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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

scooter rage. Am I the only person who suffers from it?

95 replies

noobydoo · 22/05/2012 17:58

Seriously, I see scooters everywhere: busy roads where children could easily have an accident; playgrounds where there are mixed ability walkers (as in toddlers); high streets; supermarkets and even cafes - I was in a cafe yesterday afternoon and was nearly ran into with a bloody scooter.

Do people not realise that there is only one place scooters should be and that is in a park on a path?

This has been brewing for a while and my rage is coming out after seeing a friend whom I usually highly respect run after her child shouting "not in the road" and another woman who I am also friendly with allow her children run into the heels of little old ladies in the high street with their b*** scooters.

OP posts:

squashedbanana · 27/05/2012 21:36

He's ok thanks MrsMuddyPuddles :)

CocoPopsAddict · 27/05/2012 23:13

Like today, yes, in the park, but on a very busy path on a hill, and two 3-4 year old boys just pelting down it. Everyone had to jump out of the way, and I had 18mo DS in his pushchair so I can see all too easily how accidents happen squashedbanana, and I'm glad your DS is ok.

The mothers were extremely unbothered, and when one of the boys hit something and fell off, she said 'Oh I don't care, because I'm always telling him to slow down but he won't'. He was screaming his head off and passers-by had gathered around him. I was extremely about the whole thing.

CardyMow · 27/05/2012 23:57

YANBU. For some reason, lots of people locally now seem to think that the inside of a busy supermarket is the best place to take their DC's scooters. I came over all grumpy old woman the other day, when one woman's 3 DC had all rammed into my ankles at least twice each, and asked her to stop them from scooting in such an unsuitable place.

I wouldn't mind being a grumpy old woman, but I'm only 30 FGS. And if any of my 4 DC even attempted that, they would lose their scooter until they could learn to only ride it in appropriate places (of which there are many locally, like one of the eight parks nearby, or the country park etc.) My DC would be made to park their scooters in the bike rack outside until we had finished.

And don't get me started on those 'wheelies' (trainer skates)...

Whatmeworry · 28/05/2012 00:12

Some parents are rubbish and fail to teach their children how to behave considerately.

That.

If it wasnt scooters it'd be something else.

pictish · 28/05/2012 00:16

Yabu. Scooters = exercise and fun. I'm sure you don't get That much bother from them. Stop being such a misery.

neighbourhoodwitch · 28/05/2012 06:31

Yep, completely agree!

iloveACK · 28/05/2012 13:02

Couldn't have said it better Pictish

Foshizzle · 28/05/2012 13:14

The scooters are fantastic for getting some children around but there is a fairly narrow age band where children are old enough to understand how to use them safely and being too big for them.

Yes agree with this. DC1 only uses it in the park. Is only 2 and too young I think to be expected to understand how to scoot considerately on a busy pavement, so walks or sits in pram. Never in cafe / shop / shopping mall - just somehow feels wrong.

FerrisBueller1972 · 28/05/2012 13:27

YANBU

I hate them. I accept they are fun and good exercise, time and a place though. They should be banned in playgrounds/school entrances and in any shop.

I just use the glare if any child scoots near me now.

The parents quite frankly don't give a flying fuck around here if they ram into anyone or trip you up by crossing straight in front of you.

Hate, hate, hate

And breathe.....

Ormiriathomimus · 28/05/2012 13:31

I agree OP. The worst of it is that because it's mainly little children that use them it never seems to occur to their parents that they may be a bloody nuisance. I think we are supposed to smile affectionately through the pain when they smack you in the shin

Ormiriathomimus · 28/05/2012 13:34

Best of all is when a parent comes into the playground in the morning with one or two school-age children on scooters, a toddler in a buggy and a younger child also on a scooter. It's like being greeted by a swarm of large wasps and it's hard to avoid a collision with at least one of them.

Lottapianos · 28/05/2012 13:41

In agreement with all the scooter haters. They get right on my wick too. There is a time and a place for them but none of those places are crowded pavements, shopping centres or Cafe Nero I would suggest that young children need 100% supervision while using them, much as they would if using a bike at first, as they are too young to use them safely and it's the adult's responsibility to make sure they are not being a danger to everyone else.

They're not as bad as cyclists on the pavement though

alison222 · 28/05/2012 13:58

I hate them - well not the scooters I hate the toddlers on them on the way to school and back and the parents who do not run to keep up with them. At this age they have no road sense and I have hoiked a few back from the road to stop them running onto it.
Also there was a school age girl near to us whose scooter slipped off the edge of the pavement into the road and her foot was run over by a double decker bus. She had broken bones and had to have a skin graft.
There have been noticeably fewer toddlers on the loose on scooters ever since.

Pompoko · 28/05/2012 13:58

Whats wrong with making kids walk? Scooting uses more energy than walking.

LimeLeafLizard · 28/05/2012 14:15

YABU. They are a fab invention which make life easier.

A few people are inconsiderate, but they would probably be inconsiderate without scooters too.

Agree that they shouldn't be used indoors or in very busy places though - they are more like bikes and an empty pavement or park is the place for them.

naturalbaby · 28/05/2012 14:23

I can't wait till ds3 is out the buggy and I can scoot home from the school run.

If DS1 didn't have one I'd be pushing a double buggy and trying to help him ride his bike to nursery on time, or nagging him to walk faster. I'm sure I get quite a few looks as I jog past the dawdling teenagers pushing the buggy. They're brilliant, but not the only thing that is hard to confine to road/pavement use only.

Lottapianos · 28/05/2012 14:40

'Whats wrong with making kids walk? Scooting uses more energy than walking'

Pompoko, this is what I was thinking but wasn't brave enough to say I don't understand all this 'tiredness tantrums' and 'too far to walk to school' (obviously excluding children with SN or mobility issues) - if kids were just expected to walk, and didn't have a choice, they would have to get on with it surely! I'm not suggesting taking them on all-day hikes but I think it's a shame if they are brought up to see normal daily walking as a chore.

staranise · 28/05/2012 16:06

But you can pull a child on a scooter and they're much smaller/lighter than a buggy. And much speedier than a three year old's walking pace That's why they're better than walking.

Inconsiderate people are inconsiderate - it's not the scooters. Of course my DCs sometimes scoot too near people - I apologise to the person and tell the DC not to do it and take their scooters off them if they don't listen.

I can't believe people want them not to be used on the school run - our school is having a three-week long 'scoot/bike to school' campaign!

Original poster

noobydoo · 03/06/2012 13:14

Only adding something that has crossed my mind recently when talking about scooters in relation to exercise - a scooter is not as good exercise as walking - you are not bearing down on both your legs and using the strength of your legs to propel your body when you scoot which a child does when they walk. I watch DS who is not even 3 yet and compare his fitness to some of the children in his nursery and he is already faster at running than some of them and I am sure the reason for this is because he walks everywhere.

If adults see walking as a chore then they will send this message to their children. Every walk I do with my DCs now I try to turn in to something interesting - we have races on the way to school; I let them use whatever they find and turn it into a nature walk.

I feel like if one uses a scooter all the time, they are missing the point of walking - a) it is the best exercise for bone density b) evidence suggests that people who walk daily (as exercise) are less likely to suffer from depression later in life; c) like being on a scooter the more you do it the faster you get - we get around just fine now without them. I encourage all parents to try it for a month - it might be painful but I bet at the end you will be grateful that you don't have to cart them around and more to the point you can keep a better eye on your children.

OP posts:

TheCunningStunt · 03/06/2012 13:26

My kids love their micros. I have one too. In fact today we were three abreast on the pavement(very early and no one around) and looked like an advert for micro!!

They only go to school, but mainly we use them in parks, we don't take them anywhe busy and rarely near busy roads. We don't have an epidemic of scooters around here....we are pretty much in the minority. We wear helmets and my children and I usually ride single file and not speeding along either.

It is fab fun, I love going out on mine, great excercise too. So on that, YABU.

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