Would you let your children ride a snowsled?

B

broxbourneDELETE

Guest
Well, would you?

I probably would not (but they are too young right now to even think about it).
 
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Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Snowsled? Do you mean Snowmobile :confused:

We go sledding often, but no I do not believe in allowing children on snowmobiles: they're build for adult size & adult skill/experience....

I almost got killed on a snowmobile once because my brother pushed me to go riding alone at 7 years old -- I was pitching a fit not to, but it was either get on or get beat :eek: :( :mad: & when the thing almost flipped over on me, he blamed *me* (the unbelievably illogical mind of ignorance)
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Solo, no, not yet. I let my oldest sled only if I'm riding the sled with her down hills and she has to wear her helmet. She doesn't know how to steer or to bail if it looks like it will crash into anything so I don't trust her yet to do solo sledding runs. We usually sled in our own sloped yard or when we visit grandparents who have a big hill in their backyard, perfect for sledding, and we use grandma's old runner style steerable sled there so I can steer. I had to chew out grandpa yesterday for launching the sled down the hill with DD1 on it solo before I could hop aboard. The sled narrowly missed smacking into the back of their house. DD1 thought it was great fun and showed no sign of trying to steer clear, yikes. :eek:

At home on our smaller, gentler slope, we use a new fangled plastic sled with no steering capability other than leaning creatively, lol. We also have a cute little baby sled with a seatbelt to tow my toddler around. She doesn't go down hills on it, we just pull her around and she loves it.

I'm a big sledding enthusiast at heart and I have to repress the urge to do some of the crazier stunts I used to do when I was a kid, like ride the sled down hill standing up or backwards. I have to be responsible now that I'm a parent and set a safe example. :eek:

P.S. I interpreted the question as riding non-motorized snow sleds, not snowmobiles. I have no experience with snowmobiles and pretty much don't want anything to do with them.
 
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Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
You mean like tobogganing ?

Boo - yes. He has a blast !
Bug - yes. She enjoys it as well.
Bear - no way.

We actually didn't get out at all this year because of the new baby, so I'm basing it on what we did last year with only the two older kids. They were 1½ and 3½ and LOVES tobogganing last year on the hill we had access to.
 

canadianmom2three

Active member
The kids love to go sledding and we are fortunate to have a great hill in our neighbourhood park - just big enough to be exciting, but not too steep and no trees at all (at least nowhere near the hill). The kids have also been snowmobiling, with good friends of ours who are experienced drivers. They had appropriate sized helmets and gear, and each kid rode with one of our friends, just for a little jaunt around the area. Of course my DD came back saying it was great, if only they could have gone FASTER:eek: ...and here I thought she'd be the one who would have been terrified. It wasn't the kids who were in danger, it was DH who grabbed the handles and pushed the start button before he was even seated - the snomobile took off and nearly ploughed into a bunch of trees (hence the kids riding with our friends, not DH!!!)
 

flipper68

Senior Community Member
DEFINITELY! I grew up sledding and LOVE it!! :) I have fond memories of: sledding with my parents, waiting for my brother to get home from school to take me sledding, and of hurrying home after school to "hit the slopes."

I would definitely take kids sledding. It's fun. It's great exercise and it's a way to enjoy winter weather. Nothing beats a face full of white fluffy stuff from blasting into a drift or "wiping out" into pile of laughter.

I would also definitely make sure the slope was clear of hazards and teach kids how to sled 'safely:' learning how to pick where to ride, steering, how to get back up the hill, staying aware of other sledders and bailing off.

When I was young (not in school yet) I was limited to our backyard 'mini hills' or going with my older brother. We (with full parential permission) went sledding in the alley behind our house. The hill is somewhat steep and lined with nice "soft" things like retaining wall & chain link fences. :eek: It amazes me that the worst thing I know of happening was me doing a solo down the hill and running into a phone pole. I hit my head, but my brother was pissed because I'd dented/scratched HIS new sled (an old fashioned runner sled). [He was supposed to jump on after giving a push start, but missed this time. . .The sled was new, so the steering was hard compared to the old one we had been using.] We have some old home movies of the hill and there were lots of kids.

In college we would sled on inner tubes and cafeteria trays down a (comparatively) small, gentle slope. But, being young and nuts, we did in in the dark. . .in chains or mobs of people hanging on together.

We also have a tobaggan. When we were young, our parents would take us to the golf course. Later (3rd grade), we moved and found a new hill. This one is steeper and a "good run" meant we hit the fence on the far side of the field (about as wide as a football field is). It also meant we adding a very long tow rope in order to pull it back up to the top.

In the interest of full disclosure: On this hill, a friend totally wrecked her knee the first time down the hill because the guys pushed before she got her feet tucked in. . . [I also have a classmate who was paralyzed in a sledding accident - hit tree head first. Recently, a girl died in what was termed a sledding accident. In reality, she was run over because she slipped and fell as a vehicle backed out, which could have happened if she was out just outside walking or playing.]

Conversely, I don't know how many afternoons I've spent sledding with family and friends without any noteable injuries (other than the head first event :p ). I've been hurt/bruised much worse from down hill skiing wipe outs than from sledding ones. For that matter, I broke my ankle playing volleyball - no excuses: didn't get bumped or land on someone else's foot, just landed wrong and it snapped.

I would definitely take kids sledding. It's fun. It's great exercise and it's a way to enjoy winter weather. Nothing beats a face full of white fluffy stuff from blasting into a drift or "wiping out" into pile of laughter. I would also definitely make sure the slope was clear of hazards and build their skills gradually: from pulling little ones on a sled to sending them down gentle slopes to a 'catcher' (like you do on playground slides) to riding w/me and learning to steer, to sending them down solo and increasing the slope of the hill.
 

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
My fiance and i discussed flying up to my hometown to go sledding (a fond memory of mine as a child) but we decided against it this year. Next year we'll be there the first time my cousin calls to say its snowing. I can remember going to my grandparents farm and sledding with all of my cousins down the 'big hill' (it was quite a hill) with my dad pushing us off and then running after me so he could help me get the sled back up the hill b/c i wasnt strong enough to do it myself. Great fun! My grandmother sold the farm last summer so i dont know where we'll do it but i will miss the 'big hill' (even if it was a cow pasture in the summer complete with cow pies! :rolleyes: ) I think with helmets and the right hills its perfectly safe. We didnt ever use the steerable rail sled, i think my parents thought they were too dangerous (must have we owned one and never used it)
 

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
Yes! He has a blast...

365232045_ffdbef86cf_m.jpg
 

rlsadc

Senior Community Member
Yes! He has a blast...

365232045_ffdbef86cf_m.jpg

lol what a great picture...

i wish we had snow here:( but we have the mountains close by and go there for snow...i remember being so excited when we got to go...once DD is old enough, i will definately be up there with her
 

beeman

Active member
Solo on a skidoo: no. Riding with an older driver: oh ya. downhill tobogganing. oh ya. tubing behind is also fun behind the skidoo, or down the hill, but this is a safety forum, so I won't promote it.
 

Mom2nj

Member
Yes to either. We have a hill near by that even has a tow rope to pull you back up so you don't have to Walk :D I prefer to walk because I have never liked tow ropes, even when I was skiing as a kid. Snowmobile, only with my brother (he's the only one with them) and an adult has to drive, maybe my 13 yr old nephew and only around the house, he is a mature 13 yr old with a good head on his shoulders. He wished he hadn't had a for his birthday because that is when NJ 1 broke her leg on a trampoline just jumping with my 8 yr old niece. Who knew a leg would break like that just jumping up and down... I do now and certainly don't want that to happen ever again. Seeing my child in pain was horrible plus her leg was crooked from shin down, just not right. That injury did give me reservations about sledding though, but they have so much fun!
 

Simplysomething

New member
Well, would you?

I probably would not (but they are too young right now to even think about it).

I might. Considering we hardly ever get enough snow to do ANYTHING....

whenever we do get snow, the local news channels always run footage of people sleding down the sloped dirt beside highway overpasses on trash can lids.

AND..of course, Mt. Trashmore. lol.
 
B

broxbourneDELETE

Guest
What started this question in my mind?

I was looking at all our Britax seats and wondering what I will do with them in a several years when they pass their expiry dates. Besides donating them for training, I wondered if there's anything else I could do with them.

So I thought well maybe I could modify them to be chair-sleds. (I haven't really thought this part out alot, but basically it involves rigidly affixing the whole seat to something that looks like a sled on the bottom.)

Then I thought "Well, would my son be harnessed in while sledding?" I didn't get to ponder the answer because my whole mental image started to look alot like a crash test. Also remembering my 11th grade reading assignment of Ethan Frome, I decided it was not something for us. (Plus if we get 1/2" of snow here a year, it's considered a blizzard)

Well, I agree sledding is fun and if you've ever modified your carseat to be a sled (or anything else useful), I'd love to hear how.

--Charlene
Mom of 2 boys, 3yo and 11mo
 

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
Oh man!!!! We have 4 inches on the ground right now and it's still coming down! Problem is, we're in South Carolina visiting family, not at home in Virginia :( We'll go back to Georgia before heading home so we may miss this snow altogether.

Here's a photo Brian sent from his phone - Nolan and I are really wanting to be there to play in it... :p

402331229_8eace06425_m.jpg
 

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