how old can you start surfing?

[freaky_welsh_chick]

my little brother is 4 years old, and i was wondering, how long should i wait before getting him started with a surfboard? he's learning to swim now, and in the holidays he was bodyboarding (i know, how cool!) wearing armbands, lol. he was really good too, he could steer his little board and everything. how old do you think kids should be to learn safely? i'd probably take him to a surf school to learn like. i want him to have the opportunity of starting young, unlike me.

[surf patrol]

Hi freaky_welsh_chick, he's lucky that he has got his big sister behind him. I say get him out as soon as possible. I think that surfing lessons might be a waste of money at his age (if they would even take a 4 year old). Pick a really small day and play with him in the shallow water - you and a friend would be good for safety. Getting your hands on a soft surfboard would also be good. I bet there are a huge number of surfers who wish they started at the age of 4.

[freaky_welsh_chick]

you mean put him on my board? how long a soft board should i get him? maybe il buy him one for his birthday in june :) do you know where i can get a decent soft board for him, are there any particular companies that are reliable for this type of board? thanks!

[Guest]

softsurfboard.co.uk do you think they sound alright? im thinkin of getting him a 5 foot 'liquid shredder', he's 20 kg now, and the recommended weight for that is 23-40kg, so he'll be just right in the summer, what do you think?

[freaky_welsh_chick]

opps sorry that was me ^

[Ross]

Sounds cool...was watching endless summer 2 again the other night and theres a kid on there on a surfboard and hes 5 - and although he needs a push from dad to get started, once hes on the wave he's better than me! Carving it up all over te place!!! Get him started now and we may have the makings of the first UK Kelly Slater!!!

[leolivi]

In the surf trip i made just now there were some kids at the beach with small foamies. It was very nice, cause the boards floated them easily and they could ride whitewater and have lots of fun!
They were older than 4, but if you have the money to buy a small foamie (wich are quite inexpensive) i advise you to do so. I don´t think he´ll get hurt riding whitewater with people watching him.

[freaky_welsh_chick]

yeh the one i was looking at for him costs 135 quid, that sound about right?

[sinistapenguin]

My first surf experience was at about age 8, my brother held the board for me in tiny whitewater slop, I stood on it and held onto his head, then when a wave came, he pushed me with it and what d'you know I rode it till the fins hit the sand.

21 years later and I'm still hooked.

My friend learned to surf before he could swim, so I guess it's not a prerequisite.

I would definitely try the above approach though, give him the feeling of riding a wave standing up without all the pesky paddling/ popping etc!!

If he's confident enough to bodyboard, he should be OK to try surfing in small <1ft waves!!

Cheers

Sinista

[beeichbum]

If it says anything I started surfing when I was 7 but I was in swim lessons at 2 1/2 years old. So ya know ya gotta wait a couple more years.

[surf patrol]

I was down at the beach the other day and a kid was being pushed into the waves by his dad - he was riding this big polystyrene board. He was almost too small to paddle the board properly and was too small to get the waves himself (I reckon he was about 5) but once his dad got him into the waves he was straight up onto his feet and riding.

[freaky_welsh_chick]

i'm gonna teach my bro this summer... i can't afford to get him a soft board though, will he be ok on my big 7'3" bic? i think i will use that technique sinista learnt by... stand him on the board, holdin onto my head and give him a push.