Wild In The Streets And Other Skateboarding Worries For Parents

Sending your child out into the world to skateboard causes some parents a great deal of anxiety. Just imagine when your child tells you that he or she wants to skate "Wild in the Streets." You mean you want to go with thousands of skaters skating in the streets?

Hey it's all part of the fun and colorful world of skateboarding. After all, skateboarding is an individual sport, with an enormous amount of flexibility. You can do it alone, with a few friends, or thousands of other kids, as on "Go Skateboarding Day," June 21, when thousands and thousands of skaters gather in New York and other cities around the world to skate together. One skate company, Emerica, has created an event within Go Skateboarding Day and it's called Wild in the Streets. The only wild thing is just the sight of thousands of skateboarders riding over the Brooklyn Bridge or street skating a 4km route in Costa Rica. It's wild because it's freeform and grass roots, not because it's out of control.

Beginner Trick Skateboard

Skateboarders are often raggedy looking and a bit unkempt. There are about 15 million of them in the US, so it's bound to be a diverse group.But here's the great news! Overwhelmingly, the skateboarder community is very open and friendly. Skateboarders accept others who share an interest in their sport. Why is this, you might ask, when skateboarders are often thought of as outcasts or loners?

Wild In The Streets And Other Skateboarding Worries For Parents

The key is that you don't do it against any other skater. If there is another person involved, you skate with them, not against them. Unlike, say, football, where teams line up and smash against each other, or tackle their opponent with bone crushing force, skateboarders scoot along in harmony with each other in a community of fun.

Skateboarders also learn from each other. If they see a kid do a new skateboard trick, or one they haven't mastered, they regularly ask for skateboard tips. It is not at all unusual to find that the "master" stops what he is doing and gives the newbie some pointers. If someone does something really fantastic, the kids around him are quick to congratulate him on his prowess. In that regard, they have a lot in common with snowboarders, who, even in the toughest competitions, are amazingly supportive of each other.

Another element in the behavior of skateboarders is the bonding that comes from being perceived of as a bit of a rebel and a member of a company of other free spirits. The dress code is not formalized, as in say baseball, but it is there nonetheless. The kids dress with very studied abandon. Their dress "code" is another form of establishing their identity. There are other rituals, such as the elaborate greeting forms. And, carrying their boards, they are instantly recognizable as members of the fraternity of skaters.

I have often observed this with our son. He will be taken to a new skate park, and within minutes, he is indistinguishable from the regulars and has been fully integrated into the local tribe. Another piece of evidence is the unspoken, but almost ironclad rules of a skate park. Not imposed from the outside, but unspoken rules that everyone gets their turn, and no one is shut out of the opportunity to ride because they are young, old or a beginner, or different in some other way.

So, as the parent of a new skateboarder, you can have confidence that the overwhelming majority of the kids your child will meet will be welcoming and supportive.

And we know plenty of dads who pick up a skateboard and ride "Wild in the Street."

Wild In The Streets And Other Skateboarding Worries For Parents