I was wondering at what age you let your kids start riding, or at what age did you first ride?
I'm asking because there was a deadly ATV accident here over the weekend.It happened when a 5 y/o. boy overturned an ATV in a field. The local news isn't giving any details so who knows why it happened...
The thing that bothers me is the negative comments ( local news paper on the net) that people are giving. They're quick to pass judgement on the parents and are quick to bark out comments about passing laws and charging the parents in a criminal case.
Most of these comments are coming from folks who have probably never even sat on an ATV.
I do agree that SOME people do put kids on oversized machines or don't offer the proper supervision and safety equipment but I don't feel like 5 y/o. is too young to start riding if proper safety measures and equipment are used.....

What are your thoughts?.....

5 y/o is about how old I was when I had my first riding experiences.....

 

i started when i was 8 my sons at 2 and 6 and i fell quite safe with their abililities to an extent. my younger one sometimes gets over confident and sometimes i have to put him in his place but he is learning. my guess is that this kid was plopped on too large of a machine on unappropriate terrain, unsupervised or poorly supervised. my kids started out on a 50 with a throttle limiter and i was always close by and still am. i let them practice braking and set up cones to practice maneuvering before i even let them leave the yard. its unfortunate, but happens everyday to kids and adults who overestimate themselves and underestimate the danger. saftey courses and accident videos on the web are a great teacher but what scares me is that kids, and even adults get the "it wont happen to me..." attitude.

 

...but even still no matter how hard a parent can try, accidents do happen and the media and atv's are evil advocates are quick to blame parents regardless of the circumstances surrounding it.
i think the appropriate age is whenever the parent feels he or she is ready and responsible enough. it may be 4 or 14. there are "is my child ready" questions on the atvsi website.

 

About 10 or 11. Only my older son is interested in riding. The younger son doesn't really like it. Older son started riding a older friend's quad under supervision. He drove while the older friend sat on back. It was on a Honda Recon. At first he could only use 1st gear and then he went higher as he gained experience. I let him drive my Kawasaki Lakota and he got that when I got the Xplorer 4x4. The other son started and ended on a Chinese 110cc. He did one rough trail and didn't like it anymore. Glad I didn't pay much for it. PS. Don't by a Chinese quad. Do yourself a favor and avoid them like the plague.

 

Hey I know it sounds crazy but I started at 4yrs old on a minibike my dad had purchased for 50$ at a yard sale lol. I soon moved up at 6yrs old onto a Honda 110 ATC it was fun. Then I moved up to a crazy Yamaha Warrior at the age of 12Yrs old, I had to really bug mydad for this one. At the age of 14 I started my first atv race and continued. I purchased a Suzuki 250 racer and modified it to race with the help of good ol dad and went on to a 10th overall threw the CMRC Canadian circuits. Now I ride a Sportsman 800 full mod a different kind of fun. I think kids should all have a chance to ride and let them experience the same fun that we all had growing up with bikes and trikes and all other motorized stuff. I think 4 or 5 is a good age to start and never know could be the next Jeremy McGrath.

 

My stepson started when he was 5, kids learn very fast. now he is better then me. LOL

 

i some what rode my first atv when i was 12. then i got sick of asking the neighbor to use his. so i got a job when i was 13. saved my money tell i was 14 and got a 83 183s 3 wheeler when i was 14. had that tell i was 22 or tell 2002. got a 250 kawi in 98 sold in 00. got a 00 sportsman in 00 sold in 08 now i got a 08 sportsman. i pretty much taught my self and got my own money. my family was poor, as i am right now. but ill always have an atv tell i die.

 

Started riding at 5, had one stupid small crash early on, then learnt my lesson. My first bike I had was a 50cc suzuki. Since upgraded to my current 220 bayou, and don't really need more than that for light utility (there's zero riding opportunities in the UK unless you own the land, and there's a very nice place for a trail right next to us, if someone wants to donate the money to set up the UK's first bring your own bike riding area then please don't hesitate). If I had the moeny I would upgrade, mainly to stop having to fix something every third time of rididng.

 

I started out about 5 years old on an old Honda 110cc 3-wheeler, the kind with the big balloon tires... I got my first quad when i was 6 it was a suzuki quadsport 80 w/ throttle limiter(never used it tho), saftey kill switch, and always had to wear a helmet, my dad had bought me all the protective gear i needed, and before I started riding @ all I was tought to be responsible and to respect the machine.... not to say i didnt get rowdy but still i KNEW the limits of myself amd my machines, I started Racing @ local fairs @ 7 yrs old.... I think that if the child is responsible enough they could ride @ any age.

 

I started at 3 with a minibike with homemade training wheels on it LOL
my daughter got her 1st battery operated quad on her 1st b-day and LOVED IT!!!