SKATELAND WAS KIND OF SKANKY

Me, rolling with the small fries

So I went roller skating on my birthday...and now I know why my friend says she won't drop off her kids at the skating rink on a Friday night. First of all, I love skating. I haven't done it since the sixth grade, when I lived for the snowball and the limbo. Two of my coolest moments were winning the limbo and skating the snowball with Jeremy Hamilton (an 8th grader.) Awesome.

Anyway, skating is hard these days. I thought I was going to fall. I was afraid to skate backwards. The kids whizzed by me, and I thought they were going to blow me over. Yet the hardest thing to endure at the rink was...watching the kids. I was shocked by their appearance and their skanky behavior.

First of all, I was surprised by the music choice. "London Bridge" by Fergie, "Sexyback" by Justin Timberlake, and "Money Maker" by Ludacris are all great songs, but I would expect to hear them at Icon rather than a rink filled with middle schoolers. I mean, c'mon, don't you think Jessica Simpson or JoJo is a little more age appropriate?! Anyone ever heard of Hilary Duff?! Girls were wearing short shirts, tight pants, and dancing in the corner like strippers (no offense to those who work as strippers.) Even one of the workers told us that Friday nights are kind of rough, and that we should come back for Family Night.

I'm not knocking Skateland. I think it is a great place for fun. But seriously, how do we influence our kids so they don't feel like they need to act this way? And how do we teach young women that it's not okay to degrade themselves? I don't mean to sound old, conservative, or uncool, but when did kids stop going to the skating rink to skate?

Jim and Michelle, looking old and out of touch