Not to let my DD take part in this school thing?

[puds11isNAUGHTYnotNAICE]

The school have asked that the children ride their bike or scooter too and from school for the next two weeks. I think it's part of some scheme

All well and good, however my DD's school is at the top of a massive hill! She is 5, and I really don't think it is safe to have a bunch of 5 y/o going down a steep hill on scooters, at school pick up time where there are lot's of cars.

Today I was holding on to the back of her coat whilst going down the hill and she still fell off!

We walk to school anyway, so if the scheme is intended for exercise, she is getting this already.

AIBU to stop taking the damn scooter?

This can only have been dreamed up by someone who doesn't have school age children.

I'm not going to do it anymore. I just know that my DD will be bait miffed though. I'll just tell her I'd rather she didn't die on the way to school

It's The Big Pedal bigpedal.org.uk/. Schools can earn prizes if they get more than a certain proportion of their pupils on wheels each day.

It's aimed more at getting families out of cars and cutting congestion. I walk to my school so don't count in the daily stats!

Ah thanks You I'm just going to sack it off and if they ask why tell them I think its ludicrous and we walk anyway

your role is to stand between your child and the rest of the world, fielding ridiculous requests and instructions until she's old enough to do it for herself. so say no.

^wot she said^

Too late to regret it once your kid is permanently maimed after ending up under a car, just because you lacked the backbone to say no. Walking is healthy and safe.

I think our lcal primary did this recently there was loads of huffing parents taking and scooters and bikes from and back to school some took them out of cars lazy buggers TBH i think it is a waste of time letting kids scoot ride bikes to schooldont let her do it if you don't think it is safe or just let her walk up and down the hill then scoot along , let her carry the scooter though she might not be so keen the next day

I think our school are doing something similar soon. Who thinks of this stuff? Please can schools just concentrate on teaching our children and stop dreaming up more radical ideas to stress parents out.

She goes out on her scooter loads, but in safe places such as the park. The school obviously doesn't realise this. I really don't see how the scheme is supposed to work when people are still driving their kids there then just letting them scoot from the car to the gates.

The data the school accumulates will be inaccurate. Maybe I'll point this out

I'm right with you there shebird.

If lots of schools are doing this, I'll look forwards to the threads about pavements right by schools made dangerous by overcrowding of children imperfectly in control of their wheels, complaints about (expensive) scooters going missing at school, and curtailed playtimes because of the need to use space as overflow bike/scooter park.

What a stupid scheme! It might be OKish (or at least, less dangerous) for a few schools to do a local scheme - eg the ones in in quiet suburbs with no traffic and catchment areas of less than 150 metres. But it's crazy to encourage all schools in the country to push cycling and scooting for kids when many have long commutes, or live on busy roads, or up big hills.

We walk to school - used to scoot to nursery, which was about the same distance, but it's not practical to have DD (5) scooting to school because of the steep hills (too fast on the way down, too tiring on the way up). I used to pull her on a scooter strap when she got tired or to stop her going too fast, but I'm 7 months pregnant so don't really want to do that now and i don't want to have to carry the scooter either.

We've silently ignored the Big Pedal. Our alternative is driving to the car park and scooting across the road to the school but it'd be expensive for the fortnight and I don't really think it's in the spirit of the thing.

Can you cycle rather than scoot?

Quint I honestly don't think she could pedal up the hill, and I am not comfortable enough with her cycling skills to let her cycle down a steep hill in rush hour.

To be honest, I'm not really comfortable with her walking up there! It's so busy. Poor thing is forced to hold my hand the whole way

Same here - I don't think it's safe for my daughter to cycle (she can't reach the brakes on her bike even after they've been adjusted) or scoot. There's no way she'd manage to scoot all the way back up the hill and I just don't think I can pull her on the scooter any more.

Apparently anyone who's taken part can go to school dressed as a superhero next Friday.

Oh no! I hope thats not the same in my school! Talk about blackmail! I don't want her to be the only one not dressed up

I think one of the issues with schools is their apparent narcissism.

These things are great BUT they assume that the school thing, and your child who is currently involved in this initiative, is your one and only priority in everyday life.

It's not the case for most families. There are other kids, work, time contraints, distance, disabilities...it's not very inclusive for a start.

My y6er is doing cycling proficiency this week. He does know how to ride a bike, but he is dyspraxic, and fell off on the first road session, bringing the instructor down with him.

I did wonder about putting 'this child will fall off' on the acceptance form but didn't, and now I think perhaps I ought to have done.

We have been trying to configure a bicycle in the boot for several days now and did end up cycling en famille yesterday. But I have got so much else to do as well. It's such a faff when you HAVE to do it.

But, you know, if schools don't join in these things then they have parents complaining that they don't do them. They can't win.

How steep is this hill though? We're in a hilly area, and the children have learnt to treat the hills with respect on scooters. You do get the odd child falling off, but it's more often catching the wheel in a dip on a flat bit than falling off on the slope.

I always started when they were smaller having one hand on the handle as they push themselves along, which keeps them going at a slow pace down hill and gives them a slight pull uphill.

And if it's go on wheels week, does a car count?

excellent, according to that site the only schools in my area that are taking part are schools that are so oversubscribed that all their students practically live at the bottom of the playground anyway.

The prizes the school can get are pretty rubbish too.

I spoke to DD's teacher today. She said we didn't have to do it, but could DD perhaps scooter too school and not back. She did ask me just to carry the scooter up anyway which I thought was a bit odd, but I guess they would then count that as DD having scootered

Apparently its a competition between the local schools to see who gets the best result Not sure what the prize is.

I think you just need to apply some logic OP. Obviously the school are not asking you let your 5 year old ride her scooter head first down a hill so she falls over. You as the parent can ask her to come off the scooter on the down hill bit or go down with one foot tapping the floor to slow the scooter down.