Unsupervised children on scooters

My grandchildren scoot to school all wearing helmets . I’ve noticed not all of the little ones wear headgear, they don’t however take them into supermarkets. Just scoot to school and home living quite near to the school. All their friends do the same, what I do sometimes see though is a big child 10 years old having a lift to school sitting on his mums lap going quite a speed on a mobility scooter, his mum drops him off and proceeds to the town about her business

When my two youngest GSs used to ride their scooters to and from school, their mum made it a rule that they must stop at each lamp post and wait for her to catch up with them. That way she could keep an eye on them and make sure they weren't being a nuisance to other pedestrians. Nowadays, they're at secondary school and go to and fro on their bikes.

I was in a very small and very crowded branch of Tiger before Christmas and a father was allowing his two kids to use their scooters. They were a bloody nuisance and he was an inconsiderate idiot.

Riding scooters on the pavement, or in the park, is quite acceptable where I'm concerned - as long as the child understands about steering away from other people.

The BIG problem for me is when they're ridden in supermarkets - bikes, roller skates/blades, scooters, 'heelie-wheelies' and footballs should all be banned!

The Security Guards should challenge the parents and children as they enter the store - PLUS there should be announcements made over the Tannoy System to remind parents/children about the safety aspect. We know that the CCTV is monitored - so whoever is doing that, could also be the person to make the announcement.

Most of us did the above, but it would not enter our head to do it in a shop, cafe,supermarket.
I could imagine the outcry if we did. Its lazy parenting and indulging the little darlings, when a firm No should suffice. Also if you you are shopping why let then take the things. On this occasion I do think it is the parents fault.

(1) I'm more critical of the parents than of the children.
(2) When we were children, none of us would have been allowed to skate or ride bicycles inside supermarkets or on tube platforms!
(3) sarahellenwhitney - I do report them if I can find a staff member.

HOODIES not goodies!

Oh I find it so frustrating too! Not quite the same scenario as I live in a rural location, and what happens here is they ride these things on roads with no pavements, few streetlights, in the dark wearing black goodies! Have they got a ruddy death wish? They zoom in and out of the traffic in front of you and you just cannot see them! When they take these things out, and do not come home until after dark, what exactly do their parents think they are doing? I would be horrified if I thought my GC would end up doing the same at some point - I am all for having fun but this is so dangerous! I also bet if one were to be hit by a car doing less than 30mph (or more as they do sometimes hare around the village - usually young drivers too) then that would of course no doubt be the driver's fault?

Not many scooters about when we were children, but every boy and his dog had some sort of bogie cart. Made from orange boxes and old pram wheels, with a bit of string for steering they provided boys (and hardy girls) with many hours of fun and no shortage of skinned knees and banged heads.

On the other hand -one of my best memories is being on a `train ` of go- carts speeding down a steep road carrying all the children in the area that were old enough(8 in my case).It was the most exhilarating experience of my young life .We all rolled off onto a patch of grass at the bottom of the hill-before it went on the road.
I vaguely remember that the boy,who made the train, being yelled at by his parents,but it was great fun. Thanks to him for that.

Aepgirl, yes, mobility scooters are a hazard. My friend's mother, elderly herself, was knocked down (from behind) by one on the pavement. She's had knee problems ever since. Her 'crime' was to change direction when walking, to look in a shop window. The speeding scooter driver had no time to avoid her!

In a coffee shop a small boy scooted quickly around,back and forward where people were buying and carrying hot drinks.
He was age between 2 1/2 -3 years old .
When a someone said to the mum,`excuse me,your little boy has scooted over there` she said !t`s ok,he is looking for his grandma` grandma came back,with a full tray of not drinks,and no boy.
She then was rushing around looking for him,he was lucky not to get burnt.
Dangerous for him and there were several older frail people in there who were also at risk
What surprised me was the fact none of the staff commented or advised the child or the family.

I rode a bike, a scooter, and had roller skates. I used them all at speed. I too think it is good for children to get exercise, and also have a element of risk, I went too fast on my roller skates fell badly and had very grazed knees. These were washed and I was told to be more careful.
I feel children today should experience what I did, BUT they should never ever be ridden in shops. I would not have dared done this.

We've bought micro scooters for presents for both grandchildren on various birthdays. They are such super toys, nothing around like that when we were young. The closest I had were cumbersome roller skates. I've taken gc to the park on them, but wouldn't want to take them out on a street.

I have seen a couple of kids careering around supermarkets on them, on one occasion, the manager took the initiative and told the mother, if her child didn't get off it, they'd have to leave. He was right, it isn't the place. Far hairier than that, when my husband and I were out shopping ground floor in a local department store, a very small child on scooter came whizzing past, no parent around, child making towards automatic doors, outside was a main road, we had to stop her we had no choice, a shop assistant came to our aid. We waited a good few minutes before her mother came along It was a very alarming situation.

Recently I was in the food hall of M&S, it was very busy indeed and a small child came whizzing past me from behind on a tricycle.

DH relies on me totally, I do everything, he couldn't possibly go out shopping if I were out of action so I'm concerned about:

Cyclists on pavements coming up behind me or round blind corners, usually at top speed. Have had so many near misses. Was nearly hit today by a fast cyclist when I was crossing with the green man.

Children on scooters and bikes on the pavement going to the local primary school that I encounter every morning.

Just an updated issue I think - I remember being told off for roller skating in the street, riding our bicycles (on the road mind), we also had scooters. I think the difference is we would never have been allowed to use them actually in a shop. I have had more problems to be fair with people using mobility scooters in shops - they often seem to think they should have priority in the aisles and, if you dare ask them if they could move a little so you can reach a shelf you get glared or tutted at!

Iam your post brings back memories.
I used to take our children to a clay quarry near us where there was a big pond. Near Hull. They made a raft and they went out on it many times. Once they all fell in and had bad diarrheia the next day.
I took paper and matches and made a fire where we baked potatoes.
Anyway, with the scooters - we see them here a lot, even on the very busy urban streets. Children need exercise and adventure but the poor kids are limited now.

Our local Asda has an escalator. Children from the local secondary school use it as a short cut to get home. It's not unusual to see the boys riding up the escalators on scooters or even bicycles. I can't think why the shop assistants don't tell them off.

I dont know about children on scooters, but these electric scooters for adults are even worse, they come along side without any warning on the pavement.When the battery runs down they just leave it where they are, pavement or not, they are lethal for other pedestrians, and for people who are partially sighted, they are an absolute danger.Most of these riders do have safety helmets, but bump into someone who hasnt is a different story.Adults are no better than children in these situations.

YANBU I feel stores especially should have signs stating No Scooters, Balls (yes I have encountered football in the aisles) No Roller Blades. Or just a polite notice inviting customers to walk round the store. Those with the need to use disability aids and pushchairs are of course included in this invitation. You are right when saying adults in charge are usually chatting or on their phone chatting/texting. The lack of common sense and courtesy is rampant nowadays.

It is young men(in their twenties) on skateboards who bother me, frequently skating in the middle of the road or zigzagging from pavement to road and back, ignoring the traffic. Isn't it rather childish?

silverlining48, that's a good idea. We were so free weren't we in comparison with children now. I can't help feeling that our mental health was so much better because we were outside, being physically active so much of the time

Iam have you thought of writing some of this down fir your children and grandchildren? Its all so different now isnt it?
We chikdren used to spend hours making camps in the woods, with no adult supervision.

I'm sorry, should have edited that trip through my early high school days. It's far too long.

The comments about home made buggies and scooters reminded me that when we lived on the coast, we made rafts. One summer when I was about 12 or 13 we had a girls v boys competition to see who could make the best raft, that didn't sink first. We knew the rafts would sink because we'd been trying together to build one that didn't. We went to local garages and bagged old oil drums, bits of planks from wood making places and rope was probably taken from mum's washing line, we'd no money to buy any. Maybe we begged it like we did everything else. Our mothers were often near the big beach paddling pool that filled with water when the tide came in, so they were able to watch the fun. This was the north west resort where the sea comes in faster than a horse can gallop. Plus sinking sand. We had this drummed into us from an early age so we must have had a bit of sense. It was a glorious summer holidays from school with this focus on raft building, with boys n girls playing together. We were so lucky.

The next Big Thing was Mischief Night (yes, doors knocked, gates tied together) followed by bonfire night. Again groups of us roaming our area asking for any wood, old chairs etc people didn't want, building the fire. Some dad's must have arrived to check it out, guys were made with help from mums.

We also rode ponies without helmets, something I'd never allow my children to do. Of course, there was no money for proper kit so we rode in what we had. We cycled 10 miles for picnics as we got older.

My grandchildren have much more material stuff than we could have dreamt of. They're taken to soft play areas, small animal zoo's, petting farms, the cinema, shows at theatres. They're lucky to be in loving families but they can't run wild like we did.