We are parents; we know how you feel. We have faced the three significant issues all parents face:
- Finances are tight
- Kids need to exercise
- You have limited time
We get it. You need to spend your money and time wisely on a sport and its equipment that won’t bankrupt you, suck up all your free time, and get your kids away from the computer.
So, let’s tackle the first question: “How much does skateboarding cost?”
Popular Sport Costs
Skateboards and the sport do not cost much compared to other sports. We took a look and broke down and were a little shocked.
Check it out.
When you put skateboarding up against what you’ll pay to have your son or daughter play a sport like baseball or soccer, there really is no comparison. Skateboarding is the cheapest option. Here’s some facts for you:
Baseball cost: $500 +/-
- Bat: $90
- Glove: $50
- Cleats: $75
- Pants: $35
- Cup: $25
- Batting gloves: $50
- Hat: $25
- League Fees: $125
Soccer costs: $400 +/-
- Shorts: $60
- Jersey: $30
- Cleats: $120
- Ball: $40
- League Fees: $150
These are conservative numbers and do not include gas, eating-out expenses, or the commitment you have to make. Throw on top of that name-brand gear and clothes, and the price increases rapidly.
Skateboarding Costs
Now, let’s take a gander at what it costs to enter the sport of skateboarding.
Skateboarding cost: $160 (w/out skate shoes) or $225 (with skate shoes)
- Board: $125 (includes trucks, wheels, bearings)
- Shoes: $0 (use tennis shoes) or $65 for Vans
- Safety gear: $35
Notice anything missing from the skateboarding cost? Unlike baseball, soccer, or any other sport, there are no league or travel fees.
As you can see, skating is dramatically less expensive.
And it’s convenient.
Saving you Time and Money (and Time)
You don’t have a lot of time. As parents, working and taking care of family takes a toll.
We have raised three sons. All of them have been active in sports: baseball and soccer mainly. Like you, we spent untold hours driving to practice, sitting at practice, trying to find somewhere to eat for dinner, and then driving home from practice. Twice a week.
Then came the games: hours driving to the game, watching the warm-ups, watching the actual game, and then trying to find someplace to eat after the game.
We can’t begin to tally the money we spend on food, gas, and time. Can you?
In today’s economy, it’s got to be double what we spent. This is one reason we are huge proponents of skateboarding. If you get the right equipment and safety gear, you and your child won’t have to endure hours and hours of practice to be physically fit and athletically active.
Here’s the secret sauce to skateboarding: you can do it almost anywhere.
You can skate on your driveway, street, back patio, or neighbor’s property.
Most likely, you are close to a public park; you can walk down there and skate as long as you respect their laws.
And the best part: it’s all free, and it’s all close to home.
There were no quick stops at the gas station. No slinging through the drive-thru. No fighting traffic to get across town to the game. No traveling. Wear your shoes and gear, go out your front door, and skate.
Skateboarding is affordable and convenient.
And it gets your kids moving.
Get them Fit
Gone are the days when kids would go outside on their own. They must often be forced to get out and get their bodies moving.
They have too many things inside the house they can do: video games, computers, TVs, iPhones, iPads, and more. Hey, we all have had our time sucked away by binge-watching the newest series or scrolling our X feeds.
This doesn’t excuse the fact that if we want healthy kids, we have to get them exercising. The hassle and effort of doing league sports is too much for some families. Enter skateboarding. Like I said above, they can exercise if you have a driveway, a patio, or a street.
The sport is not the rebel sport it once was; it’s very mainstream. The safety equipment (helmets, elbow pads, wrist pads, and so on) is made better than previous generations of gear. And the training you can find to help your kids learn is stellar.
So, jump in. Get a board. Get some safety gear. And get them fit.
Making it Easy
At Red Panda Skateboards, we want to make getting into the sport—either a kid or an adult—easy and fun. We work hard to design boards that are cool to skate, well-made, and affordable.
Currently, we offer nine designs for adults and four for kids. Check us out, and you’ll see that skateboarding is fun, artistic, inexpensive, safe, and worth the effort.
We also write a lot about skateboards right here and are featured on Feedspot’s Skateboard blog feed. Check them out for other great blogs to follow.
Also, we offer skateboard t-shirts and will be adding to that line-up in the coming weeks.
