Should this be encouraged

[Biker Biggles]

A slightly different angle is to consider the alternatives.We all know biking can be dangerous and thats why you are potentially falling out with your daughter,but oft overlooked is how dangerous car use is for this age group.I lose track of the number of serious and fatal CAR crashes I can recall involving late teens and early twenties occupants.

Also consider it might be safer for us lot if they end up on bikes rather than cars.

My 7 yo daughter is itching to get on my bike. She can reach the pegs but no way would I take her cos she'd fidget too much. But she keeps on about it, 'please daddy, just down the road'.

I will take her - later rather than sooner, and when she's old enough I'd far rather know that she had a bike so I could cluck and supervise than she did it behind my back. If she wanted to go bungee jumping, I'd let her. Similarly if she wanted to do a parachute jump. So why not a bike, as long as she was properly trained? I know the danger, I know what it's like to hit England hard, but I wouldn't dream of stopping her from doing something she really wanted to do. I firmly believe that you can't wrap in cotton wool for ever, and so easing kids into positions where they can make sensible, responsible and informed decisions is best.

I'm with Jonboy here...

If or when I have kids there is no way they are getting a bike whilst at home.

Once they've grown up and got responsible fine - I got my bike just after my 24th birthday. By that point I'd got over my main stupid phase. Thankfully I got over my stupid phase when driving a little Fiesta and 205. Both very forgiving and not that powerful to mess up with in the first place.

Giving someone who hasn't got overtheir stupid phase a peice of machinery that can get to daft speeds, in very short spaces of time isn't the best idea. IMHO.

I know there are a lot of people here who are younger than 24, and you may not do stupid things - but the temptation is there and most people I knew when I was that age were quite likely to give in to it (me included).

I also agree with the idea of getting a car for a few years first to get some road sense before jumping onto a bike.

Originally Posted by MavUK

I'm with Jonboy here...

If or when I have kids there is no way they are getting a bike whilst at home.

Once they've grown up and got responsible fine - I got my bike just after my 24th birthday. By that point I'd got over my main stupid phase. Thankfully I got over my stupid phase when driving a little Fiesta and 205. Both very forgiving and not that powerful to mess up with in the first place.

Giving someone who hasn't got overtheir stupid phase a peice of machinery that can get to daft speeds, in very short spaces of time isn't the best idea. IMHO.

I know there are a lot of people here who are younger than 24, and you may not do stupid things - but the temptation is there and most people I knew when I was that age were quite likely to give in to it (me included).

I also agree with the idea of getting a car for a few years first to get some road sense before jumping onto a bike.

thankfully i had got over my stupid phase by 15 after constant pub crawls from 13 and now i'm 22 (next month) i really am regretting it. anyway my point is. i was living with my parents when i was over my stupid phase. i didn't take stupid risks, and didn't show off infront of my mates. would you let your kid/kids get a bike if you thaught they honestly were over there "stupid phase" at an early age?

Originally Posted by getyerkneedown

The only way im gettin rid is if someone prys it out of my cold dead hands.

Thats exactly what she's worried about.

Don't encourage - support your daughter, and don't make it easy - getting into motorbikes isn't cheap and if she has to finance the whole thing herself it hopefully will add to her desire to avoid harm.

My dad wouldn't allow a motorbike under his roof so being fair minded he taught me to drive at 17 and gave me full access to his car - I was a nutter - it was all just too easy and I had no respect for the implications, for 12 months I was on a police watch list, I was stopped every time I went out.

Encourage, she sounds like she knows the score on biking, but as said before, getting her on a dirt bike first would be a great idea! grass is (slightly) softer! If my dad hadn't encouraged me to do my cbt on a geared bike i wouldn't have had another one as it was such a lot of fun!

She could want to do mutch worse.