Should I or should I not let my deaf child cycle on the road?

[OverProtectiveMum]

dd is 10. she is borderline severe/profoundly deaf and wears hearing aids. she speaks well and does not sign.
she has never been prevented from doing anything because of her disability but i am having severe reservations about letting her cycle on the roads (as oppose to just playing with friends) as i do not think it is safe.
we live on a fairly quiet estate, she has been able to ride a bike since she was 4 and i have no problem with her playing out on her bike close to home.
she will be going to secondary school a half hour walk away crossing main roads next year and i have reservations about that too...am i being majorly over protective or do i have legitimate safety concerns?

I would say legitimate concerns tbh

You need to be completely aware of everything around you, and it sounds like she won't be - a bit like people who cycle with ipods on.

thank you! am wondering whether to give her teacher of the deaf a ring and discuss it with her? or would this be ott?

sorry did not mean to sound so triumphant but this has been really bugging me and i really did not know if i was being silly or not

It might be a good idea to chat with her - I have no experience, and I feel sure she'll understand you asking. It must feel horrible to want her to be fine with it, but to feel in your heart she isn't. She will be able to put your mind at rest that you are doing the right thing, more than an random stranger

I am Dutch originally so have more experience with cycling than with deafness so if my post does not help just ignore.

I think you have legitimate concerns, but I am not sure not letting her cycle in the roads is the answer.

If she is otherwise responsible she may just need training.

You need to make sure she looks looks looks

Looks behind her before she changes direction in any way
She may have to get off her bike when crossing roads, and be very careful to look rlr before crossing

Am I naive to think she is aware of her limitations? You know her best. Good luck deciding.

that is the trouble - she doesn't look/take more care etc as she just doesn't have the maturity to realise that she needs to do that. because she's never been able to hear, she just doesn't realise that she is more at risk than her peers. i can see her walking home with friends, they all run across the road without looking (ok, it is a very quiet road) - if a car were to zoom out of nowhere, they would hear it - she wouldn't.

think i will speak to the teacher, just wanted an impartial view of whether i was being daft or not.

thank you

Def not over-protective, no

Would mirrors on her handlebars help? You'd need to teach her how to use them of course...

And might the trip to school have lollipops on the main roads? Have you driven the route she'd walk on school morning/afternoon?

I would ask the teacher if she knows of any local schemes for teaching cycling proficiency which are either designed for deaf children or have experience of meeting their needs.

I've just had a quick look via Google and it looks as though a few places offer this but obviously a lot will depend on whereabouts you live. Another option is that if there are a few of you in the same position you might be able to organise something together.

that is an excellent idea about cycling proficency! they do it at school in y6 but because she needs to have extra awareness IYSWIM i'm not sure how helpful it will be.

will google that, thanks!
the route tbh is not that bad, there are a lot of roads to cross but as long as she crosses in the right place there are traffic lights etc. no lollipop ladies where we live !

It's legitimate worries my mum had with me (visually impaired). Her worries for me though were buses as well as roads. So I had whats called mobility training where I was taught how to catch a bus, safe stops, safe ways to cross roads etc. It's given me so much independaence, so you should see if something similar can be done.

mirrors.Then she'll be better off than those idiots who cycle listening to music.