How often do you buy new skates for your young skater?

Do you go by every half size? I read on Kinzie’s Closet that the recommendation is to not go over 1/4 inch when you buy new skates for “growing room”. My daughter will soon outgrow her size 13s and I’m planning ahead

We tend to do whole sizes about once a year as the way my skater grows its a huge spurt around June and everything (clothes, shoes, etc.) has to get switched out and we find we go up about a size (but this is because we also punch out the old skates to get close to another half size out of them.....so in reality you could call it half a size).

Really, the best would be to have no growing room and then switch every half size (or plan on stretching/punching out if possible) since too much growing room leads to foot pain, slippage, and potentially bad injuries to the foot/ankle (not to mention it is harder to skate). I know its expensive, but so is wasting lesson time and/or fixing your kid's foot and ankle problems.

We always go up by 10mm, which is roughly one size in Edea. They build the half sizes on the full size base with just a bit more room in the toe (as I've been told), so a half size in Edea is practically the same as the full size. Helpful if the half size fits you well when you buy your first pair, but not really a worthwhile upgrade from the whole size. The size chart always shows my daughter a half size smaller than where she is comfortable so we end up "sizing up" but that's consistent across every upgrade, so I tend to think the size chart just isn't quite right for her feet. I wouldn't spend $1,400 for a half size either way, the extra 5mm has never impacted her skating and she's on her 4th pair of Edea boots.

We’ve had to buy new skates twice a year for the last three years. My skater generally has a big growth spurt (height & foot) in August and again in January. Thankfully it coinsides with her birthday and Christmas so usually it’s what she’s already asking for. She went up a whole size and a half this summer, so I’m hoping these ones last a little longer.

I don’t go by every half size. I have the skate tech look at her skates once she starts complaining they don’t fit right. We got a little extra time on her last pair by punching the sides of the toe box out a bit.

One a year, in either May or June. We have done that since she was about 7 and she is 13 now. Sometimes she is up by a full size and sometimes only by about a half.

If they skate every day or so, the leather stretches out alot. For that reason mine never complains about skates being too small until I comment about getting new skates. Then she says how small the current ones are.

This year I am thinking about switching at about 9 months because she is now wearing then out rather than her foot growing.

We bought them to fit plus 1/2 size. And then replaced them as soon as outgrown. It may seem daft, and overly expensive, but, when I looked at what I paid for lessons, ice time, comp fees, test fees, etc, it put it in perspective. Otherwise, when you're jumping a full size, you're adjusting to a noticeably longer blade, plus larger boot, and it can really set some kids back particularly in a comp season ... centering on spins, etc. We did always put the longest blade possible on the boot so we could move the blade up to the next pair. Saved $$$ that way.

Depends on the kid too. Some kids find skate size changes easier than others do.

We are on our 3rd pair for my 8 yo skater. He is doing doubles and has skated a little over 2 years. So maybe about every 8 months or so?

It really is going to vary quite a bit - some skaters grow really fast and others don't. Younger skaters are going to jump sizes more quickly. Then skating development plays a big role, too. You need a stiffer boot for bigger jumps... so even if you don't grow, if you go from singles to doubles or doubles to triples then you need a stiffer boot.

I expect we will start getting them about once a year from here on out. I think the best timing is probably late Spring/early Summer so that the boots are nice and comfy by competition season. But maybe I'm wrong... and just my luck my kid will have a growth spurt in late Summer/early Fall and he will need new boots RIGHT AWAY. lol

I would recommend that every few months if you are concerned when you get the skates sharpened is to have the skate tech check your skater's feet sizing at the same time. They would be best to know when you should start considering ordering new skates.

Good indicator is when they start eating more LOL

I had a situation years ago, we had just gotten new skates.. and then not even 5 months later kid: "my skates are tight" me: "we just got those.. there's no way they are tight" -got them checked and sure enough.. so we had to get new skates almost right at the 6 month timeframe.