Skateboarding’s grown and changed a lot, even in the 20ish years since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater first exploded into our Playstations and Bart Simpsons, the X-Games and Viva La Bam turned skateboarding into mainstream sports entertainment. It’s the subject of a very excellent  episode of the The Amazing World of Gumball and one of my favorite Adventure Time GIFs. It’s about to be an Olympic sport whenever the 2020 Olympics happen, and as a parent you know what that means: your kid is going to see some ads and they’re going to want a skateboard.

As someone who’s taught at a few skate camps and spent a lot of time lurking in skate shops helping walk parents and kids through the “which board” decision process, here are some things you should know as you cope with your child becoming a skater.

1. There are skateboards and there are toys.

Skaters are acutely aware of their weird obsession with a useless wooden toy. But there’s a big difference between a “toy” skateboard (aka “Walmart boards”) and what the kids at the skatepark or Pulaski Plaza are riding.

It’s understandable to not want to spend a lot, and the boards hanging in the sporting goods section at Target seem as good as any (even a beginner-quality board from a major skate brand is running you ~$120 minimum). But you should know that board has a short shelf life, and if your kid decides they’re a skater, it won’t be long until they’re frustrated by the board’s inferior hardware or something on the board breaks. Target doesn’t sell skateboard parts, and their boards often use non-standard hardware, so a seized bearing or stripped axle will require total replacement. But a $120 complete from a reputable skate shop is outfitted with standardized parts so a broken bolt costs a couple of dollars to replace instead of making the whole board useless.

While we’re on the subject of gear, let’s talk footwear: You don’t need skate-specific shoes to start — let’s be real if you’re reading this you probably have your kid in Converse or Vans already so this point is moot — but once that kid starts to figure out how to ollie, you’re going to find holes in the sides of their shoes, so think about which shoes you’d rather see the holes in. Your local skate shop can get you set up with what you need. A tip from someone who’s put their body through 20+ years of this nonsense: there’s a company called Footprint that makes high-density, high-absorption foam insoles designed for skateboarding, and their kingfoam insoles are worth every penny. And remember, as always, letting your kids wear Crocs counts as abuse

2. It hurts! But it’s not as bad as you’d think.

I assume by now we’ve all seen the bit from Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee where Jerry Seinfeld talks about the resilience of kids who skate. To paraphrase, skateboarding hurts, and there’s no way around it. The difference between missing a three-pointer and missing a kickflip over a gap is the consequences. And if skateboarding teaches you anything it’s resilience and persistence.

But in the 90s skateboarding went out of its way to make “look how scary these injuries are” into part of the culture and it stuck. Now that the nerds have better numbers to crunch, studies show it’s not any more risky than traditional school sports or winter sports like skiing/snowboarding. And like any other activity, having proper equipment (that is to say: shoes, board, pads and helmet that fit properly) covers just about all of the preventable injuries. Stretching and hydration covers most of the rest.
That said…

3. It’s hard! Way harder than you think!

If you’ve never skated, there’s no way for you to know how difficult and scary it is. Like I said, the difference between missing a three-pointer and missing a kickflip over a gap is the consequences. Every single trick is a risk, and there’s no backboard to catch you if you’re off by a bit, no referee to stop play and award you points or a free shot. It’s physically and mentally draining, and at the same time exhilarating.

There’s a growing body of research that skateboarders are better equipped for “real life” or “The World” if you will. They’re used to trying something hundreds of times over weeks, months, or years, until it goes right. All the grit, resilience, whatever the current buzzword is now for “kids learning to deal with it even when it sucks,” skateboarding’s going to give it to them.

4. Don’t go to the park (yet).

The skatepark seems like the obvious place to learn to skate, but it’s not the place to learn to stand on a board and ride. There’s a lot going on, and people at all different age levels mixed amongst one another. For a while, the best place to learn to skate is in a driveway, tennis court, basketball court, or somewhere similar with smooth flat ground. Learn to ride, turn, and push. Learn to ollie over a water bottle, or up and off a curb. That way when you show up at the park, the learning curve isn’t as steep.

5. When you’re ready, there’s some things you should know about the skatepark.

There is a social hierarchy and etiquette to the park. You are near the bottom of the hierarchy. Skateboarders are the royalty, but in a very “Modern UK” kind of way, where there’s a lot of pomp hiding a distinct lack of power. Is there someone on rollerskates who looks like they do (or used to do) roller derby? They’re really in charge, but not many will admit it. Kids on scooters are near the bottom (their parents are at the bottom).

Nobody’s mad at your kid for being a beginner. We were all there once (a lot of us are kind of still there in our heads), and there’s nothing better than seeing new skaters overcome a trick or obstacle. Everybody gets to break off a piece of that stoke!

Your kid’s going to learn new things! And not just skateboard tricks and a whole second language of tricks and obstacles, your kid might come home with questions about fun new words and phrases, booze, weed, music… be ready for some curveballs! That’s not to say the park is inherently dangerous, as much as it’s an environment that will expose your kid to lots of different types of people, who are interested in lots of different things. A busy public skatepark is arguably safer than any other given public park because skaters are so protective and insular. There’s one guaranteed way to get hurt at the skatepark, and that’s to mess with one of the little kids who hang out and skate at the park.

The park is ultimately about respecting each others’ shared ownership and use of the space. I used to be scared of the skatepark. I wasn’t good enough so I felt like I was always in someone’s way, and nobody gave me a heads up about how skateparks flow. There’s a rhythm to a skate session, an order is established, everybody gets to try their trick, and there’s harmony in the universe.

6. Don’t stress it, your kid is not going pro. Skateboarding is about having fun.

Being a pro skateboarder in 2021 is basically being an influencer, except it pays less and hurts more. Let your kid skate and enjoy it, without the pressure of social media. The idea of sponsorship and self-promotion is kind of baked into skate culture already, they’ll find it if they want it. Resist the temptation to turn your kid’s new thing into the next big TikTok. (And as a formerly sponsored skater, if your kid wants a career in skating, tell them to draw cool stuff, learn about fashion and retail marketing, and get a degree in something like computer science or history or something anyway. You’ll get better insurance at a desk job and still have nights and weekends to skate.)

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