Dufrane, you got my goat alittle (pigmy). You need to update you pics before you make some comments. I believe your 9 year old does not have a helmet on in any of your pictures. I also can see that you and your friends dont wear helmets either. NICE impression. You cant think that riding in sand is good reason to not buy your kids their own weight approprite bike then you really need to get a dirt wheels magazine and see what kind of bikes ride at the dunes. I will give you a hint they are not shaft driven machines! Your kids will gain much more experience riding bikes, that they can actually reach the floorboards and pull the brakes. Hell they may get the rush of jumping and doing donuts. As for the mud my kids learned quick how to pick up the back of their bikes to get unstuck. They have just as much fun getting unstuck as stuck. Maybe we will just have to agree to disagree on this subject.

 

my son was 2 1/2 when we put him one a battery quad that was in august and them in jan we got him a eton 40 and he raced it on my property in which i built a track them at the age of 4 went to a 70 eton and started racing at fairs and other tracks now at 7 he rides a the same 70 eton but fully race built and of course full riding gear even if he is only riding around the yard

 

I really don't see how anyone can discredit a parent for making a decision leaning to the side of caution. You have to keep the best interest of the child in mind and not what you want to see the child do. Oldyeller, and I'm sure others posting on this topic have seen first hand at the mx track what can happen. The new family shows up with a stock mini and while talking to them they tell you the experience that there son or daughter has riding only to see the child sobbing his or hers eyes out at the start gate because they are scared. My point is why push them into something that could have a negative effect on them for some time, it's not worth it or safe.