any recommendations on which scooter to start with for my 3 year old?

[firemaiden]

I want to buy a 3 wheel scooter for my 3 year old. Any advice on where to buy it or which model to buy? Should I have 2 wheels at the back or the front or doesn't it matter?

Boy or Girl ? dd has the chunky 3 wheel Disney Princess scooter with one wheel at front and t hsaped handle bar, which she has loved . The ones with 2 wheels up front have more of a stick to steer them and go v. fast, not for the faint hearted mum !

Just bought this one for DD1's fourth birthday:

scooter

and a matching one for her sister (5.5). It comes in blue or pink, is well made (DH, an engineer, approved), sturdy and easy for a young child to manage. It would definitely be small enough for a 3 year old - DD2 is tiny, closer in size to a 2yo than a 4 yo. After a few days, DD2 is still struggling a bit to steer it downhill but is fine going uphill. Her sister has 'got it'. A big hit.

Issymum, I see you have gone for the 2-wheels-at-the-front model. In light of LIZS's comment, is it ok or too fast? Ds is keen but a bit nervous!!

bump - anyone else have views?

DD got this one for her 4th birthday.

tri-wheel scooter

We tried a few of her friends ones out, the Disney Princess ones were really heavy to use and dont fold down. They are very sturdy but I wanted something more compact that she could ride on to school or the park but would fold up easilt and pop onto the pushchair when she's had enough. I did opt for the three wheeled scooter, 2 whells at the back, for a bit of extra stability. And this one is suitable from 3 years (I always make her wear her helmet too) Oh and it has flashing lights! (small children are SO easy to please!)

Hmmm! I guess they do go quite fast but the triangular platform makes them seem quite stable.

My dd has the same one as Issymums dd. It is really nice and I think much easier to balance on due to the two wheels being in the front. I would add a bit of a warning though. As the two wheels are in the front, it is more likely to tip over the front if the pavements are uneven. No problem if scootering in the park and on even pavements- it's only really happened once to my dd, but something to be careful about.

I like the look of the new three wheel scooter and it has the added bonus that it folds. See below -

this

thanks. The pavements on the way to the park are really uneven so might go for a version with 2 wheels at the back to start off with anyway.

my ds age 3 has the same scooter as his sisters, which is a two wheeled one the same as most school kids have. It wouldn't have occurred to me to buy him one like it and would have gone for something more toddler-ish, but he borrowed his sisters when she got one and was off - being as they are only £10 and he won't grown out of it for years and years, it seemed a great choice.

DS has a very similar one to Issymum. I reckon it is perfect for a 3 yr old and has the added bonus of being very light and made of plastic. The version DS has has a removable joystick as well - bobbie scooter . The aluminium and metal ones hurt like ###@@@! if you whack your shins with them, and having two wheels behind mean they are more likely to hit themselves in the shins (at least with the really big 3-wheelers like those Bob and Disney Princess ones). The two wheels at the front makes them very nimble, as you steer by leaning on the joystick. They only go as fast as the kid pushes IKYIM and so perfectly OK for flat-tish ground - downhill they would need to use the brake but we live in London so not a problem really!