My Preschooler Stole My Heelys

Way back in August, I received an offer to try out and review a pair of Heelys, those shoes with wheels in the bottom of them.  Heelys recently launched a line of women’s styles that I thought would be fun for chasing the kids on their bikes.  As I was telling hubby about this in the car, Callen erupted from the back seat: “WHAT?!  Heelys?  I LOVE Heelys!  They’re like shoes, but they ROLL!  and you can go FAST! You’re getting me a pair, mommy? When do I get them?”

Callen is four.  I’ve often said that his mantra is, “It’s not worth doing if it isn’t dangerous or destructive.” The kid is all boy. He likes speed, adventure, and trying new things.  He doesn’t really ask for a lot, so even though I was looking forward to my own pair of Heelys, I decided it would be good to get him a pair to try out.  His big sister has roller skates, so I thought this could be his equivalent.

So, I pulled up Heely’s online catalog and let Callen have a look.  He was immediately drawn to the HX2 Spin in red because they look like “race cars” and have headlights that light up. I was concerned about fit because the smallest size that Heelys come in is 12, and Callen wears size 11.  But, we went ahead and ordered them.

Coincidentally, the shoes arrived on big sister’s first day of school. It was so exciting!

We spent a few minutes taking the plugs out and installing the wheels, which Callen wanted to himself. He was actually able to do it with just a little help from mom and dad.

He put them on, and I was surprised to find that they really were not that big for him.  The upper part of the shoe has a lot of padding in it, so that helped make up for the size difference.

Then, we set right to work learning how to heel.  After about 20 minutes in the Heelys (and lots of falling), Callen and I went online to watch some how-to videos.  We started with the basic videos on the Heelys website, which were a great guide to the basic learning process. Callen actually watched attentively.  But, he was far more interested in and motivated by the videos that we found on You Tube featuring kids.  Here are his three favorites:

• Spencer, a fellow four year old Heely fan
• Lisa, another four year old Heeler
• And these amazing girls, who do a choreographed “Heel” to “Jai Ho”

We practiced a few times each week, and also referred back to the videos when needed.  It took a little longer than I expected for Cal to get the hang of it, but he had fun learning and still LOVES his Heelys.  Here’s a little video about the process we followed to teach Callen how to “Heel”.

If you’re considering getting your preschooler a pair of Heelys, I say go for it! Just make sure you discuss safety rules as you are learning how to Heel.  Heelys should be used with the same level of care and caution as bikes, rollerskates, or skateboards.

I would highly recommend buying from the HX2 line for preschoolers. These Heelys have two wheels in the heel, providing a little more stability.

Heelys is actually running some black friday specials. First, buy any pair of traditional or HX2 Heelys, and get a second pair for $25. In addition, you can also buy a NANO (a two wheeled skateboard-like attachment for Heelys) and get any pair of Heelys for $25. This holiday special will run Nov. 22 – 26, 2012.

Disclosure: Heelys, Inc provided the HX2 Spin for us to review.  All opinions, photos, and video contained within this blog post are my own.

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