Kids on motorcycles....your thoughts?

[cali_beemer]

I have my daughter age 6. I started thinking in a conversation with my wife about getting her more involved with me. I started thinking at how cool it would be to have her on the back of the motorcycle with me. Part of me thinks this would be great, what better way to bond with your kid. The other part of me doesnt want any part of the responsibility if anything were to happen or we were in some sort of accident. She is probably still too young to be on the back anyway, but I thought I would check to see where others stand on this issue.

[Fraidycat]

There are so many ways to bond with a daughter---better ways!

[EffBee]

Learn to play with her and her dolls. Same results. Helmets not required.

 

[kamlooper]

started taking my kids on rides when they were 12-13 years old,full gear and strapped to me. not sure if I would want to take them out any younger than that.

[Boffin]

UK law says passengers mus be able to sit astride the motorcycle with both feet on the footrests. When my kids were big enough to do that, they got fully kitted-out and were taken for short-trips around local quiet roads. I knew that one day they would probably want bikes of their own, so I thought they should have a good role-model in how to ride.

As it turns out, only one of my three son's now rides full-time.

 

Andy

[wbrissette]

My daughter was 7 (she is now 12) when we started riding together. I think it's simply a matter of how comfortable you feel. Both my wife and I ride, so for us, it's not an issue of one party only being at "fault" should something happen.

 

We've had some wonderful rides over the past few years together.

 

Wayne

[Motodan]

This is a tough one. I know life is meant to be lived, but I'm old enough to realize the dangers involved in motorcycling - I accept them. I do not believe a child can/does realize the same dangers. Therefore, I would not make the choice for them. When they are old enough, I would gladly pay for all their safety classes and gear, if and when they decide, at that time, this is something they really want to do.

[G-Rex]

I bought a JR50 for my nephew for his 3rd birthday. He rode the wheels off that thing until he was jumping it like a madman and managed to bend the swingarm and bust both shocks.

 

He's since had a Cobra 50, KX65, and now he's on a KX85 that he races, and has more trophies than room for them in the house. He is 10 now.

 

He has crashed and been hurt. He knows the dangers involved and wears full gear each and every time he gets on one of his bikes.

 

I've taken him out on my Hayabusa before and he loves it.

 

So, I guess to answer, no hesitation here.

 

[John Ferris]

Or you could get a bike for her.

I have been to trials where young kids have there own class. They make trials bikes for them.

 

Lewisport is a trials bike dealer near you.

http://www.lewisportusa.com/

The Sactopit is the club near you.

http://www.sactopits.org/

 

[Dave39]

Back in 1970 I used to take my then 2 year old son on country rides on my HD Rapido 125. He'd sit astride on the tank in front of me. When I think back on that, I wonder what the hell I was thinking.

[upflying]

27800. It is unlawful for a driver of a motorcycle or a motorized

bicycle to carry any other person thereon, except on a seat securely

fastened to the machine at the rear of the driver and provided with

footrests, or in a sidecar attached to a motorcycle and designed for

the purpose of carrying a passenger. Every passenger on a motorcycle

or a motorized bicycle shall keep his feet on the footrests while

such vehicle is in motion.

I've seen child passengers on motorcycles. A moral dilemma occurs when such children are required to be in car seats but not while on motorcycles.

My daughter was 6 years old, 16 years ago. The thought never occurred to me to take her for a ride. Even if I did, she would soon outgrow the $500 investment in ATGATT.

She is now a 22yr senior in college and has no desire to ride a motorcycle. Good choice on her part!

 

 

[jb11GSA]

My dad took me on my first ride at the age of 6, I still remember it like it was yesterday, I was hooked and love the sport ever since. Them were different times I guess, I offered our daughter a ride when she was 10, every once in a while she would go. Now she drives, and has very little interest in riding a bike - perhaps one day she'll pick it up. It's the exposure that is important.

 

I would not push the issue (not with the wife or the kid), if they are interested and ready they'll let you know. As to bonding - as mentioned, there are so many ways to bond that are safer, and just as enjoyable.

 

Have fun, and listen to your inner vice, it's usually right on the money.

 

Be safe and keep on riding.

 

 

[Motodan]

I bought a JR50 for my nephew for his 3rd birthday. He rode the wheels off that thing until he was jumping it like a madman and managed to bend the swingarm and bust both shocks.

 

He's since had a Cobra 50, KX65, and now he's on a KX85 that he races, and has more trophies than room for them in the house. He is 10 now.

 

He has crashed and been hurt. He knows the dangers involved and wears full gear each and every time he gets on one of his bikes.

 

I've taken him out on my Hayabusa before and he loves it.

 

So, I guess to answer, no hesitation here.

 

I'm sorry, but at ten years of age, you don't and can't know the dangers. I'm not saying it isn't okay to enjoy life and everyone ADULT has to make those decisions however, I am saying a 10 year old doesn't realize there can be one millimeter of difference between having fun and being in a wheelchair the rest of your young life and beyond.

[mig]

6 Years old might be to young, My daughters were 10 or 11 when they would wait for me to come home from work and then I would take each one around the block slowly ( worried wife watching ).

As they got older they would come with me to the store and such. Now they are both very good pillions, do even feel that their on the bike and we take sunday rides every once in a while. Daughter #1 not really interested in riding but will go on a ride, Daughter #2 wants a bike. My son 15 years old is still nervous when we ride and i can feel him on the back. Each one diffrent

[moshe_levy]

I think some of it has to do with one's surroundings. When I rode out in the midwest, where one can see 60 miles in any direction and might not see another car for hours on end, it's a very different feeling than here in densely-packed NJ, where one would be (in my humble opinion) absolutely insane to ride with a child on a motorcycle. Just imagine how you would feel if something unexpected were to happen.

 

One neighbor here with a Harley Dyna started taking his 3 year old around the neighborhood, holding the child with one hand and working the throttle with the other. No hand on the clutch. You can guess the rest...

 

Is it REALLY worth it?

 

-MKL

[Lmar]

IMHO, 6 is too young to be riding on the back of a motorcycle.

[EddyQ]

My son is now 7 and had his first ride around the block this past spring. My daughter, age 9 has yet to go for a ride. I guess my decision was based on how much my kids wanted to go. My daughter may go, since her brother has gone. But so far, she really doesn't care. I did not offer or push either one. My son, well he wanted to go for a year before. He had to wait til his feet hit both passenger pegs (according to law).

 

The first ride was just around the block in a quiet neighborhood. So was the second and third. It pleased him just enough. Any more riding would likely get boring. BTW, the bonding happens before and after the ride.

 

I thought of getting a strap to hold him. They sell them. But, now I am certain I made the right decision to not bother. He grabs my pants belt. The ride is best kept very short. My RT never got fully warmed up. As for safety, a ride in a car to a far away place has more risk because of higher speed and longer duration of the risk. IMO

 

Don't skimp on gear. My son has a nice full face helmet, boots, gloves and lots of heavy clothing. If we ever leave the neighborhood and get to speeds of 40mph, he is gonna have a real motorcycle jacket/pants. But, I don't see that happening for another year or so. There is no need to.

[cali_beemer]

I should note that I agree 6 years old is still too young to be on the back. right now I wouldnt do it. I dont think she sould reach the pegs and even if it werent the law, I wouldnt want her on the back if she couldnt. I was looking more to see if people on here have had there kids on and at what age. 10-12 is the earliest I would figure that I would ever consider it. I can remember at the age of 6 or 7, my dad had a Honda shadow 1100 and he would take me for rides on it. My mom hated me on the back and eventually had my dad sell the bike until we were older. As soon as I turned 18, my dad bought a harley and I bought my first bike shortly after so I could ride with him. 14 years later and I still ride with him.

[EddyQ]

He has crashed and been hurt.

 

Breaking the bikes and getting hurt at age 10 is over a line with me. You need to be careful there dude.

 

A guy I worked with now has a son at age 17 that is experiencing mental lapses. He did not ride motorbikes, but did do the skateboard and bmx thing. Apparently he got "good". Yeh, after breaking 48 bones, half dozen helmets.

 

As a parent, getting "good" should be far from the top of the list relative to living a long natural life. Zero tolerance for injury is my rule.

 

I managed to live on the edge with minibikes when I was young and not get a single broken bone. Lucky? Perhaps. My bike did get broken a few times, which was a wakeup call.

[IT_Mike]

Time to annoy the nannies...

 

My boys were both very young when first given a ride. I got a very firm lecture from an officer for idling around an empty parking lot with my youngest in front of me, he was four years old. Notice I said idling, with some deft clutch work my right arm stayed around him.

 

Once the boys could reach the pegs, both received rides to and from school (kindergarten). They've grown up riding, and missed it dearly when Dad was unable to safely ride.

 

Today, my youngest is eleven and we took a ride to breakfast. The weather was a crisp 53, with damp roads, and he was unhappy that Dad had to cut the day short due to illness.

 

For those who state a child is too young to make such a decision, I agree. That's what they have parents for...

 

BTW, 'Zero tolerance' is for idiots. Zero tolerance is for those intolerant fools who can't think beyond their own experiences and judge each event or action based upon it's merits.

[IT_Mike]

Breaking the bikes and getting hurt at age 10 is over a line with me. You need to be careful there dude.

***snip***

I managed to live on the edge with minibikes when I was young and not get a single broken bone. Lucky? Perhaps. My bike did get broken a few times, which was a wakeup call.

 

What about BMX racers? Do we prevent our children from riding bicycles? My brother and I were devout racers and took our share of injuries. Life is about risks and rewards. May your children discover that all great things in life come from taking a chance.

[tallman]

Thanks for reminding me, I'd forgotten to mail in my renewal check.

 

Seems like you're doing exactly what you accuse "them" of doing.

 

"

BTW, 'Zero tolerance' is for idiots. Zero tolerance is for those intolerant fools who can't think beyond their own experiences and judge each event or action based upon it's merits"

 

 

[beemerman2k]

Learn to play with her and her dolls. Same results. Helmets not required.

 

+1

[beemerman2k]

To me, motocross or sport riding that kids engage in is fine. Great lessons learned all around, including from crashes. But riding on the street is not something I would entertain with my children. That's when I dismount and do something important to them and their world.

[kmac]

This is such a hyper conservative group for the most part.

I have been riding with my Dad since i was a baby. He would put me in front of him and putt around the yard. It is some of my very earliest of memories. I got my own bike at 5 yrs old in 1970 and my happiest of all memories are weekends out with my Dad in the desert. We would go on long rides on his street bikes in the 70s all thru the Mulholland hills or up and down the coast.

 

If you let your kid ride in a car, ride a bicycle, ride a horse,skatebord, rollerskates or roller blades, swim in a pool or the ocean ride in a boat..or leave their PADDED bedroom you are taking a huge risk.

 

Living life is a risk. Breathing the air in the US is unsafe. Risk and danger is a part is life no matter what.

 

Teach you children to use reasonable caution, take PREcautions, and be smart....but teach them to live life.

 

My daughter would sit on my bike and we would putt around camp, she goy her own quad at 6 and a 2 wheel motorcycle at 8. she then moved to a ttr125 at 11 and a yamaha wr 250F at 14. She rides regularly with me on the beemer. We do daddy daughter dates now often on my RT out to dinner and maybe a movie.

 

I FIRMLY beleieve and am completely confident that our closeness, and btw she is 17 this week, is purely because of the quality time the 2 of us have always spent together. We have gone camping just the 2 of us. We went to the river for 4 days with just us 2. We have gone out shooting since she was about 7 y o and we both cherish our time spent together, much of which has revolved around motorcycles.

 

I am in NO WAY telling anyone else that they SHOULD ride their kids on their bikes, but anyone who would not do it is missing out, and not exposing their kids to the possibilty of a passion that i thought everyone on this board had. Maybe NOT.

 

Do your kids eat french fries and potato chips, burgers and pizza, drink soda....all potentially deadly.

 

Helmet, leather gloves, leather boots, and some decent clothes and be careful, but share and expose them to life, or lock them in a padded room and feed them home grown organic uncooked vegan foods. Make sure you dont live anywhere that has any kind of storms, earthquakes, tornados. Ahouse that is actually a bullet proof bomb shelter, with armed guards.....you get my point i hope.

[ryan_a1982]

I took my first ride with my grandmas boyfriend on his Harley when I was about 8. He told me the rules and what I needed to do and I was fine. He put a nice sissy bar on it for me.

 

I hadn't seen him much in the last 15 years or so. My brother and I each rode a motorcycle to his house a coupe weeks ago and he is too frail to ride anymore. He sure was happy to see us on the bikes and got a huge smile on his face. We told him that we had always wanted bikes after the short rides we took as a kid.

 

Folsom is a pretty quiet place. Maybe you can go try at the parking lot at the highschool or something. If I see you two out there I will give a wave!

 

-Ryan

[KLC]

I have taken my Children on the bike since they where tall enough to reach the footrests. My daughter was about 9 years of age and my son was about 8. I change my riding style to suit when ever i take a pillion on the back as i am capable of understanding that its not just me i have to worry about.

 

My son always enjoyed being picked up from school much to the envy of his friends. They have both since gone onto ride scooters and motorcycles.

 

One sport that i would not let them do is horseriding after a relation lost their 16 year old grandaughter to being thrown off her horse.

 

My son has suffered injury from BMX and mountain biking . This is a sport that i also enjoyed but can also be dangerous and used to worry about him more when doing this than when he still competes in Karting .

 

If you worried about all these issues you would wrap your kids in cotton wool and never let them out of the house.

 

At the end of the day its a parental decision. I worry more about my kids now they are in their late teens because of them being out in the big wide world discovering all the "things" that teenagers can.

 

 

[Deadboy]

I took my 3 cousins for their first ride last spring while visiting the east coast. I based each ride on their age and ability to handle it, therefore 2 of them got a ride to the local ice cream shop and the 3rd got a ride in a large parking lot. I was also very picky about what they wore and spent a fair bit of time helping them pick out their gear and explaining why it was important.

 

 

[Motodan]

I took my 3 cousins for their first ride last spring while visiting the east coast. I based each ride on their age and ability to handle it, therefore 2 of them got a ride to the local ice cream shop and the 3rd got a ride in a large parking lot. I was also very picky about what they wore and spent a fair bit of time helping them pick out their gear and explaining why it was important.

 

 

You are a good thinking person. One could argue there isn't a right answer to the question...just caution in all we do. I say this even though you have a very concerning ID [Deadboy] when it comes to this topic.

[notacop]

It's nice that the few who let the kids ride chimed in. Too bad the old Fuddy-duddys have to try and put a pox on child passengers.

Two words for you...YOU"RE OLD!

I gave the kids all rides in my sidecar rig but didn't get tot he camping rally-ing thing. I like solo rides more. I did take the youngest son camping when he was little and we had no modern gear. We were both cold and kinda miserable.But, we tried, not "what iffed."

[russell_bynum]

I have my daughter age 6. I started thinking in a conversation with my wife about getting her more involved with me. I started thinking at how cool it would be to have her on the back of the motorcycle with me. Part of me thinks this would be great, what better way to bond with your kid. The other part of me doesnt want any part of the responsibility if anything were to happen or we were in some sort of accident. She is probably still too young to be on the back anyway, but I thought I would check to see where others stand on this issue.

 

I remember riding on the back of Dad's bike when I was probably 10 or 11 years old. We didn't do anything big...just around the local roads. I really enjoyed it.

[russell_bynum]

Back in 1970 I used to take my then 2 year old son on country rides on my HD Rapido 125. He'd sit astride on the tank in front of me. When I think back on that, I wonder what the hell I was thinking.

 

You were thinking that he'd love it and most likely everything would be just fine.

[Mike]

I started taking my son with me on short rides when he was about five or six years old. I always outfitted him with a helmet and as much protective gear as I could find. He loved it and I feel that these experiences, including a few longer rides to go camping/exploring when he got a bit older, enhanced the bond between us. Of course, that's not to say that it was the right answer. It just worked for me, and I always felt that I was being appropriately cautious.

 

Over the years I did some things with my son that some might have considered too dangerous for a wee lad--motorcycling, wilderness trekking, whitewater rafting, etc.--and I don't regret those decisions. However, I'm a fairly cowardly person, so anything I consider adventurous probably ranks pretty low in terms of actual danger.

 

[azkaisr]

Both my 8 and 12 year old ride their own 50cc and go out with me as a pillion often. We love riding together. It is dangerous, but I believe that teaching them to do things with risk will help them ten fold when they get older. They have gear. They know it is not a toy.

 

In the end you have to determine what level of risk you are willing to share with them. That is part of being a parent.

[motorman587]

That is why I sold all my bikes and got the camper.................Daughters are 6 too and know what you are going though....Camper rocks!!!!

[leeinmemphis]

I have two boys that are now 10 and 11. Last year when my younger son was almost 9 he rode with me up to Springfield Ill for the dirt track races

 

My older son doesn't like to go too far. He is basically a sub 200 miler per day. My younger son can't get enough of it. He'ld love a 600 mile day but we usually stop around 250-300 mies

[kmac]

That smile says it all. Definately worth it.

 

Thanx for that pic Lee.

[cali_beemer]

That smile says it all. Definately worth it.

 

Thanx for that pic Lee.

 

+1, He definately seems like he is having a blast.

[Matts_12GS]

Best thing I ever did was putting an autocom headset in his helmet so I can make sure he's awake and he can tell me what he's thinking...

 

Age 5 first ride

 

Waiting for me to stop taking pictures and ride...

[leeinmemphis]

That smile says it all. Definately worth it.

 

Thanx for that pic Lee.

 

And if you look in the background it was raining......and I mean RAINING. Rained for probably close to 250 miles that day. For me it is something that we both enjoy. We ride quite a bit but most of the time we are on lonely back roads or two lane highways. They are now getting hooked on motocamping and I'm really looking forward to this Spring and getting them back on the bike.

[Matts_12GS]

I have two boys that are now 10 and 11. Last year when my younger son was almost 9 he rode with me up to Springfield Ill for the dirt track races

 

My older son doesn't like to go too far. He is basically a sub 200 miler per day. My younger son can't get enough of it. He'ld love a 600 mile day but we usually stop around 250-300 mies

 

Hey Lee, any thoughts on bringing one of the boys to the UNRally next year? I'll have my 8 year old with me and he loves to ride. He's done a few 250 milers and wants to get his own Saddle Sore cert from the IBA.

 

Might be fun to encourage more of those with kids to bring them along.

[leeinmemphis]

 

Hey Lee, any thoughts on bringing one of the boys to the UNRally next year? I'll have my 8 year old with me and he loves to ride. He's done a few 250 milers and wants to get his own Saddle Sore cert from the IBA.

 

Might be fun to encourage more of those with kids to bring them along.

 

I'm thinking that I will likely be at the unrally this year. I haven't thought about carrying one of them to the rally. My wife thinks that the dates of the rally it is the first week of their fall school next year. I'll look into it.

[racer7]

Sure you can spend time with your kids doing what they do including the dolls, leggo sets, transformers or whatever. Great idea.

But I see no reason not to expose kids to potentially dangerous things with your supervision IF they express interest (don't FORCE them).

 

Both of my kids broke their first flying clays with a 20 gauge at 5 yrs old. They have no illusions about what guns do and don't do and knew how to handle (at any early age, avoid) a potentially loaded weapon. No one ever left one where they could get it when they were children AFAIK, but their knowledge provided some measure of protection and the curiosity factor was mitigated. Guns are ubiquitous in our society and safety knowledge about them has nothing to do with whatever ones position is on gun ownership. Son owns a handgun and shoots sometimes. Daughter doesn't own one.

 

Both went to the track to play at high speeds in cars when old enough.

Made my son a better street driver and he now has his own track toy with skills that approach mine (I've still got an edge but that won't last much longer). We have had some interesting and low key conversations well into triple digits with tires screeching for background noise. Daughter was already good on the street, was fast on track for her experience level and was amused at how many times guys hit on her at the track. I was perfectly comfortable handing her an expensive vehicle to use for weekends knowing she was safe enough not to hurt herself or it. (insurance companies don't automatically cover track play with a street car and insuring normal racing equipment is prohibitive though your normal medical coverage will handle injuries)

 

I dive, including technical stuff and a rebreather. Both my kids took it up and we've done it together. Regrettably, my current health limits any future diving to easy tropical stuff, not the deeper stuff with the heavier gear.

 

My daughter wanted to go skydiving so I took her. The video of her mouthing "Hi Mom" from 13,000 feet shocked her mother who would never consider jumping out of a plane but we had a good time. Neither of us does it regularly. For me, it is the only passably common activity that I think has excessive uncontrollable risk. Gear can fail in ways that 100% ensures your death despite all efforts at prevention. Nothing on a car or bike fails with that level of certain death (yes, I've had track tire blowouts, brake failures ,etc etc- they're actually not that big a deal if you keep you wits about you)

 

Kids were welcome to drink anything the adults were drinking with some supervison while we were present. Yes they both got drunk in our presence the first time- one of them after a warning about what was going to happen to her if she kept at it. Both entered college with no temptation to alcohol binges that are common. (I did my time at Cornell many years ago and still remember the 15 yr olds first time away from momma passing out and puking in the corridor outside my dorm room. In those days they served you if you could see over the bar...And dangerous drugs were probably a lot more common on campus in late 60s than now. As a grad students, kids in the classes I taught sometimes had LSD flashbacks..)

 

Re bikes, neither rides now though my son has ridden with me when young. I've made it nearly 50 yrs without a street accident though I've been thrown off in the dirt many times. Its those first few years that are the most dangerous and I think any beginner is likely to have at least some close calls- I certainly had plenty before my head got dialed in but that was in the days before training programs, helmet laws, bike licenses, etc.. I am confident that if my kids ever do ride, they will go at it in a logical and safe as possible manner. I'm not about to try to dissuade them from doing something I've done safely for a long time but I would certainly remind them about training, safety precautions, and the "personal responsibility" attitude for riding a bike. Just like the release says at the track, bad stuff can happen and you are ultimately solely responsible for the consequences even if others are involved. That legalese choice isn't understood by young folks, though mine are certainly old enough to understand it now.

 

My kids are now in their 30s. Neither has been hurt doing anything stupid, yet, so I think there is something to be said for introducing your kids to controlled risks. No one got pregnant or got anyone else pregnant prematurely. No vehicles got totaled or major dings and zero injuries. No one got pulled for DWI or arrested for anything else. They went their own way in the summers in college, sometimes off traveling with friends in other countries, without serious incident. Neither got sucked into a bunch of credit card debt they couldn't afford. etc etc etc. Both have good health habits, and neither is obese. Based on their good calls- not mine or their mother's.

 

Don't any of you old farts remember jumping spindly frame bikes- in an era before helmets- off high objects before BMX bikes were invented? Am I only one who lived in a neighborhood where we played king of the mountain on top of a 2 story garage and kids sometimes broke bones playing without parents threatening to sue each other? Knives and chains weren't rare where I went to school (it was pre the era of 10 yr olds with guns). Boxing was a school sport in our town. When we got to be about 14-15 we figured out we either needed to put on pads or pull a bit out of hits when we played unorganized tackle football, to keep from mangling our friends or ourselves. Did any of you super conservative types actually ever get a scratch from anything? Kids heal fast and bounce pretty well, within reasonable limits (though my nose got broken so many times it is still bent). Show em a good example and worry less. Do you really want your kids to run into their first potentially risky experience with no prior basis for making their own risk assessment? If you don't teach risk assessment to them, who will? Their friends?? Who teaches them about safe sex?? If you baby your kids excessively, expect childish behavior when they're older...

 

You might also remember that at least some grand parents are a lot more liberal with the grandkids than ultra-conservative parents. Your daddy or momma might be the one to put the kid on a bike when you're at work. Grandkids are a great way to even the score with your own for the lost sleep and assorted concerns of raising them- ask any grandparent!

 

 

[RPG]

I say go for it. But I would keep the rides short and proper equipment goes without saying. Some of the best times my now 21 year old daughter and I used to have were when we would take my R90s to downtown Royal Oak, MI for ice cream after work.

 

RPG

[kmac]

Nice to see some much more liberal input on this thread now.

 

When my daughter was about 9 i had a new HD. I put a sissy bar with a backrest pad on it and we started our daddy daughter dates by riding from our house up Ortega hwy74 from the elsinore side up to a Biker Bar n Grill called Hell's Kitchen {i know cliche right} on friday afternoons where we would order a pitcher of Rootbeer, a plate of Chili Chese fries, and shoot a couple of rounds of pool. I would tease her that i bet she was the only 9 yr old girl in her school that was hanging out at a biker bar...it is a very tame environment there. We had many very casual discussions about life and she always felt free to discuss any topic.

At her 17 yrs of age now she recently told me "hey dad we need to go shoot some pool on the bike at HK one of these days" It has been a bond not easily broken.

Racer 7 made some great points on using these things as training. Take advantage of every opportunity to bond and train!

[g_frey]

Ask my friend Donny. He went off the road as a kid, got his foot caught in something on the ground and the motorcyle twisted around him one or more times. He can now spend the rest of his life with no lower left leg. He had a lot of fun for a month. Is he to blame? Oh yes. Are his parents to blame? oh yes!!! I do not know of ONE kid with the judgement to ride responsibly when alone. Certainly NONE of the kids I grew up with or myself were. The stories we could all tell. Or ask my brother Mike who is in a care facility due to a head injury from a wheel running over him when young. He doesn't know any of his family and hasn't for the last 57 years. The pride of my father as his eldest boy, my father never recovered from it either. As for my mother, paranoia city, everything was too dangerous after that. Make your choise and accept the results.

[ddlewis]

Racer7, at the end of your post I half expected you to say.. "Stay thirsty my friends"

[notacop]

After seeing those smiling little faces, Yay for the Dads that do and a giant Phooey on those that pooh-pooh.

[kmac]

I have had many friends, young and old, die in car accidents over the years, Yet no one thinks twice about getting into their car or setting their kids in the car seat from birth on and driving all over the kingdom come.

 

In San Juan Capistrano a few years back a mom was out with her 3 children, all "safely" strapped into their DOT approved seats. She was cruising down the freeway when traffic began to slow, she safely came to a stop only to have an 18 wheeler just plow into the back of her killing ALL 3 of her children. The truck was found to safe, the driver had a good driving record and was not on any drugs or alcohol. He just messed up and lost concentration and ran into the back of her.

 

Are we all gonna quite diving as well? Lock your kids and grand kids in a padded room so they cant get a scratch? Be smart, be as careful as possible, and live life.

I would rather live without my leg than never ride again. I have a fused wrist that does not move at all because of a MX crash. I still ride.

Hey Critical, i heard using a computer cause health problems you better stop using yours, it is RISKY.

[RPG]

Introduce your kids to the great joys in life.

 

I chose not to expose my daughter to risk, but rather introduce her to those activities that contain risk.

 

Motorcycling, pistol shooting, water skiing, camping, etc. Through my love of these activities (all can be argued as dangerous, and for that matter what activity isn't?), I thought it better to introduce the fun side of each rather than lecture about the dangers.

 

I had relatives (dad, older brother to name a few) that did the same for me.