Exercises for kids?

[Doll]

My daughter Clara is 6 and just started skating - she has a great build for ice skating, her natural sense of balance and motor skills are great - but she is somewhat of a weakling!   I was wondering if some of you could point me in the direction of some simple, fun exercises and stretches I could start doing with her now to start developing the right muscles so when she gets to more advanced stuff, she is ready for it.

I may be thinking ahead quite a bit, but I kind of want to start how we intend to continue - if we establish now that exercising is just "part of skating" then it will be easier than adding it in later!

[hopskipjump]

At 6 just skating will help her develop the muscles for skating.  I wouldn't get too tied up about her body shape being good for skating - their bodies do change or go through changes, you don't want her to become worried when those changes start to happen.  My super tiny girl grew a LOT this year.  While she will probably never be much more than 5'1-5'3", her growth happened almost over night and she had to work through it.  If you want a video or book, many recommend this: http://www.sk8strong.com

We haven't used it because we don't have lots of time at home between all of her activities.  Her coaches made an off ice routine for her.

[VAsk8r]

Yeah, I agree with hopskipjump. I've never heard of a kid not having strong enough muscles to do what they need to do in skating. It's more a matter of getting the muscles to do the right thing. When she gets to the point where she's doing loop jumps and other things that require a certain level of leg strength, she will probably have that strength already from her previous skating.

If she keeps skating, sooner or later her coach will probably encourage her to do some stretches to help with spirals. But I wouldn't worry too much about it right now; the stretches aren't the fun part of skating and no point in making it a chore before it has to be 

[Sk8tmum]

Why do you describe your child as weak in terms of muscle strength? Is this through experience in other sports?

The best exercises to build strength in a 6 year old is doing kid stuff. Skipping rope, riding a bike, climbing a jungle gym, dancing to music, running around the neighborhood. These will all build gross muscle strength, cardiovascular capacity, balance and agility. 

Don't make skating work at this stage.  Elsewhere you posted that you are padding to help with falling.  Sounds like there are already things she doesn't like about skating, I wouldn't add to it, especially at this very very early stage. 

[sarahspins]

The best exercises to build strength in a 6 year old is doing kid stuff. Skipping rope, riding a bike, climbing a jungle gym, dancing to music, running around the neighborhood. These will all build gross muscle strength, cardiovascular capacity, balance and agility. 

Don't make skating work at this stage.  Elsewhere you posted that you are padding to help with falling.  Sounds like there are already things she doesn't like about skating, I wouldn't add to it, especially at this very very early stage.

I agree with this 110%.  At just 6, it definitely shouldn't be work.  My own 6 year old has developed much better body awareness and muscle strength (mostly balance related) just from skating alone.. we haven't done anything off-ice that she wouldn't have been doing anyways (indo board, trampoline, bike, etc - fun stuff just to stay active).  Skating is a skill that takes time to develop, and you can't force it or make it happen any faster - she'll get there at her own pace.  My daughter has been taking group skating classes since September and she's still only in Basic 2.  Would I like her to be progressing faster?  Sure, but odds are good if I pushed her, she wouldn't consider it "fun" and wouldn't want to do it at all any more. Skating came naturally to me, and in 6 months on the ice I was already jumping and spinning, but I can't compare my progress to hers, the ONLY thing that is important to me is that she's having fun with it and she's skating because she wants to, not because I want her to.

When you need to add in extra stuff later (and I do mean MUCH later, once she past basic skills) it can often be done in the capacity of classes at the rink, like off-ice strength and conditioning, or plyometrics.  Usually that starts once the kids are in freestyle levels - I don't know that there is really a huge benefit to it before then.

[Doll]

Actually the main reason I asked is because she is OBSESSED with skating and asks every day if we can go - we already go as often as budget allows currently (her lesson + 1 public session per week) so I was thinking of this as a way to say, "well, we can't go skating today, but we could do some exercises that will help with your skating!".

I would still love some ideas, if you have any.  As a family we already exercise together so it's not introducing an idea that is out of the norm, I was just looking for some skating-specific exercises/stretches.  She doesn't view exercising as "work" because our family already exercises by routine regularly together, and I wouldn't force her to do it (I wouldn't need to, honestly, because right now, she likes to join in anyway).

I can see how I may have come across as a crazy slave driver skate mom, though   - rest assured that is not the case

FTR - I described her as a bit of a weakling, because she kind of is  She's a very tiny, delicate girl (hence the butt pads - I just want to get her over the initial hump of falling a lot) who isn't the rambunctious type.  Outside she is more likely to collect little stones and sticks and play with bugs than run around - her run is a bit more like a gentle prance    I am not so much "worried" about this fact, as much as I am thinking, if she enjoys the exercises, they certainly can't hurt.

[Skittl1321]

My coach has me jump rope, skip (seriously) and jump off ice.  All things kids do normally.   
You could let her make up "skating programs" around the living room and show you "skater arms"- have her hold them up the whole time, and wave them like a ballerina.  You can watch videos on youtube and tell her you'll play the music again, but this time she can copy them.

However, you really don't want to put a 6-year old on an "exercise plan" unless it is doctor approved.  She shouldn't be doing things like squats or weights.

[hopskipjump]

Not so strangely, roller skating is something we can do for free outside or MUCH less an ice session at the local roller rink and it really builds dd's stamina.  Plus we can pick up a friend or two and it feels extra special because of the loud music, lights and silly games.  Dd finds roller skating requires more effort than skating and comes out very, very sweaty.  You'll find most adults can roller skate and so a lot of her friends moms come along and we get silly doing YMCA.  when skating outside dd wears much more protective gear - helmet, elbow pads, one of the skateboard companies makes a set that is inexpensive. 

Dd also skateboards.  She finds it is a lot of work to keep her balance.

My dd is also a runner and runs about 10 miles a week at the track.  Her goal is a 7 minute mile.  She has 34 seconds to trim off.  In September her mile was 14 minutes! 

Does your dd take dance?  I would have her memorize her warm ups and the amount of time they take.  She can do those while watching tv.

[Sk8tmum]

You have to be extremely careful about "stretches" for a six year old. The six year old body can be seriously damaged (muscles and skeleton) by improperly performed stretches.  Pulling up into extreme spiral positions "like a skater" or doing the splits "like a cheerleader" can lead to long term damage to the body.

If she wants to warm up, then I would suggest:

Run on the spot for a minute
Do 10 jumping jacks
Touch her toes 10 times (without forcing the stretch)
Do 5 "crunches".
Do 10 shoulder rolls - gently.

If you are looking to encourage her to do more physical activity, then, sell her on "improving her cardio and her skating" by running around the neighbourhood and skipping and the other stuff suggested ... it will benefit her on lots of fronts. There are a ton of "kiddie exercise" shows on the TV; try one of those.