Wheeling with the kids.

[itbrokeagain]

I want to get my kids out but how young is too young?

[sarge]

I asked the doctor about that when the kids were very small , I explained what we did and the possibility of a roll or hard hits. He told me that as soon as a child can control their head , meaning their neck muscles were strong enough , that it was fine to take them off roading in the proper child seat. I always took the kids back in the day and had three car seats that wrapped around them very well and were for the Jeep only ( that was to keep momma happy ) . The doctor also told me that it was good for the development of strong neck muscles and was good for them. I always waited until the car seats could be faced foward before the kids could go with me. IMHO
Most of the time they would be fast asleep as soon as I hit the trail and stay that way until we stopped moving.

[JeffK5]

As soon as my boys stopped wearing diapers I had them strapped in for serious trail ridding.

I'm a huge anti-drinking guy when it comes to off roading so if you even think about hitting the sauce leave the kids at home.

I use to make me crazy watching the drunk dads risk there kids lives at Livingston...


The way my current project is progressing they might be in collage before they ride again.

[4RunnerAdam]

My daughter is 18mo and I plan on taking her this summer. We ride around town in the 4Runner and she laughs and smiles the whole time. Especially when we do burnouts and bang through the gears!

[GPER]

Kid are tougher then you think, I had youngest down to Livingston when she was like 5. We were on a night ride, she was tired from the trip down and her head kept bouncing off of the door.

I did manage to get my coat between her head and the door, but I though she would have some bruises in morning. She was fine and the wife never knew and we had a blast.

[blazerbrad]

Took my oldest on his first ride last fall when he was 3. It was actually our club "picnic" on two club member's land so never far from the house or towrig in case something happened. A lot of easy cruising and playing, but there are some obstacles that are pretty tough My biggest concern was wanting him old enough to be at least somewhat aware of what was going on, meaning he knew not to wander around, get in front of other rigs, etc...

He got a little nervous a couple of times on some tougher obstacles, but otherwise had a blast and loves riding in the "monster truck".

[jfiscus]

My kids have been riding with me since they were around a year old each. They love going & have never had any problems or injuries. Proper kids car seats are a must though, as stated by Sarge above.

[KargoMaster]

The way my current project is progressing they might be in college before they ride again.

X2


I like the idea of "out of diapers"... At 4.5, I would take our oldest (She WILL scream at 130db in fear, then laugh outloud and want to do it again... and I'm sure that I'll be over-protective about keeping her safe.)... but at 1.5 and in diapers, he's still a little young... (pronounced: I'm just too lazy for diapers in the woods.)

Heck, I'm still trying to get my wife to experience my addiction... She was supposed to go in 2004 when I switched from Railbuggy to Jeep... but "unexpectedly" got preggo a few months ahead of schedule...

Of course, she's now just as good at reminding me that the Jeep is down as most everyone on this board. "I would go now..." she says with a grin...

:o

[uglyoffroad]

I took my son for the first time when he was 2. He slept most of the time in the 4runner, and when we would stop he wanted to get out and play in the dirt. He's 4 now and he still loves it. Only problem now is that he wants me to hold his hand when we go over anything steep or rough cause i scared him one time and he has never forgotten it.

[Nuts]

I took my daughter out in a stock Samurai when she was 16 months. I mostly did easy trails,but crawler down a rocky creek once. That kind of made me nervous since her head was shaking back and forth. But when we got out of the creek she was still shaking her head and laughing! She's now 19 months and will go in the buggy this summer....if it ever gets finished

[mckeddie]

i've always waited till they were 4, my 2.5 year old wants to go whenever we go, but i ony take the 2 oldest (9 and 11, they have both been wheeling since they were 4 each). they absolutely love it, i just went with 4 b/c they could ride in a booster seat, and i wouldn't have to deal with looking around a big child seat. i'm thinking of switching to 2 kids racing seats in the back now when i swap out my front seats if i can find some for a reasonable price so they can be harnassed in. they hate having to constantly get in and out for the offcamber and taller stuff.