Photo: against the tide / Flickr

The micro scooter is a great option for kids – it’s fun, easily portable, and encourages your children to get active and fit. Make sure that you know how your children should be using their scooters safely to avoid injury and focus on having some outdoor fun.

Wear a helmet

If your child falls on his or her micro scooter, this’ll be the best option for head protection. Make sure you get a lightweight helmet that won’t spoil the fun, and that it fits snugly. If kids don’t want to wear a helmet, try to reason with older kids and explain the dangers of riding without one, and persuade the younger ones that it adds to the fun of racing around on a micro scooter.

Stay visible

If your child is riding a micro scooter on the road, make sure that he or she is visible to traffic – that means wearing bright and light-coloured clothing, especially as evening approaches. If you’re happy letting the kids play on their scooters at night, get them to wear something reflective or glow-in-the dark.

Practice makes perfect

If your child has just got a new scooter, make sure that she or he gets some practice in the backyard or close to home before riding it around the neighbourhood and to friends’ houses. Remind them that scooters are for use on paths and pavements, not the road, and explain that they need to look out for the safety of others, too, by avoiding pedestrians and cyclists.

Safety in numbers

If your child is riding a scooter away from home, it’s always safer as a group activity for friends and siblings – that way, if something does go wrong there’ll be someone around to help, or call a parent. Scooters give your kids more independence, and using them correctly will soon teach them more responsibility, too.