At what age is it ok??

DH is getting a motorbike. I made it clear to him yesterday that when he does get it, The boys are NOT ALLOWED AT ALL on the back not even on the driveway. DH had a bit of a laugh at me, which I think is because when his parent visit I lay down the same rule with them about being ontheir bike. For good reason too because while I was at work once, DH & FIL let Evan sit on the back of FIL's bike while he took it from the front yard to the driveway (we had parked in on the grass) and HE DROPED THE BIKE! Evan was ok & it happened because he was moving so slow. They all thought it was ok, but what if it had fell on Evan? I wasn't impressed.

Anyway DH said That when he is 6 he can get on the back. I said NO WAY! Evan will 5 in August, no way will he be ok to be on the back of a bike in another 18 months. Personally I don't think a child should be on the back of bike till at least 10, and I think even 10 is too young really but am allowing for the fact I am probably being over protective.

What do others think?

I agree atleast 10. They need to be relatively tall enough iykwim?

I was on my dads bike at 5 or so for short trips. That being said, the only bike my kids'll be getting on is a dirt bike suitable for their age.

ETA I don't think I'd let my 10yr old daughter on the back of a bike. There's too many idiots on the road.

No road bikes but my nephew rides a small dirt bike and has done since he was 5. He is still hesitant and only rides in the house paddock with supervision. Knowing how to be a passenger on a roadbike takes practice and maturity that does not exist at 6. Maybe 10 but it would depend on the child (and whether they had ridden a pushbike / motorbike before for the balance aspect).

I grew up around motorbikes and Corey has always had one too. My brother and sister and I were always on the front of dads bike with him sitting behind us for trips around our yard from when we were little kids, but out on the road we were at least 12yr old. You have to be able to reach the foot pegs. Not sure of the actual 'legal age' though.

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You have to be able to reach the foot pegs.

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thats what I was trying to say! :D

I don't even agree with kids on dirt bikes I seen my brother go through a barbed wire fence when he was little.
Growing up my little brother had a bike & we use to go to dirt bike tracks alot. But its not something I would do with my kids.

Four wheelers are a great compromise.

My sister managed to fall off a 4 wheeler too!!!! Great for flat roads but more dangerous on inclines.

There are risks in everything and you have to weigh up what ones you are prepared to take with your children. Some of the things we did as kids we don't want our own children to do and yet we survived (at times I'm not sure how though). Make the decision you (and DH) can live with.

I hope I don't have a kid who wants to buy a bike at 18! I won't be able to stop him (or her!) but I'll want to! I hate mbikes (road bikes I mean), I just know too many people who have had nasty accidents.

In answer to your question FJ, I agree that 6 is too young. I would be thinking more along the lines of teenage years, maybe 12? Is there an actual legal limit? Maybe find out what it is, and present that to DH as the age you're happy with :dunno:

I think whenever you can get a full-face road helmet (not a dirt bike one as IMO they are not really suitable for the road) to fit, and he can reach the footpegs.

I've been riding for 10 years now, and the bikes are just getting so powerful... just a small twist of the throttle and it may well be too much for a littlie to hang on tight enough.

But I'm all for starting littlies on PeeWees and the like in a safe off-road environment! All the riders of the future must start somewhere.

Four wheelers, from my experience, are even more dangerous - it is too easy to get trapped under them if they flip/tip.

My godfather was a member of a very large bike gang, I remember having short rides on his & other bikes from around 6 years old I think. He has since left the club, but has always had Harleys since I can remember. He used to ride from our place to his (about 45mins) with his 7 year old son on the back. The scariest thing was if it was getting towards evening & Ben was getting tired, he'd start to doze off - can you imagine, falling asleep on a Harley LOL! So as soon as my godfather felt his grip loosen he'd pull over & put him on in front.

ETA: just googled & it says there is no legal age, the only requirement is that they can reach the foot pegs & must wear a helmet.

My boys are 3 and 4>

DH takes the eldest on the front of his harley round the block, but Thjomas knows he has to have jeans, long sleeved shirt, boots and helmet to be allowed for his 2 minute joy ride.

the youngest is too scared of the harley but rides his pee wee 50 as it has training wheels and we can hand wind the speed down to a minimum with a screw driver. There was no way in the world they would ride a dirt bike at this age without me being able to catch up with it! the good side is it gives us all a great family time and the boys have a lot more confidence and are learning about safety and responsiblity, sharing and loooking after each other. plus my heart melts when i see my 3 year old who is small for his age in full dirt bike gear.....

But i agree they are not going on the back of a roadbike of any type until they are AT LEAST 10.

Yep, quad bikes (4 wheelers) are so easy to flip. Far more dangerous than a normal bike.

My DD has been on my DH's bike for... gee, just about as long as I can remember. I know to start with she didn't like the noise when she was very little - 1-3 maybe, but since she was 3.5-ish she used to ride around the court we live in infront of DH between him and the tank. This is the safest spot for little 'treat' rides.

Since she was about 7 or 8 she has been out with DH on the road. She wears a proper helmet, jacket, boots, gloves - the works. Yes I still worry but it's in the family blood - she was bound to want to be on the bike. She's even done the MRA Toy Run - on DH's bike from the city to Williamstown over the Bolte and Westgate Bridges - she had a ball amongst the 100's of riders.

And yes, she has been on the bike when it's gone down - fallen/hit the ground. Fortunately it was up at our local shopping centre and the bike was stationary and some loser wasn't looking. Neither DH nor DD were hurt but it did give her a fright. She still, however enjoys going on the bike, and knows the risks, as do we.

Interesting topic as dh loves bikes!!

I don't think I'd be comfortable my kids on road bikes however if it was for a just a little joyride on quiet roads I suppose that would be ok!

With dirtbikes I don't think I'll have a choice - dh wants Louis to have one asap!! I've said he should be able to ride a push bike first! hehe.
Sonya - that sounds like a great idea with the training wheels and adjusting the power...I'll have to talk to dh about that!
Although with Louis only being 16m we've got a while before we have to worry! hehehe.

DH and I have talked about this as he rides. He says 12 or 13, when they are old enough to cope with the injuries in the event of a crash (just to be on the safe side) No matter how good the rider is, its the other idiots on the road you have to watch out for. DD#1 has ridden with DH and wears full gear but its only been in the past year or two, prior to that he's refused as she was too young.

We have a quad bike that the big girls can do quite compentently. They dont go very fast though and they wear helmets and boots every time. Livvy is too young and small at 8 to go on it by herself. I personally think 6 is waaaaay too young.

Jo

I am glad every one seems to agree that 6 is too young. DH probably did mean just around the block joy rides but still NO WAY. I am the same about letting them sit in the front seat of the car while he pulls out of the driveway when moving the car to mow. yes I understand that the likely hood of an accident in our drive way is unlikely but I don't want any of the kids to think its ok EVER to sit in the front. I don't want to hear the arguments of "Daddy lets me". I can see the same thing happening if they are allowed little joy rides.

I can't imagine I'd ever want to let DS on a bike! Maybe teenage years? High school age?

My husband has just bought a quad bike for my sons 9th birthday, i was really against it but think thats maybe because i don;t know how to have fun these days and worry about risks too much.

I really hate the idea of them having anythng to do with motorbikes though, in one summer 3 of my then boyfriends friends died in bike accidents, that was really too much to handle.

Taz

I remember my Dad used to take me on the front of his bike on the petrol tank when I was really young and then on the back when I was a bit older and it was such a treat. DH sold his bike when my Yasin bump got to a size that I couldn't sit behind him comfortably any more but if he still had it I would let him take Yasin and Imran for little joy rides on it because I loved it so when I was a child. Of course there are risks in it but I've always been one for risky behaviour lol. I geuss we all have our comfort zones and if it's not within your comfort zone then it's ok to put your foot down.

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i was really against it but think thats maybe because i don;t know how to have fun these days and worry about risks too much.

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Thats so me! I'm trying to change that at the moment, lol. Trying to let loose a little.

Oh my gosh ...I must be a nervous nancy as I would say never hehe...But I have no bike riders in the family. I think though if I did I would be saying 13 ..kinda like a welcome to being a teenager thing.

Yep 10 sounds good to me. My DD is 13 and she wants to get a motor bike and im saying no no no no. Then she says to DH can I. He said cant afford to get one. Then DD says if we could can I and he says yes. Hmmmm. She wants a trail bike because the boys up the road who she hangs out with have them. She wants to go to the bike track and ride with them. Awwwww sheesh...No I dont want her too....

Boys 10 but hmmm dont know about girls. thought id add that...lol

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i was really against it but think thats maybe because i don;t know how to have fun these days and worry about risks too much.

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That is also so me, but I had to change pretty quickly as DH started taking Matthew on the farm bike from about 10 months of age, now at 22 months he absolutely loves it and Mummy still worries, he`s also been on the quad a couple of times.

DH has Matthew sitting in front of him and hooks his own legs over the top off Matthew`s so Matthew is quite safe and he always ridea the bike slowly.

I`ve probably put my life on the line here saying this.

As for a road bike, DH has only just taken DSS#1 out on it recently and he`s nearly 14, he didn`t think he was old enough before now to contemplate taking him.

Personally I don't like two wheeled motorbikes of any type...they are too dangerous... That said, I grew up on bikes of all sorts from a VERY young age since my dad is a huge bike lover (and later bought a Honda shop of his own). I have never been into motorbikes much yet I love go-karts and race cars etc. ;)

Anyway, I will not let Riley be on a motorbike at such a young age...although I don't know how successful I'll be with that one since my dad will surely sneak him on for a ride at some stage. I think that to ride a pee-wee 50 or similar under 10 years old is okay if they have the appropriate safety gear and if the bike won't go too fast (ie rev-limited) & the child must be 'mature' enough to ride too...argh, I'm in 2 minds about it because of my upbringing!!!

PS My dad is already building Riley a go-kart of his own...yikes! Apparently it will go very slow but I'll still have to check it out before he'll be allowed in it...but I do think that learning to ride/drive at a young age is a good thing for later down the track...

Well it looks as though DH wants to get a postie bike (PSML!) so there would be no room to safely have any of the kids on it so problem solved!

LOL I can't believe he wants to ride a postie bike hehehe

Hehe, we used to ride on the back of the postie bikes when we were kids...I don't know if they still have them but they used to have a luggage carrier thing on the back (a flat bit) that we would sit on... ;) Very naughty!

(how on earth did we all survive childhood? I'm even scared to let someone carry Riley while walking around?!! Haha!)

Even found a sticker that says "If I am going to hell, I am going on a Postie"

DH is a postie, he wants a postie bike to race LOL They actually have postie bike racing believe it or not.

I know, DH was telling me about it. There is a website about it too.