I've got a little dude who just turned 7 that I work/hang with/mentor that is wanting to play with the skateboard every time we get together these days. I'm not pushing anything on him, just letting him have fun while getting comfortable on the board. He's not afraid to stand on it but is kind of small to push, so I'll pull him around with a rope while I'm pushing. He gets pretty stoked and isn't fearful of the speed. He's also taken to taking the board up on these bumpy ass dirt mounds on the side of the trail and butt boarding down them. That's some shit I'm not even wanting to try! My biggest thing with this dude is to always bring the skateboard inside when you're not using it, don't get it wet (and explaining water log/delamination), and have fun.
I've got another kiddo in my life, she's going to be 11 soon and I've been at times like a surrogate Dad since her parents haven't been around and she lives with her grandmother who is a friend of mine. Her grandmother is really well intentioned and has the kid playing sports, especially ice hockey, something hard. She's a good athlete and driven.
When I was visiting back east a month or so ago she asked to try my skateboard. No joke, this girl was pushing up and down the drive way on my loose ass no bushing cap set up, tick tack turning, and carving in under an hour of her first time standing on a skateboard. After encouraged her to try pushing switch, which while not as quickly, she got down pretty well too. Along with that she was able to stand on the board primo and flip it down to stand on it flat, flip it over from grip on her feet wheels up to standing, and pop it up to grab it from the ground. Seriously, it was the coolest shit I've seen in a minute. I told her the same as the little dude about keeping it dry and inside and to try everything the opposite way/switch, because how cool would it have been to learn everything both ways from the get? Since grandmother has such high expectations with hopes of preventing her from going the route of her bio parents, I said "You know what the best thing about skateboarding is? There's no rules other than not being a jerk. All you gotta do is have fun and no one is going to tell you what to do." That, Pals, brought a look of serious stoke to her face.