How young is too young?

[CarlW]

I see videos of young children riding EUC's and riding well, but I have also heard of at least one broken bone in a six year old and mom was not a happy camper.  I think everyone would probably agree EUC riding has its share of risk.  Many activities are assigned an age appropriate designation but those are more of a recommendation than a rule.  Children obviously develop at there own pace and parental judgement about the maturity and physical capabilities comes into play.  Speaking from my own experience finding gear that fits me properly is a challenge.  I can only imagine the market for protective gear for very young riders is limited.  Maybe to answer this question properly a degree in early childhood development might be in order.  On average how old should a child be to start riding an EUC or should kids just barrel ahead and discover their own limits?      

   

[RayRay]

I say: "Give the kid an Mten3 and let 'em rip!"
Disclaimer: (Not a parent.)

 

Too bad they don't make these anymore...

 

 

[Zopper]

As a no-kids-yet-but-maybe-one-day, remembering my own childhood, I think that a kid without bruises and scratches everywhere didn’t live through the summer, just existed through it. In a state of perpetual boredom. And I say this as someone who spent half of the summer in a library with my nose deep in books.
 

[mhpr262]

Exactly, kids are already wrapped in bubbles way too much. When you have to come up with a special name ("freerange kids") for what used to be a perfectly normal, ordinary childhood you know something is going badly, badly wrong.

[Tawpie]

One of our locals' 5 or 6 year old is riding around on an RS of all things (I think it's an RS, I'm not great at wheel recognition)! Even started trails. He's all geared up, they do make kids mountain bike/BMX stuff since kids... well, kids ride mountain bikes. EUC Bros has videos of some ankle biters (a little older) on the jump line, I hate that because they're way braver and have more skill than me. When I was 6th grade, we used to try to ride our ten speeds in the gully like they were trials bikes... got plenty of bumps and of course there was zero gear.

Let 'em try is my opinion.

[.....]

On 8/9/2021 at 6:21 PM, CarlW said:

I see videos of young children riding EUC's and riding well, but I have also heard of at least one broken bone in a six year old and mom was not a happy camper.  I think everyone would probably agree EUC riding has its share of risk.  Many activities are assigned an age appropriate designation but those are more of a recommendation than a rule.  Children obviously develop at there own pace and parental judgement about the maturity and physical capabilities comes into play.  Speaking from my own experience finding gear that fits me properly is a challenge.  I can only imagine the market for protective gear for very young riders is limited.  Maybe to answer this question properly a degree in early childhood development might be in order.  On average how old should a child be to start riding an EUC or should kids just barrel ahead and discover their own limits?      

   

I'd say around age 4. I began my bicycle career at age 3-4 and was happily jumping up curbs by age 5. By 6, my curfew was 'be home when the street lights come on'. No cell phones, no mom and dad following me around. In a city of about 300,000 population. This was before everyone decided that safety gear was a thing. This was also back when band-aids were as common as kool-aid. You know, when parents let their kids be kids? Of course, I dont recall parents spending this kind of money on a child. Hell at 5, a stick and a ball was considered awesome. Some of us had bicycles and we kept them for 5 yrs sometimes. It does seem that nowadays, parents are raising a generation of downright p*ssies that are spoiled and grow up to feel entitled. Yeah, thanks for that....

How young is too young? I dunno, maybe wanna wait until they graduate from crawling? OR you could wait until they can buy their own ungodly expensive toys. I'd imagine the people we see geared up like paratroopers are gna wait longer for their kids and wrap them in bubble wrap. Poor little tikes

Edited August 11, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[RockyTop]

On 8/9/2021 at 6:21 PM, CarlW said:

I see videos of young children riding EUC's and riding well, but I have also heard of at least one broken bone in a six year old and mom was not a happy camper.  I think everyone would probably agree EUC riding has its share of risk.  Many activities are assigned an age appropriate designation but those are more of a recommendation than a rule.  Children obviously develop at there own pace and parental judgement about the maturity and physical capabilities comes into play.  Speaking from my own experience finding gear that fits me properly is a challenge.  I can only imagine the market for protective gear for very young riders is limited.  Maybe to answer this question properly a degree in early childhood development might be in order.  On average how old should a child be to start riding an EUC or should kids just barrel ahead and discover their own limits?      

   

I did not want my two daughters to suffer any pain ever. Sadly that is not how life works. More impatiently I did not want my daughters to grow up as  incapable adults. I thought about it and decided that a broken arm was worth lessons learned. I did not lead my kids to danger. I let them explore and warned  them of danger. My older daughter was not tempted by physical dangers. She was more tempted by emotional and psychological dangers. We kept her well informed about the dangers of her choices. My younger daughter was a dare devil. Her balance and quick response time was quite impressive. We enrolled her in gymnastics and she did quite well. I remember her standing in a hammock and swinging  back an forth. I still don’t see how that is possible. Did I stop her? NO! Did she end up getting hurt? Yes. ( bruises - no broken bones)  Was it worth it? Yes. My daughters are amazing young woman that are more capable than most adult men. ( 30 years old now) They have both thanked me for my guidance. 

Memories-16 years old-  “Dad, I want this truck!
 Me- ???? It is and old stick shift pickup! ?  Her - I want it!  

Me - is it practical? Wouldn’t you rathe have a car?

Her- No! What is more practical than a pickup out in the country? 

Me - It is a stick shift. 
her - I can learn. 
Me -well ? OK 

While she was a member of her high school band she would use her manual clutch truck to back a 16 foot trailer 60 yards onto a football field with drums and other musical equipment during the half time show. She had 20,000 people watching. Think about that MEN. Remember how you felt backing your boat into the water with just a few people watching? ............ 60 yards!!!!! In front of 20,000 people!! 

Edited August 11, 2021 by RockyTop

[.....]

32 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

Think about that MEN. Remember how you felt backing your boat into the water with just a few people watching? ............ 60 yards!!!!! In front of 20,000 people!! 

I once nearly flipped a boat trailer backing 12' in front of 3 drunks... does that count? Tbf, I was barely the least drunk...maybe. Wasnt my truck or trailer anyhow

Do any of your girls have babies? Im curious to see if the daredevil is passing that ideology on and your other daughter, not so much. Just curious, no need to answer such personal questions. Of course I bet Carl is wondering about the age of kids nowadays. Your story was 30+ yrs ago. This also begs the question... Is there REALLY a difference in the mentality and ability of kids 30yrs ago, vs now? Is it the children or the parents, if there is a difference?

I found it the ultimate blessing and gift, to be allowed to enjoy a 'dangerous' childhood. I applaud my mother for seeing the bigger picture and allowing the dice roll of risk to be part of my life. I just wish I had fancy smansy toys, but meh. Expensive toys and pansies for parents, vs make or find toys and realists for parents.... I"ll take the latter, and feel badly for the former

Edited August 11, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[RockyTop]

33 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Do any of your girls have babies? Im curious to see if the daredevil is passing that ideology on and your other daughter, not so much. Just curious,

They both do. My oldest sends her son to me- “Gampy” for the “dangerous” activities. My youngest has a daughter. She has already expressed her devotion to let her daughter explore. When I met her future husband for the first time they were going mountain bike riding. I warned him not to try to keep up with her on the trails. “If you do, it only proves that you are stupid or crazy, Nothing to prove here.” The next day he asked me if she is really human. I explained that she is a gymnast and triathlon rider. ........... “ Makes scenes “

Edited August 11, 2021 by RockyTop

[Tawpie]

Understand, I feel this way because it's how I raised my two girls... but learning early on that you can and should try all manner of things is an important life skill. You learn more from driving your bike into the ditch than you'd ever learn if Dad welded your training wheels on and is holding the back of your seat. An electric unicycle? Maybe you'll like it, maybe you'll fall and never touch one again. Maybe you can't stand to wear the gear and Dad won't let you ride without it (so you doff it as soon as you're out of eyesight and hope the neighbors don't rat you out... it's a compromise). But you will never see that hidden lake if you don't feel like there's some chance you can traverse the boulder field, and I think parents have something to do with that.

I'm not one for 'making' kids do things like unicycles, or football, or tumbling—I did insist they try select activities for a while (like music, and art, and dancing), but if it doesn't melt their butter, move on to something else. And if they're anxious to get into something, by all means let's find a way to check it out while managing and accepting the risk. I told my eldest in all seriousness that if she wanted to pursue an acting career, she first needed to go to the vo-tech and learn to weld—then and only then would I keep paying for acting lessons (risk management: welders can always find a gig, actors... not so much. She founded a consulting business and never learned to weld, which pains me to this day). You want a puppy? We'll get you one after you spend 1 solid month going around the neighborhood twice a day picking up dog poop—rain or shine (never got a puppy).

Either way, I think a "full" life is one that explores the possibilities. You can choose which to pursue and which to abandon but if you don't get the chance to try, I think you've lost something... perhaps forever. Let them at least try, particularly when they're interested in it.

 

As always, there are caveats. For instance: "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you".

Edited August 11, 2021 by Tawpie

[RockyTop]

My grandson is 3.5 years old now. He has been riding a bicycle for 6 months. Never had training wheels. When the bicycle without pedals came out I thought it was stupid. I was wrong. He learned to ride it very quickly. After a few weeks we put the pedals on it. My younger daughter kind of learned the same way. Her older sister had a razor scooter. She learned to ride the scooter when her sister wasn’t looking at 3 years old and transitioned to a bicycle in a matter of minutes.  5 minutes maybe? She learned to ride an EUC in about the same time. I have video of her first 5 minutes on an EUC. You don’t want to see it if you are the jealous type. ....... It makes me mad and I know better. She reached 18 mph on a rough half dirt half paved road on her second time up and balancing. 

So the question for me is when do I get my grandson an EUC? He has the skills! But I am going to wait until he is more mature mentally. And I would wait for him to ask. 

I am amazed that all kids know the sack of potatoes difference when you try to get them to do something. Can you imagine still having those skills today!! Your boss tells you to do something and you turn into a  600 pound bag of potatoes. 
 

Edited August 11, 2021 by RockyTop

[Tawpie]

31 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

But I am going to wait until he is more mature mentally. And I would wait for him to ask. 

Very important points, both of them. Gonna be fun though, when it happens!

[Rich Sam]

Hardest thing about being a parent is letting your little ones fail.  My wife tries to bubble wrap the planet, I see the value in lessons learned.  My parents were 100% free range parents, I'm in the middle somewhere.  I got in WAAAAAAY to much trouble to go 100% free range.

[Ben_]

For the past couple weeks, there has been a family going to the group rides with us in Portland Oregon US. They have a 6 year old that was cruising around on a mten3. He was wearing full gear but that kid was skilled for only being 6! I say let them ride! 

[Flying W]

My son's 21mos as of yesterday. He's been taken on stroller rides being pushed with a wheel since 6mos old. I know he's going to want to ride one as soon as he's tall enough to stand on it. 

He sits on top of the wheel while I push him around in the grass, it's like trolly'n a kid, and he smiles and giggles. 

I rode with my dad who's 70, and I'm very much looking forward to having 3 generations on a ride. 

I don't know how young too young is but as long as I can find gear that fits and he's enjoying it I don't have any issues with it being way earlier than my wife would like. My side of the family has the stupid gene (I call it the fun gene). For my 14th birthday I got an EX500 Kawasaki. Rules were simple, no riding without dad, and we were getting pulled over wed split up. Of I got caught I was joyriding dad's bike, if he got caught I was just some guy he was talking to at a red light that decided to ride with.

No one thinks this was a good idea, and I won't be getting my son a street bike at 14yrs old but my dad are so very close because of the decade of stupid shit (fun!) we've gotten into. We're always safeish (I've only had 3 surgeries) amd we gear up. 

I can only hope that I'm as close to my son, just kinda wish I had him before 40. All three of us could have rock climbed, mnt biked, done track days on sport bikes and all the other fun things together. At 70 my dad isn't going mnt biking again and I've let myself go to the time 40lbs too many, but it was 60lbs. Gotta get back into some semblance of shape to at try to be a cheap knock off of my father for my own son. He needs to know the difference between reckless and calculated stupidity.

I think kids and EUCs are a great match. It's outside! They learn balance and responsibility for their safety. With the tilt back setting they can have a blast at less than lethal speeds too. 

How many of us here rode out bmx bikes like reckless fools with zero safety gear back when we were kids? A kid dressed like a transformer on a wheel is very safe in comparison, and I think controlling machine at a young as gives skills that help out in a lot of other ways later down the line. And kinds always want to play with something motorized anyway. Seems way better than sitting inside playing video games all day!  

 

 

 

 

[tenofnine]

For EUCs that can go above 25mph I strongly believe the age is the same as being able to rent a car (or many years driving) and I also think you should have at least tried riding a moped or motorcycle (if not have a license outright). You should also be aware of right of way in various situations and all the traffic/bike laws

Anything else is up to the parent. For slower EUCs I don't see why not learn the same age as learning to ride a bike.

There is a 16 yo kid whose parent comes in my store and he always talks about wanting to get "one of those things I see you riding". I can only imagine a bunch of immature reckless teens riding these things when they haven't even driven yet or know the laws or responsibility that comes with riding a 30mph battering ram. Sounds like a nightmare of stupidity.

[winterwheel]

Some kids pick up wheeling pretty easily. We have a dad who rides regularly with his two young ones 7 and I believe 9. They've come out to a couple of our casual group rides. The seven-year old is already doing mountain bike trails and the dad is working on some way to get him some appropriately sized power-pads for their V8F.