First laps on the ice · Ages
First laps on the ice in Midland: is it right for a 9 year old?
What works brilliantly at one age is a shrug at another. Here is how it lands at this one.
Falling is part of it and is less dramatic than parents fear. Ice is slippery at walking speed, which is the speed a beginner moves at.
The nearest of the two centres to Midland is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
How it lands at this age
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
What to plan for
The advice that helps most is the least technical: bend the knees, look ahead rather than down, and take short steps instead of long glides.
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
What parents notice
A first lap is mostly about the wall. Children hold it, let go of it, grab it again, and somewhere in the third lap they forget it is there.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
Worth knowing
Falling is part of it and is less dramatic than parents fear. Ice is slippery at walking speed, which is the speed a beginner moves at.
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
Questions parents ask
What age can a child start skating?
Children start at very different ages. What matters more is whether they are willing to hold a rail and shuffle.
How long should a first session be?
Short. Twenty minutes of trying beats an hour of being cold and frustrated.
What should they wear?
Layers, long sleeves, gloves. Gloves are the item most often forgotten and most missed.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
Planning your visit in Midland
A Midland school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
From Midland the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.