Cheap material for butt pads for 6 year old?

[Doll]

Hello all, this is my first post as a skating mom

My daughter is 6 and just started skating lessons last week.  She went from hobbling along on a balance bar last week to doing a spin this week, I'm so proud of her! (that's my little mommy brag, it's out of the way now )  So far she has cried every time it was time to go home from the rink so I think we're in it for the long haul

Anyway she needs a butt pad - when she falls on her bum, it hurts and it's affecting her confidence.  Here's the thing - we are broker than broke right now and I can't afford to spend $50 on pads!

I am an advanced sewer so I figure I can make a pair of padded shorts myself.  She doesn't care about looks at all, she is still at the age where if she looks like she has a big butt she will just think it's funny and wear it because her bum won't hurt   That said, she needs to be able to move, too.

What kind of padding can I use that is cheap, but effective?  Can I just buy some high density foam at a fabric store maybe?  Will that work or is it useless in terms of cushioning a crash?

Thanks in advance!

[Skittl1321]

You can use sponges (kitchen or car wash, depending on the thickness you want.)


The foam by the yard fabric stores sell would work too.  

If she is just starting, she just needs a little padding.  Honestly, lined athletic pants might be enough if she has been skating in a skirt and tights.  Most kids don't complain about falls hurting.  (Although, it is good to get her pads if she is!)

[sarahspins]

I'd recommend closed-cell foam over sponges or foam you can buy at a craft store, it has more impact resistance in a thinner package.  I like using blue camping pads.. the kind you can buy almost anywhere for fairly cheap (walmart has one that's only about $7) will be big enough for a "lifetime" supply of padding

[Doll]

ohh that's a great idea!  Thanks, I never would have thought of that!  I should be able to get my hands on a camping pad or a yoga mat easy peasy cheapy

See, I knew you guys would be in-the-know

[hopskipjump]

She might find knee pads more valuable!  They are about $10 at dance stores and some sports stores (all foam and fabric, no plastic). 

[Doll]

Thanks - I did put her in knee pads but they are the hard plastic kind she already had for roller skating (newbie alert ).  I was wondering about that too - seems the hard plastic kind is meant to prevent scrapes on pavement more than cushion a blow, they certainly don't have a lot of padding.  Does the hard plastic have any use on the ice or is it pretty much pointless?  I could probably make her some knee/elbow pads out of that camping foam, too (I'll certainly have enough of it ).

So far though she certainly doesn't have the "how to fall properly" thing down yet - she definitely needs a butt pad as she falls on that 90% of the time so far

[davincisop]

The foam by the yard fabric stores sell would work too.  

I was going to say the green fabric store foam as well. Just enough cushion for a tiny child.

[platyhiker]

I agree that closed cell foam is an excellent padding material and very inexpensive.   Another thing that would probably work quite well is bubble wrap, and if you have any already in the house, it's effectively free.  With either material, if you have a pair of loose fitting pants (such as sweat pants), you can probably add the padding and attach it with safety pins (or a few tacking stitches) and save yourself the work of sewing new pants/shorts.

Beginners often move fairly quickly from the falling-lots-and-lots stage to the falling-a-few-times-session stage, especially when they are enthusiastic about skating.  As beginners gain balance and skills the falls (generally) become less painful, too.  (A total newbie tends to fall down HARD, BAM!  With a modest improvement, the falls involve more sideways motion (most of the time) and the impact when falling is less painful.)  So, your daughter may not need padded pants/shorts for very long.

If you have snow pants on hand, the insulation/padding in them helps some, but not as much as close cell foam or bubble wrap.

If your daughter is enthusiastic about skating, I highly recommend taking her to public skating sessions in addition to her lessons - practice time really lets kids move along with their skills much faster.

I hope you daughter continues to enjoy skating!

[Skittl1321]

Does the hard plastic have any use on the ice or is it pretty much pointless? 

I think they are better than nothing, but only if she can get up while wearing them (meaning- she can already get up effortlessly).

They slip around on the ice, and therefore, kids who wear these are often stuck down on the ice when they fall, and are never able to learn to stand up.  The first step to standing up is "on your knees like a doggy"- if your knees slide out from under you, it is no good.

[sarahspins]

They do make volleyball pads for little kids.. if she really needs knee pads I'd look for some of those.  They're relatively cheap ($10-15) at most "big box" sporting goods stores.

[FigureSpins]

I think a pair of cheap (thin) snow/ski pants will be a better option than fussing with all those pads.  They won't restrict her movement very much.  The fabric is slippery, so she'll slide a bit during falls, which will help lessen the impact. 

The plastic knee pads are really not good for ice skating.  The plastic outer shell slides badly when it hits the ice, differently than snow pants, so forward falls usually turn into face plants.  Plus, as Skittl says, it's hard to get up when you can't balance on your knees.  You're right: they're to prevent road rash, lol.  While you can get scraped up from the ice, it's not half as bad as asphalt or even wood.

With warmer weather coming, keep the snow pants in the car and pull them on over whatever she's wearing to go skating.  The pants are water resistant, so she'll stay warm on the ice, even with a lot of falls.  When she's done, take them off and leave them to air dry in the car for the next outing, and then go home with a dry seat, lol.

Welcome to skatingforums! 

[Doll]

Thanks everyone for your kind help!

Unfortunately, we live in southern California so I think snow pants are out - both because they would be impossible to find/expensive if we do and because I think she would be way too hot - our ice rink is cool enough obviously to keep the ice frozen, but not very cold at all.

I'll look for some volleyball knee pads too, those sound easier than making them for knees.  She can get up just fine with the hard shell pads but they are somewhat bulky for sure, slightly inhibiting and the faceplant thing definitely doesn't sound great

Thanks all for your advice, I so appreciate it!  Clara is making awesome progress - hopefully she won't need pads for too long (or at least, until she starts doing more tricky stuff!).  We do attend a 2 hour public session after each class to practice so that has helped!

[Doll]

Okay, so just to update for anyone doing something similar..

I just got back from Walmart and found the BEST thing.  It's a "Gold's Gym" yoga/exercise mat, and it's like a gel-foam type of mat.  Thicker than most yoga mats.  I found the other camping mat, and it would have been fine, but the yoga mat is squisher - it will be much more comfortable to wear because it bends really easy, it's super flexible and I punched both with my fist on the floor and I could hardly feel an impact with the yoga mat at all.  It's not normal foam for sure - it's like a gel-foam, kind of like memory foam but not quite.  Reminds me of the feeling of a gel bicycle seat.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gold-s-Gym-Fitness-and-Yoga-Mat/12321503

Thanks to those who suggested the camping pad though because I never would have found it/thought of it otherwise!

I also came up with a neat idea for knee pads using funky socks - I found some ankle socks that have about 2 inches above the ankle, and I'm going to chop off the toes, sew in some elastic on the one end, and the padding will go on the heel of the sock which will be on her knee!  It should work really good and be super cute too because they're funky patterned socks

[FigureSpins]

I know this an old discussion, but I met an adult freeskater with creative DIY padding and thought I'd share her brainstorm.  She bought foam matting from a sporting goods store camping section and cut it up to make pads.  It's sold as matting underneath sleeping bags for warmth and comfort.  She cut out kidney-shaped hip pads and slipped them inside her leggings.  It was a good idea and not terribly expensive.

[sarahspins]

That DIY padding is the same foam I was referring to close to the top of this thread

[dlbritton]

I'll throw my 2 cents in on this old discussion.

Most snow pants are high loft for warmth but are rather thin when compressed, such as in a fall.
The closed cell foam for camping pads does sound like a good idea. Kneeling pads sold at garden centers and home centers could be another source for DIY foam.

I may be overdoing the padding bit, but I wear McDavid hex cell elbow pads, volley ball knee pads and roller blading wrist guards. The McDavid pads use dime sized foam cells so they are very flexible. I need to wear an XXL knee pad in the McDavids but no one stocks those in a store, so I use a pair of $5 volleyball pads from W..Mart.

I haven't taken many falls but when I do I either do a Superman impersonation and sail forward landing on my palms (hard and loud a few times) but sparing my knees or I go down hard on my knees and spare my wrists. I wasn't wearing knee pads at first but after a few nice purple welts on my knees I decided it was time. I haven't had a fall since I started wearing them so I don't know how effective they will really be, but they have to be better than no padding.