To be spot-on topic…

Its pretty clear that I support youth riding ATV's and its a great family sport and all that – But I believe that 4 years old is to young – and the best sized ATV for someone that age should be electric. Not gas powered. Actually a tricycle with a puppy attached is my first response as I love seeing that. It so much exemplifies a 4 year old child being a 4 year old child. It makes my heart swell. But I know some will disagree - I acknowledge that.

My opinion is based in large part on the child development definitions in my first post which are a summary from a number of professional organizations of not whacko’s but people I would expect you to respect and hold in high regard - like your children’s doctors, teachers and the surgeons who you hope can put your children back together.

For the record I lean more towards age 6 or seven - personally - for anything gas powered.

I see the youth ATV accident reports for Minnesota. It isn't pretty. Yes - in the last 6 years there have been 3 youth ATV fatalities and dozens of serious medical emergency accidents in my own neighborhood. In fact - one of my fellow ATV instructors lost his son when he hit a tree coming off a frozen lake. Possibly one of the most talented youth riders I have ever seen and was in my first ATV safety training class. People who know me have heard those stories.

Yes, my best friends son lost a good deal of flesh on a ATV and will always be reminded of it and yes - one 5 year old rode his 90cc out in front of car while dad answered his cell phone. 4 seconds of distraction - shut-off switch in hand. BAM! It happens. All within 10 miles of where I live. That brings it close to home.

Some of the true'izms in this thread are also pretty stand-out items.

1) No one who did or is allowing a 4 year old to ride ATV is going to come out against it. That’s a given - da - so no surprise there.

2) Much like American Idol - we all think were pretty good - but sometimes we discover we really are not. It is by peer review that the truth is brought out in our performance - and parenting certainly is a performance!

But as peers - nobody wants to be measured against a unreasonable standard - not using your own measure but a consensus of generally accepted opinions and standards that have withstood test and professional review is more appropriate.

3) Actually I believe some of you may have exceptional children. They do exist. But for general advise in a global forum I lean more towards caution because I have been involved in the court cases where parents jump from " I will decide what’s best for my child " to " the dealer should have told us these 'things' are so dangerous - we never would have bought one" somewhere between "oh chit" and the emergency room door....

4) Not much has to said about the juvenile crazy talk and belligerent posts in these threads because they distinguish themselves on their own merit. If you are trying to make a azz out of yourself - you loose all credibility with everyone able to identify that you have succeeded. If your not trying but still come off as a azz - see #2.

I ask everyone to join me in a very simple way to help ensure we retain the remaining ATV privileges we have for ourselves and our children - Please ride as if everyone is watching - because they are.

 

JUST FOR THE RECORD MY 4 YEAR 7 MONTH OLD KNOWS HIS ABCS AND IS READING CHILDRENS BOOKS HE CAN ALSO COMPREHEND WHAT HE IS READING HE IS READING AT THE AGE OF A 7 YEAR OLD AND MY 5 YR 6 MONTH OLD IS READING 3RD GRADE LEVEL THEY ARE DOING VERY WELL . SO THANK YOU ON YOU OPINION OF THE ABCS EVERYONE IS INTITILED TO THERE OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS ONE AND EVERYONE HAS A-- HOLES TOO!

 

Too bad his parents don't know what the caps lock button is. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img] j/k,

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: Scootergptx
[quote]
Originally posted by: BMazz007JUST FOR THE RECORD MY 4 YEAR 7 MONTH OLD KNOWS HIS ABCS AND IS READING CHILDRENS BOOKS HE CAN ALSO COMPREHEND WHAT HE IS READING


So why cant he comprehend the big sticker on the ATV that says NO ONE UNDER 6 ALLOWED TO RIDE.

Oh and the whole A--hole thing. Was that a freudian slip...

 

+ 50 points for knowing the years and months of his children
-200 points for using all caps
-1000 points for be rude and disgusting while burying his point which was...I forgot already!

 

Well I'v got 2 boys 10 and 3 and the little one can ride better than the big one so using age a the only guage is BS. The little one has been riding motorized bikes or atvs since he could walk. He know what's going on and how to deal with situations. I had him in my lap on my SP700 and we were riding some trails in the woods on Sunday and he pointed out every opsticale in the path before we got to it. He also figured out the bike that were were on could drive over them all. So after 2 logs it was "dad here comes another bump". He started out with a Bat operated Motor bike in the house. At 1 is was a power wheels tot car that did 2.5 mph and at 1 1/2 he graduated to a pegprego ATV that was his older brothers. It does 3 and 7 mps. we kept it on the 3 mps setting until this past summer when he got a tast of speed at 2 1/2. He wore the bat our and the tires off the danm thing I had to put fiber reinforced tape on the tires to keep him from doing burnouts. We upgraded to gas becasue of cost. I've got 600 tied up in the batt atv and batts are about 70 bucks a pop. I got a Long Cheng ( they make all of Honda's castings) from Bigtexmotorsports.com for 4 reasons. It has 3 kill switches. Wrist tether to kill it if he falls off. Riding strap on the rear end and a remote wireless kill that can also re-start the bike. It also has a single speed CVT trans that uses a wet clutch system. I have it limited to about 5 mps and make my son ride in the yard. He loves it and likes to go fast to him 5 mph is fast unless mom or dad are driving. It's all about parent responsiblity and supervision you can't just cut you kids loose on these things or they will get hurt. If I had twins I'd buy one bike until they get older and make them take turns becasue unless you have help you can't watch them both.

 

madmatt1971 -
Thank you for posting a mature response. I may not understand or agree with you but posting a rational response is in itself refreshing.

Some Questions -
</FONT></FONT>What will your 3 year old be riding when he's 5? 10?
I see this all the time. They start at 3-4 years old and by 5 they need a bigger machine more suited for their skill or performance ability - and then we end up with a 9 year old riding a adult quad "becuase they can handle it" How are you going to handle the 9 year old bouncing off the walls "needing" a 400EX or they are going to die?

When I was young my father made the mistake of teaching me to fly when I was 11 years old. Guess what - I drove him nuts so that by the time I was 13 he would let me fly solo on Sundays when no one was at the small airport. By the time I was 16 and could legally solo I wanted a stunt plane - why - becuae I was going to kill myself flying stunts in his airplane! The point is - starting to early meant that I became "skilled" long before I became "wise".

So the question is - at what point will you NOT be there with your hand on the kill switch?

It gets old after a while- I know that myself. After about 2 weeks of watching my daughter go around and around and around the house - I started "watching" from the kitchen windows and it wasn't long before I would "listen" from the garage. In 2 months she would ride as long as she wore her safety gear. At about 3 months she bounced off a tree pretty hard. I wasn't even home. Some lessons come hard.

Just curious if you've thought about these things as I know many people are going to be expereinceing the same challanges.

 

It Is very simple the parent knows there child better than anyone else if the parent truly believes his child is ready than it is up to the parent to make the smart and intelligent decision I think 1 big problem is that the parent wants there child to like it and try it before the child is ready and that is when you have accidents. Be patient you will know when he or she is ready. ... Sorry about my earlier response but i take offence if some is implying that I'm more interested in my children playing first, to me education for my children is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BESIDES SAFETY!!!!!!!!

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: BMazz007
i think i big problem


Ooooppppsssss another freudian slip.


I know you meant 1 big problem. Funny how that came out though.







.

 

beat me to it. but i got this one "safety"
just joking bmazz but the whole thing about education makes it funny.