Kids & motorbikes - from the news

Scientists:- People who pontificate about your health and welfare whilst
working on making a bigger, better WMD.

Theo

 

I have a ten yo grandson, now I know how granddad felt.

Theo

 

Yes, my son shows me how tolerant and patient my own father was. He's 13
tomorrow.

 

My son, that is - Dad's 65..

 

Simply put, a parent who lets their kid ride a bike of any sort for the
first time without giving them an area where they can't hurt themselves
is asking for trouble. I feel for the parents don't get me wrong but the
bottom line is that with a different location, the child is likely to
have survived and even unscathed.

I get the feeling the family has "some land" or more accurately I'd be
surprised if there wasn't a fenced off paddock suitable nearby. Either
way the Dad has to live with that, and that it could have been avoided.

Sure the bike had training wheels and was limited to 10km/h and he had a
helmet but I think everything was covered and considered *except* for
the location of the ride. Had anything else gone wrong the young lad
would likely have survived.

But :
a) Dad didn't have time to stop the bike
b) Dad didn't think to locate the ride elsewhere
c) Dad didn't avoid the embankment.
d) Dad can't run at 10km/h.
e) Dad didn't fence off the embankment or river.

It doesn't say HOW he went down there, just that he did. I expect that
there would have been some clue he was heading that way a reasonable
amount of time before the accident. We're talking 10km/h here remember.
Had there been a fence in the way I dare say the bike would not have
reached the river.

Like I said, I feel for the parents I can't imagine what they're likely
going through. The bottom line is that they created the entire problem
whether their intentions were good or not.

 

I think you'll find that had the kid ended up with brain damage
following a head clash at an under 7's soccer game, chances are this
same academic would've been out there pointing out the need for
restrictions on all team and ball sports for young children.

 

According to another report I read that included statements from the father,
he says he was running alongside his son and had restricted the speed of the
minibike. But his son still careened down an embankment and struck his head
on a submerged log.

Cheers,
Dale.

 

Jeeze; I was 12 when my father was 66. We must've skipped a generation!