Yesterday was a beeeeeeautiful sunny day here in Iowa. Just as the sun was setting and I was getting the girls’ jammies on, Nick’s buddy shows up with his 4-wheeler for a little fun. Pais and Dell were NOT about to let this opportunity sneak by.
It still looks like a tragic barren wasteland here on our acreage… not a green blade of grass in sight. But that’s not to stop us from getting out and enjoying great outdoors AT LAST!
I grew up riding a go-cart on my grandparents acreage… GOOD MEMORIES! I want the girls to be rough and tumble country girls, just maybe not on a 4-wheeler that can go 4,000 MPH. Daddy went nice and slow with them, but I think we might stick with a go-cart when they are old enough. And a helmet.
Meanwhile, we probably ought to consider the present and start thinking about tricycles for our tiny tots. One thing at a time… right?!
Do you have any fond (or not so fond) memories of riding on recreational vehicles of any kind? Where do you stand on safety issues surrounding 4-wheelers and dirt bikes (completely unrelated to toddlers)? This is an ongoing discussion that happens daily in our house.
Oh PS! Don’t forget to enter our giveaway to win $100 worth of fabric! Giveaway ends on Friday!
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I love the idea of my girls sharing a room; whispering and giggling into the…
I grew up riding 4 wheelers and my husband and I have a rzr and four wheeler to take the kids out. My kids (3.5 and almost two wear helmets and have harnesses. We bought my daughter a strider bike at 18 months and though she was a bit young it’s been great! Now my son has one too and he’s learning to go. My daughter has a gator and she loves it. Highly recommend if you find your kids seem into wheels. Make sure you get the larger ones though as the 6 volts don’t work well on grass even.
Good to know! I never thought about the 6 volt not working well on the grass! We’ll probably get them gators next summer 🙂
It was only bikes, roller skates and homemade, wheeled contraptions for us, but boy was it fun! We didn’t wear helmets for anything back then, but they weren’t available, either. Today I come down firmly on the helmet side. Working at a trauma center will do that. It only takes one weird fall and you have a closed brain injury that will alter the rest of your life. Of course, you can still be hurt with a helmet on (break all kinds of other bones, including your spine), but if you can help make something safer, by all means do it! And no piece of safety equipment allows you to tear through the countryside like a maniac without the chance of injury. Tell your hubs that even big boys need a helmet.
I grew up in the AZ desert riding 4- wheelers. I even raced them! My son got his first (battery powered) 4-wheeler when he was 1.
Your wide open back yard thrills me! it reminds of sitting on the beach here (at the Jersey Shore) and looking out to so far horizons that you want it to spill on forever. Children are amazing and you are standing on the beginning of your horizon with them. God Bless. Any path taken is worth exploring.
I grew up riding 4-wheelers and LOVE them! My older two have ridden them a few times. My 9-year-old’s father bought him a dirt bike for his birthday, and this makes me have nightmares. He always wears a helmet, but I’m looking into more safety gear. I constantly talk to he and his father about safety. It scares me. I’m all for go-carts with kids, as long as it has a harness and roll barn, and they’re wearing a helmet. It feels like the safest option to me. We have seven acres ourselves, and have been debating a 4-wheeler or go-cart.
I grew up with 4-wheelers and think I even started driving them myself by age 6 to my grandparent’s house down the road… My sisters and I had a lot of great times and memories on the 4-wheeler. I think if the adults show responsible, smart driving skills on the 4-wheeler, the kids will follow suit.
I went up north one summer and stayed at my aunts cabin. I rode a four wheeler for the first time….Long story short I flipped over a log and was pinned against a tree…… later when my mom was fixing me up (as awesome moms do) she was pulling out smaller sticks from my back….. still the best time ever
Have you thought of trying balance bikes instead of tricycles?
Hi, Bethany. I’m not a big commenter, but I felt like I should put my two cents in on this subject. I come from a small town in the country where four wheeling is a huge thing. It can be very fun, but extremely dangerous. I’ve seen a few deaths of very young kids from this past time. One quite tragic one was a 12 year who was riding with her sister. They were going too fast and ran into a tree. The older sister survived, but was in a coma for a few weeks. However, the younger sister died on impact. That sad thing is that this has been something I’ve seen several times. Four wheeling can be fun, if done safely. I sometimes feel that because we’re in the country and very isolated, that the people here don’t focus enough on safety and thus these accidents happen. In my home, the rule is you have to be 16 to drive and if under 16 as a tag along, with an adult. And always helmets. Safety comes first. 🙂
We rode 4 wheelers all the time as kids, golf carts too, we got hurt more often on the golf cart than anything else. Someone would take a corner too fast, flip the cart or throw some one out of the back seat… it was always when we let a friend drive. The only time I saw someone turn a 4 wheeler over was when there was a girl that had never ridden one before and tried to take a steep hill. I loved the freedom the 4 wheeler gave me, and I learned early on to treat it with the respect a powerful machine deserves. 🙂
I think the key is to pay attention to your child(s) development and realistically ask yourselves what their skills are, and what the building blocks are of the new skill you’re trying to teach them. How closely those two lists match will not only give you your answer, but might identify key areas that might need to be developed before moving on to the next higher skill. For example, one of the building blocks of riding a two wheeler is balance. Have the girls demonstrated that in other areas, like walking a narrow straight line or balance beam? If the answer is ‘not yet’, then I would make sure to find out, and possibly work on that a bit before bringing home ‘the big girl bikes’.
Amber touched on another point I think is important, which is parental guidance. When learning any new skill, especially one as potentially hazardous as 4 wheeling, it is *paramount* to be accompanied by someone who has already mastered the skill and who can teach them how to do the same *safely*. Children are like sponges, they learn a lot just by observing and listening. That step is so important, and when they’ve demonstrated that you think they can handle it, (both skill wise and emotionally), then it’s time to let them try, *under supervision*. When they’ve demonstrated they can handle THAT, then, by all means, turn ’em loose.
I’m smiling just thinking about the girls following Nick around the acreage on first tricycles, then bikes. And yes, those images include helmets, because ‘better safe than sorry’. Nothing kills a future like a brain injury. They’ll have to wear helmets if they ride as adults, best train ’em young.
Best of luck. You’re an awesome Mom.
My dad had four wheelers when we were growing up and I got to drive from maybe 12 and on? I was a pretty careful kid, so even now looking back I don’t think I was in much danger driving it on driveways/paths. I do remember my older cousin driving much faster than I ever dared, and much faster than his parents would have approved of — so I think it depends on the kid!
Honestly torn when I think of my for my niece (a little older than your two). In the city where she is, not a chance. Too much traffic. In the country–well, it is safer but not safe. I’ve got a cousin who was run over when he was 11 because a truck didn’t see him over some crops–years of rehab. Granted the truck driver was an idiot who wasn’t paying attention, but that isn’t as unusual as I would like it to be. Every year we have a story locally about some kid being seriously hurt or killed because they hit something and flipped.
On the other hand, just about everything has some risk. The biggest danger seems to be letting kids ride off on their own and trusting that they won’t have the kid-moment where they justify doing the things they know they should not do. I think as long as you can teach them how to do it safely and drum that in well and not just set them on the bikes and watch them ride off, and have the right size equipment so they can control it, it should be okay.
Pretty jelly of that land, that is awesome! My grandma lived on some land and we’d ride around with my uncle on 4 wheelers. I am not a fan of helmets,but we’ve never had an incident (or known of one). I’m guilty of my kids riding their bikes without helmets. Try a strider bike for your girls to learn how to ride a bike. SOOOO worth the extra $$$
I liked riding around the farm with my big brother on the 3-wheeler. Now my husband is a 4-wheeler guy and the girls have always liked riding around with him. My 15 year old drives one, and I have seen her go in the ditch and scrape up her neck which was pretty scary. But eventually she got back into it and now knows to slow down for the corner.
For little ones on an acreage, I highly recommend the Power Wheels 4 wheeler and Gator. My girls had so much fun with those. You will need one of each so they can chase each other around, and the Gator for when they want to ride together- as long as they can agree who will drive. My oldest got one for her 2nd birthday and she was scared of it, until the next summer when she saw her cousins ride it, so about 2.5 when she started driving (in slow gear).
Also, for a tricycle, look at the ones with the bigger, heavy duty wheels. They go better on grass, if your girls are big enough to fit one. Those small-wheeled trikes are only good for pavement. Look at places like Harbor Freight, Northern, or the farm stores for the heavy duty ones.
I lived in town (pop 800) but pretty much grew up out on the farms of my grandparents and various other relatives. My uncle is pretty much a big kid and has kid size 4 wheelers and Little Indian motorcycles, it was always so much fun going out there and riding. I always wore a helmet, either a horse riding one (I showed horses from ages 4-15 so I always had one) or when I was around 6 or 7 my dad got me a motorcycle helmet for rides on his big touring bike. Keep it slow and steady and make some memories!!! Oh, and wear a helmet 🙂
I also have very fond memories of riding our mini bike and go cart at a young age. We lived on a dead end road in the country and I can remember going up and down the ditches, through the pasture, and every inch of the hayfield. I am 50ish so “back then” there wasn’t near the worry there is now on injuries. Seems like we crashed more than once, got a few bumps and bruises, and was right back on them just as soon as the tears dried up. We didn’t have helmets, protective pads or anything. I can remember my sister’s long pony tail getting wrapped into the go-cart motor. Wouldn’t trade those memories or the experiences for anything!
If I could have a re-do with my kids, I would try to be a little more lax with them. Teach them how to use tools early (my neighbor’s kid hit himself in the head with the claw of a hammer and it freaked me out). I saw a video once about a guy who had summer camps and taught kids to build things which helped them with all kinds of issues