what he's getting into with them. He can't use them in school and they are very much like roller blades and require that type of balance. So if he does not skate well, I'd either delay the purchase, or perhaps make the purchase, since he did save his money and deserves them but introduce them slowly, like in the yard only, for a few weeks, until he got the hang of it.
Just a note of caution.
Even though the wheel shoes are fun, they are still like rollerskating. My daughter got hers when she was about 7 from grandma and she leaned back too far and fell backward and hit her head.
Another one of her friends broke her wrist from falling.
I allowed my daughter to wear the roller shoes but only if she treated them like roller skates and wore wrist guards and a helmet.
She eventually lost interest when all the indoor places around us banned them and she could only wear them up and down the sidewalk!
She did enjoy her Heelys, they were well-made.
Edited to add: I think that the problem with Heelys is that they LOOK less dangerous than rollerskates so the same kind of caution is not being exercised by parents or kids. My daughter wore wrist guards and a helmet when rollerblading but Heelys are like shoes and who wants to wear wrist guards and a helmet to the mall? When she fell, we were at the mall and she wasn't paying attention.
There were many articles about the dangers of Heelys at the time. The number of injuries caused all of our indoor places to ban them--they didn't want to be responsible. I think they are the same amount of danger as rollerskates or rollerblades. I don't think we should keep our kids from having them, I just think we should exercise similar caution.
Both of my boys wore Heelys when they were you son's age and loved them! The wheels are removable for school time but the shoe sole will wear down without the wheel and it may not lock in properly after a bit so my boys kept theirs in with the next pair. They can walk with the wheel in. I think the concerns over injuries are a little over the top (kids run faster than they roll.) In other words, they can hurt themselves just as easily by running. Kudos to your son for saving up his own money!
