my daughter is nearer 3 than 2 and yes she can speak verry well for her age,

her riding is not something i am forcing on her, we take regular trips to the beach as a family as i ride myself and its just something my kids have wanted to do also, my son had an LT 50 for christmas as his forst quad and that was 2 months before his 4th birthday and had no problems with it, to the extent that on a wide open beach, within a couple trips there he was able to ride full throttle with no problem,

at the end of the day my kids are mine and my wifes responsability, and its up to us to make decisions about our kids, i can throttle the LT back easily to the speed of a battery powered quad and thats exactly what i intend to do, so i just dont see the point in them,

i dont expect her to be ripping around on full throttle anytime in the next 12-18 months but i keep an open mind, i also keep an open mind to the posability that this may all be a mistake and the LT as little and user friendly it may be could turn out to be too much for her,


as things have transpired with organising the trip to the beach for sometime this week and it regularly cropping up in conversation the helmet issue has been raised several times, the upsot of this was that today my daughter put my sons helmet on for the first time today, this was obviously a chalenge and achievement for her cos she was so pleased with herself,

my sons old helmet was a full face but the type that the face protector is screwed on and can be removed, it had always been to big for my son(but thats another story) so i knew it would be comfortable for her to get her head into and wouldnt feel to restrictive, after she had goten used to that one i asked her if she would like to try my sons new one on as its proer full face and will be a correct fit for her,

she agreed but when it came to putting it on she changed her mind, i was more than happy that we ere gettting some where so decided it best to leave things rather than making her feel pressured,

later in the afternoon she proudly came upstares with the helmet on and was so thrilled that she had done it and was going to be able to ride her quad on the beach this week,


like i say thanks to everyone who offered advise, wether regarding the helmet or regarding the suitability of my daughter riding a quad, as i said before all issues raised are in my mind and will continue to be so when were at the beach this week.

i have absolutly no problem eating humble pie and comming on here to say "you were right, she is too young" if that turns out to be the case,

my daughters welfare and hapiness are foremost in my mind,

thanks everyone

 

As far as a 2 or 3 year old being too young, how many of us have put the little ones on our bikes and taken them for a ride with no helmet. Guilty of it myself, but if they were to fall off, they wouldn't be landing on their feet. Nobody here knows their childs ability more than their parents. Good for you UK for sticking with the helmet rule. Seen way too many parents let their kids who are older ride without helmets or supervision.

 

My son is 18 and nothing leaves my barn without a helmet on the rider. This has always been the rule and he has ridden enough and had a few spills so he knows why the lid is so important. His friends try to ride without one until he shows them some of the helmets hanging in the barn with their assorted oops and ouches.

I agree that only the parent knows his daughters abilities. My 13 month granddaughter is way more advanced than her 22 month cousin. Her mommy was way more mature at 2 than my son is at 18 [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

My concern is that she may get hurt and then the powers-that-be will drag you into court for child endangerment. It happened to my brother when his 10 yo tore up his leg on a 250ex. The nurses called the police as soon as they found out that it was a quad accident. Nothig came of it except that now there is a record of the authorities looking into his parenting abilities. BTW, that boy is prolly one of the best riders I've ever seen, and he wears a lid all the time (he has a broken lid, too, happened on a straight away, he just caught a rut wrong on a 2 wheeler)

 

Sorry, but I agree with everyone else....... No helmet=No ride. Point blank end of discussion. There is NO excuse for not wearing a helmet. If you back down from her now all your doing is setting an example for later on. If she won't wear one now, and you let her ride why is she going to wear one later? Sorry bro, I know your excited to get her into something that you also enjoy, but laying down the law is laying down the law. "I'm Dad, and I say so", and in My opinion thats all there is to it. I apologize, but I have to admit that I have not read the rest of the replys, but have you tried to explain to her at all about WHY she needs to wear her helmet? Maybe,"Daddy doesn't want you to get hurt, do you?" I know shes only almost 3, but if you explain it to her in a way that she understands maybe it would help.....

Long story short. If she doesn't wear the helmet, let it sit till shes ready to wear it. She'll come around, just give her time.....

 

Ok for the last time,

I HAVE NO INTENTION NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY INTENTION OF LETTING HER RIDE WITHOUT A HELMET!!!!!!

I DONT DO IT, MY SON DONT DO IT, AND IM DAMN SURE MY DAUGHTER WONT EITHER,

I HAVE NEVER EVER ON THIS POST OR ANYWHERE ELSE SAID I AM EVEN CONSIDERING LETTING HER RIDE WITHOUT A HELMET,


IT IS NOT THE ISSUE,

IT is a matter of what type of helmet ONLY,

as i said yesterday i looks like the situation has been resolved, she will be riding at the beach tommorow, WITH A HELMET ON!

ONCE AGAIN THANKS TO EVERYONE WHOS OFFERED ADVISE,

 

Relax Bro........

Like I stated in my post. "I did not read the whole post", so don't bite my head off. Sorry I didn't realize you were frustrated with the fact that people were giving their opinion on whether or not to wear a helmet instead of what type of helmet to get. Next time if you don't want so many of us replying wrong to your posts make it a little more CLEAR in your INITIAL post what your question is. Either way glad your girl decided to wear a helmet, and don't worry about me replying inaccuratly to your posts anymore.......I just won't reply period.....

 

I started my youngest son out when he was 4. I believe that alot of it has to do with their riding abilty and the childs maturity. My son never rode a bike with training wheels. And he started riding his bike when he was 2. At the age of 3 he wanted a quad very badly. But at that point he new the importance of wearing a helmet. (bike wrecks will teach that) I believe, and this is just a dumb ole country boy talking, I would not tempt her with any other allteratives that YOU might regret later. I believe in full face helmets for the added protection. (braces are very pricey) Kids are afraid of alot of different things while growing up, most get over the little things as they mature. But a bad exsperance, will stay with them forever. Don't let a medeocar helmet ruin her exsperance.

Best of luck with your decison!!!

PS, I know my spelling stinks, my 10 year old tells me all the time!!

PSS I replied before I recieved your last post, sorry!

 

hey flynbryan,

it wasnt meant as an attack on anyone least of all your good self,

im very glad that everyone has the correct opinion of rideing with a helmet, like i say its just not the issue here,

it just seems that every other post made in reply seems to raise the helmet vs no helmet issue,

sorry if i have offended you, or anyone else, it is truly not my intention, [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

i just want replies to remain focused on the issue at hand,

im sorry if i didnt make myself clear enough on the begining,

 

Don't worry about it UK. I get offended easily....... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] I'm glad that you found a way to get her to wear a helmet. In my opinion I can't think of a greater way to spend time with my child(when I have one) than doing the very thing that brings me so much happiness together as a family. I look forward to the day when I get to do what your doing. Enjoy it man! We all grow up too fast. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

thanks bryan,

its definitly a proud moment when you realise your a real life super hero and role model for your kids when there wanting to do the things you do,

i was shocked when my son wanted a wheeler, and my dughter has always been a little miffed that he had one and not her, so this christmas i decided to get an upgrade for my son and give my daughter a chance of having her first wheeler,

i just wish the misses had the same enthusiasm for quads,