Scooters Help Develop Motor Skills
Any activity that involves a toddler using their body in unique ways can be a tool to help them develop stronger and more coordinated motor skills.
Somewhere along the way, toddler scooters became just as popular with kids as bikes, trikes, and ride-on vehicles—and, to be fair, they became popular with adults, too! If your
toddler doesn’t already have a scooter, they might be asking you for one.
Unless you have specific safety-related concerns, you might want to consider their request. Toddler-safe scooters aren’t just a fun way to log some outdoor activity time, they’re also
useful for building strong motor skills and a sense of independence.
Here are all the ways a scooter can be great for your toddler—and how to keep them safe while using it.
Toddler Scooters Provide Exercise
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only about 24% of kids between the ages of 6 and 17 are getting the recommended 60 minutes of physical
activity every day.1 As a result, the number of kids with obesity, diabetes, and other weight-related conditions is rising.
Encouraging your kids to give their hearts a workout and move their bodies every day is important, but not always easy in our digitally-tempting world of TVs, computers, and
tablets. Enter the toddler scooter, which is a natural way to limit screen time.
Nothing is more enticing to a little kid than an invitation to go outside and ride their scooter—even if it’s just up and down your driveway or the sidewalk in front of your house. In
doing so, you’ll have helped your child get some all-important exercise—but they won’t think of it that way. To them, it just feels like fun.
Scooters Help Develop Motor Skills
Learning to ride a scooter uses both fine and gross motor skills. Your child will have to push off the ground with their legs, hold their back steady and straight, and grip the handlebar
of the scooter.
Any activity that involves a toddler using their body in unique ways can be a tool to help them develop stronger and more coordinated motor skills. They’ll go on to use these skills in
other ways, like playing sports, doing chores, building more sophisticated block towers, and even developing their handwriting.
Toddler Scooters Boost Confidence
How many times have you heard your toddler say, “I can’t put on my shoes,” “I can’t change my shirt,” or, “I can’t clean up my toys by myself?” Maybe you have even heard all three.
While there are many things toddlers can do, there are still dozens of everyday things they can’t—or, at least things they think they can’t. Sometimes, all your child needs is a dose
of self-confidence to see they can do “big kid” things—and riding a scooter independently might be the first step in realizing just how capable they are.
By the time your toddler has mastered the art of riding their scooter around the block with you following behind them, they might become more self-sufficient with other tasks, too,
like getting themselves dressed or pouring their cereal in the morning.
Scooters Help Build Balance
It’s not uncommon for toddlers to fall because they’re still understanding their center of gravity and working out the whole balance thing. But a scooter is a perfect way to practice
holding their bodies up straight while performing other tasks.
Riding a scooter involves keeping it upright while steering, coordinating hand-eye movements, and keeping an eye on the surroundings. They also will need to dodge obstacles and
practice braking. All of these things will help them build their balance.
Toodler Scooters Gets Them Outside
Fresh air is good for all of us, kids included. Studies show that kids who spend time outdoors sleep better, feel happier, and have stronger executive functioning skills. They may
also benefit from higher levels of vitamin D and improved concentration.2 Some kids even have better vision as a result of being outside.
Look to a kid’s scooter as a great way to get your child outside. Scooters can be so fun that they may even be asking you if they can go outside and ride around. Plus, scooters tend
to be portable so you can toss one in the back of your car when visiting family or going to the park.
Scooters Ready Them for Bike Riding
While some of the skills needed to ride a scooter are different than a bike, just as many are the same, too. Not only will your child need a little confidence to control the scooter—or
a bike in the future—but they also will need balance, hand-eye coordination, and gross and fine motor skills.
Most kids learn to ride a tricycle around 3 years of age and a bike between 4 and 7 years old.4 Allowing your child to learn balance, coordination, and control with a scooter, gives
them a head start in developing foundational bike riding skills.
How to Keep Them Safe
While you want your toddler to have fun and reap the benefits of scooter riding, it’s just as important to keep them safe. Here are some safety tips that you should follow every time
your toddler gets on their scooter.
Have them wear a helmet
Kids’ helmets come in a wide variety of sizes, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding one that fits your child. The helmet should fit snugly, sit low on your child’s forehead, and not be
tipped back. You also should secure any straps and buckles. If the helmet does not fit snugly, you can use sizing pads, if needed, to adjust the helmet to your child’s head.5
Research shows that many kids do not wear helmets, especially as they get older. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that only 42% of kids ages 5 to 17 always wear a
helmet when bike riding and 31% never wear a helmet. To encourage your child to wear a helmet—and make it a habit—allow them to decorate and personalize their helmet.6
Consider knee and elbow pads
Falls from a scooter are inevitable. Depending on where your child will be riding, how skilled they are, and how fast they could end up going, you and your kiddo may feel better
knowing that these falls will be cushioned by protective gear.
You also can avoid some extra bumps, bruises, scratches—and possibly even fractures—by using elbow and knee pads. Plus, wearing protective gear creates good habits for the
future, when they level up to more challenging rides like skateboards or snowboards.
Teach them road safety
Your child may not know that red means stop and green means go. They also may not know that those striped lines in the road are a crosswalk for pedestrians, cyclists, and, yes,
other scooter riders.
Spend some time showing your child the rules of the road the first time you go out. You also could consider buying a picture book or handy poster and frequently go over the rules.
Give them the right footwear
Kids should generally wear sneakers or at least some kind of flexible, closed-toe shoe before getting on a scooter. These shoes should also be well-fitting so they don’t slip off or
get caught in anything.
If their shoes have laces, make sure the laces are secured tightly. If possible, you could even tuck them into the sneakers so they don’t get tangled.
Review the rules before you go out
The rules from one family to the next may vary, but whatever yours are, make sure you talk about them before heading out. You can quickly review them or, better yet, ask your
child to tell you the rules so you know they’re aware of them.
If your child breaks or ignores an important safety rule—like not wearing a helmet—have a plan for addressing it. For instance, one warning to address the issue and then you go
back inside or home if it happens again.
Post time: Dec-13-2024
