Best Skateboard for Kids – Stay Safe, Don’t Buy Cheap Boards

Choosing the Best Skateboard for Kids can seem a little daunting. Skateboards are made from numerous components and it can be confusing trying to understand exactly what you need and how they all fit together.

Getting a complete skateboard for your little one is the best way to get them into skating.

A complete board comes with everything they need to get started and are typically a little bit cheaper than buying all the components separately.

This is perfect because if they decide that they aren’t interested in skateboarding in a few months, you haven’t spent a load of money on something that is no longer going to be ridden.

Best Complete Skateboards for Kids – Our Top 5 Choices

We have selected 5 of the best completes for kids below;

  1. Almost Side Pipe Complete
  2. Toy Machine Devil Cat Complete Skateboard
  3. Yocaher Blank Complete Skateboard
  4. Civilian Skateboards Wildlife Series Complete Skateboard
  5. SkateXS Unicorn Complete Skateboard

Quick NavigationBest Complete Skateboards for Kids – Our Top 5 ChoicesImportance of Safety equipmentHelmetElbow padsKnee padsWrist padsBearingsThe Best Complete Skateboards for KidsAlmost Side Pipe CompleteToy Machine Devil Cat Complete SkateboardYocaher Blank Complete SkateboardCivilian Skateboards Wildlife Series Complete SkateboardOur Top PickSkateXS Unicorn Complete SkateboardSummary

Before we look at these skateboards in more detail, we first want to discuss safety;

Importance of Safety equipment

Although skateboarding is a dangerous sport, it is such a fun one! Your kid will love it as long as they are protected from the hard-hitting slams in the beginning.

Ensuring that your kid wears the safety equipment below allows you to make skating safe and fun for them from the beginning.

No matter what age you start skateboarding, safety is key. You are going to fall off your skateboard a lot in the early months so being protected is a must!

Protection from falls means you can get up and get back on the board and try again straight away. So, here is a list of safety equipment that your kid needs when starting to skate.

Helmet

Wearing a helmet while riding a skateboard is a must for any kid. A helmet obviously protects the most important of your kid’s body, the brain! Do not let them ride their board without their helmet! In the future, once they have learned how to fall properly, a helmet may not be required, but at the beginning, it may just save their life!

Elbow pads

Although your kid may not go too fast on their board when they are starting out, they can still get road rash and concrete burns. We can say from experience that these suck and can really put a kid off of skateboarding. Buying your kid some elbow pads can protect them from road rash and save them any pain when elbow dropping the floor like a wrestler, which also sucks, a lot!

Knee pads

Knee pads are another crucial bit of safety equipment when starting out skateboarding. Knee pads allow your kid to slide out of stacks rather than hitting their knees and cutting them to hell. We would recommend finding knee pads that just use velcro straps to attach as you’ll likely be putting them on your kid for a while and this style of knee pad is easier for you to attach than other kinds.

Wrist pads

Wrist pads can save your kid cutting up their hands when they fall and slide. All wrist pads wrap around the thumb and cover the palm, so they protect the hands really nicely. They also protect the wrist from breaking because they have plastic inserts in them. Now, most kids have a tendency to take these plastic bits out, but don’t let them. Otherwise, the next thing they wear on their wrist will be a plaster cast!

Something not normally considered when thinking of safety equipment is bearings;

Bearings

Skateboarding is a dangerous past time and so keeping beginners safe is a must. Perhaps the most overlooked piece of safety equipment in the world is the bearings of the board. Bearings have an ABEC rating, and you can control the speed that your kid can achieve by swapping out the bearings. An ABEC rating of 1 or 3 is perfect for a beginner, anything higher than that may be too fast for them straight away.

The Best Complete Skateboards for Kids

Well, now you know about the safety equipment that your kid should wear, we’re sure you’re wondering about which is the best board for them to learn on.

Well, here are our top picks of the best complete skateboards for kids on the market right now.

Almost Side Pipe Complete

This board comes in at 7.5 inches wide, a great size for any kid of about 11 to 13 years old to start on. This width means that they can be stable when learning to push and turn, but it also isn’t too heavy so they will be able to learn how to Ollie when they feel comfortable.

The complete comes with everything they need to get skating straight away. It comes with good quality trucks, hard 52mm wheels and ABEC 1 bearings. The bearings may be a bit slow after a month or so, but they are great for maximum control in the early days of skateboarding.

PROS

  • Excellent quality deck with a great shape and size
  • Wheels that will last years of skating
  • Trucks come with hard bushings for maximum control

CONS

  • The only con we found with this board is the bearings. They are very slow which may suit nervous first timers, but most kids will outgrow these bearings quickly.

Learn More / Buy on Amazon

Toy Machine Devil Cat Complete Skateboard

The deck of this complete is 7.62 inches wide. This is a bit of an odd size, but perfect for a kid of 13 to 14 years old. As this is slightly larger than a 7.5 it offers a lot more control so it may suit a more nervous beginner.

The undercarriage of this board is excellent too. This complete comes with ABEC 5 bearings, 52mm wheels, and excellent trucks. The trucks are made from magnesium too which makes them a little lighter than standard trucks so your kid will be able to pop their tricks in no time.

PROS

  • High-quality components, even the grip tape is excellent
  • Lovely shape and style to the board
  • Comes pre-assembled for use straight out of the box

CONS

  • The size of this board is the only limiting factor that we can see. Everything is high quality, but the size of the board means that smaller kids will struggle with it and bigger kids may outgrow it quickly.

     

Learn More / Buy on Amazon

Yocaher Blank Complete Skateboard

This blank skateboard comes in at 7.75 inches wide. This may be too big for some kids, but any 14 to 16 year old will love it. This width is perfect for control and stability even while learning tricks. Your kid also gets to choose the color of their board; there are six colors to choose from.

The complete comes with 54mm wheels, ABEC 5 bearings, and nice trucks.  The 54mm wheel and ABEC 5 bearings may provide a bit too much speed for a nervous leaner, but for a kid that wants to get stuck in, they are excellent.

PROS

  • A really nice feeling board that is a great size for teenagers
  • Comes pre-assembled
  • Stylish looking skateboard

CONS

  • The one component of this board that your kid may grow out of quickly is the trucks. However, they are a great starting off point.

Learn More / Buy on Amazon

Civilian Skateboards Wildlife Series Complete Skateboard

Here is a board fit for a tiny king or queen! This little board comes in a 7.0 inches wide, an excellent size for 5-8-year-olds. This board offers all the control a bigger board does, without limiting what your kid can do on it.

The problem with bigger boards is that little kids often can’t get their feet in the right place for turning and tricks. This smaller board helps them find their feet and helps them get their feet in the perfect place. This is an excellent board for any kid starting out or any kid that is struggling to stay stable and move their feet into position.

PROS

  • Provides younger kids with stability and control they need
  • Can help young kids learn tricks thanks to the smaller size
  • Awesome design

CONS

  • Not suitable for older, bigger kids, but perfect for youngsters wanting to have fun at the skate park

Learn More / Buy on Amazon

Our Top Pick

After careful consideration and evaluation of what skateboards are available for kids, we decided that the SkateXS brand really was an exceptional choice. They have so many choices available that it’s difficult to select a favourite, but we couldn’t resist listing the pink unicorn!

SkateXS Unicorn Complete Skateboard

This board is an amazing complete for any younger beginner skater. This board is completely customizable; there are about 25 designs to choose from! Each of the designs comes with everything your kid needs to get started on their board. From trucks to bolts this complete has it all.

All of the components on this complete is “skate shop quality” so you can ensure that your kid has a very good quality skateboard that they can grow and learn on. They have even included slightly softer wheels than standard (90a) to ensure that they soak up any bumps and cracks so your little one can focus on learning and having fun! If you’re looking for the perfect board for a young kid, we think you’ve found it here!

PROS

  • Lovely components  that will likely last your kid for years
  • Pre-assembled for use straight away
  • These best board on this list for 6-8 years old

CONS

  • We honestly can’t pick a fault with this board! If your kid is in this age range and wants to start skating, buy this board for them, the quality is unbelievable!

Learn More / Buy on Amazon

Summary

Hopefully this list has made choosing a Skateboard for your child a little easier.

Any of the boards on this list will be a much better choice than a cheap board from a toy shop or grocery store and while may cost a little more, should be safer and last much longer due to the better quality components used.