Scooter safety and stocking fillers

They stand out right?  My kids and the Mini and Maxi Micro scooters that is.   They've become the must have mode of transport for little ones, as you can see from the shot of the school scooter car park.

We're just about making it home from school before it gets very dusky. We scoot along, and across, some very busy roads.  So I kitted out their scooters with lights, and made them sport UV vests.  Be safe, be seen.

Nothing replaces vigilance, keeping them close to me and teaching road safety of course. I see parents chatting on their mobiles while their kids are scooting off alone, which worries me, kids on scooters need constant supervision.  Sadly there are motorists who think it's okay to undertake on the pavement at 20mph, and old ladies who don't look before reversing out of their drives.  All the more reason to make sure children are visible.

The best bit is kids this age think safety stuff is cool, as you can see from the pics, it's like being a real life Bob the Builder on his way to work, or having a proper car.  The torches have strobe or constant light and are visible up to 6oom. 

Mini and Maxi Micros

L is five and a bit so we've upgraded to the Maxi-micro, it's recommended for 6-12 year olds, but she's tall for her age and seems very at home on it.  She tried with a two wheeler but it was very slow going with some falls, so this seems like the perfect solution which she's really confident with.  I love the fact the handlebars extend, so the scooter can be used by a child up to age 12.  It's a big outlay initially at £92.95, but a great investment.

So newly 3yo G finally got his hands on L's old blue Mini Micro.  She was loving blue when she was 3, which meant we dodged pink, but if you are looking to change a scooter colour or repair a broken deck you can now get a new one from £17.95.  Great too if you want to pass a hand me down as a new scooter. 

There are loads of great stocking fillers on the Micro Scooter website, here's my top picks:

Frog Light Strobe by Knog. £9.99.  Choice of 10 colours.  Steady or flashing light.  Visible up to 600 metres. Battery life 80 hours flashing.  Water resistant, flexible silicone, easy release feature.

Wow wow reflective jacket.  High visibility in pink, orange, green and yellow.  £9.95.  Medium or large.

 For pulling tired scooters (and their riders) home or keeping little scooters close.  £6.99 in a range of colours.

 Mini Micro Bag. £14.95.  Suitable from 3 years.  In green, blue pink and neon (above)

XLC Alloy Mini Bell.  Small bell with big attitude. £4.95

Safety helmet in four sizes and various colours and patterns.  £17.95

Disco Dot bottle holder and mount.  £9.99.  Fits all scooters.  

Reflective fun stickers.  £4.99

For more details on these accessories visit the Micro-Scooter site, or see my Scoot n' Pull post.

Safety notice: Scooting in the dark is not recommended by Micro Scooters.

This is a sponsored post, I opted to review a Be Safe Be Seen kit.

Surviving the school run with a toddler

'Mummy pull!',  'I do it my own', helping sis home from school, nice belt.

How free range should a 2/3 year old be?  I ask myself that a lot.  I read something recently that suggested not as much as my boy is, but I think once you leave the buggy behind it's hard to go back.

We have done the school run, with Miss L for a whole six days now.  The main problem is keeping nearly 3yo Mr G happy.  I see lots of kids his age sat in buggies, but having glimpsed the freedom to roam offered to his big sister, he will not be restrained. The trusty old McLaren buggy was retired some months back, after an afternoon of triumphant escape acts in the city centre.  My boy would give Houdini a run for his money.

He loves the balance bike and scooter, and he will go a long way on them.  But he sometimes runs out of steam part way home and I end up carrying him, the scooter, Miss L's book bag, a pile of coats...as I wrote last week, I am my mother's child, fully capable of producing school run scenes resembling Quentin Blake illustrations.

I found a great solution to this recently, the Scoot'nPull.  I threatened to invent one a few years ago, but I didn't, and another mum did, look, here she is:

It's a funky strap in a range of great colours, that attaches to the scooter so you can pull it.  It was surprisingly effortless to pull him along.  The hand loop also fits round the back wheel to make a carry strap, great to free up a hand or hang over the edge of a pushchair.

We also found it really useful for stopping the boy wonder from scooting off too fast and to keep him close by on busy roads or in crowded areas where his need for speed terrifies me.  I feel some parents let their kids go way too fast, too young, next to major roads on these things.  I can't bear it.  But this way he can scoot or balance bike along while I talk to Miss L about her day.

How free range are your kids? When did your say goodbye to the buggy? Any tips for keeping little ones in check through the school run?

Giveaway

If you have a boy or girl wonder that needs tethering, or yanking home, I have some Scoot n' Pull's to give away.  UK entries only.  Please leave a comment below and make sure you leave your twitter or blog contact details.  Or you can buy one at the bargain price of £6.99 here.