Asia D
I want to purchase a pocket bike, mini dirt bike, or mini quad for my nephew's graduation present. He is 6 years old, about 60 lbs, average Height. I want to know the best thing to get him, if there are any with speed lock-outs or remote shut offs. A few good name brands would be awesome. I also need something I can get training wheels for. I'm looking to spend no more than 500. Please no comments about how he doesn't need one or that he needs to be supervised he is well taken care and we understand this isn't a toy. I just need advice on what to buy. Thank you!
Answer
Pocket bikes are Chinese made knock off's/clones of Japanese and European bikes. They are inferior to the bike they are cloned from. They do not have the reliability, dependability, quality or craftsmanship of the bikes they are cloned from.
With that said, I would recommend you look into a Japanese or European bike. He will fit on a 50cc to a 65cc bike. Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and KTM all make mini-bikes.
Since you do not have a lot to spend, you will have to look used. Check Ebay, Craigslist, CycleTrader and BikeFinds.
If you go with a used older bike, Honda used to make a MR 50 2-stroke and an XR75 4-stroke. The XR75 is built like iron and will last for your nephew's children.
The Yamaha PW50 has a restrictor that can be removed.
When it comes to training wheels, just Google mini-bike training wheels. There are a lot of different ones out there. Example: http://gokartsusa.com/EZ-Bike-Mini-Motorcycle-Training-Wheels.aspx
Training wheels are not cheap, they cost around $150. You can also look for used training wheels on Ebay and Craigslist.
If your nephew can ride a bicycle, he will be able to ride a dirt bike. I am not a fan of quads. When I taught my children to ride, I also let them ride my buddies quads. They all preferred dirt bikes to quads. Quads are super easy to learn to ride, but are very easy to tip over and if they do not keep their feet on the pegs can get run over by their own machine. Quads are also heavier than dirt bikes and if the child flips the quad, they may not be able to get our from underneath it without help.
This is the motorcycle racing section, so we mainly only recommend racing machines, but since he is just starting out a true mini-bike from say Sears or Pep Boys might fit the bill fine. These mini-bikes brand new cost under $400. Have large 4-stroke lawn mower engines on them and are perfect for trail riding and basic transportation. If your nephew likes riding though, he will outgrow the mini-bike within a summer.
Don't forget riding gear. Helmet, goggles and a pair of riding boots. Goggles, gloves, shoulder pads with chest protector, kidney belt, armored riding pants and racing jersey can come later. You can find used gear at Ebay, Craigslist, garage sales and flea markets. Does he need the protective gear for a mini-bike? Probably not, but a helmet and goggles are the minimum he should have.
If he ever needs tips on riding or maintenance, tell him to check Youtube. The amount of information on there is unbelievable. He can learn everything from fixing a flat to rebuilding an engine.
HELP! My 3 year old is driving me CRAZY!?
Q. A little background on me. I am a mother of 5- my youngest being 5 month old twin boys. My 3 year old has tantrums 4-6 times a day where she literally slams her entire body against the wall. We HAVE taken her to the pediatrician twice for this, one time he told my husband and I to buy her a bike helmet for her tantrums.
We have tried everything it feels like. We have tried cuddling and holding her through tantrums, time outs (ineffective after a while) spanking, losing privilages- nothing is working.
We try asking her why she gets so upset- and she won't say... she just screams and hits and throws her body around.
We thought maybe it was something to do with gluten so we cut that out of meals and we are using organics now to cook with.
Im seriously at my wits end with her. I love her so much but we are so frustrated with her bad behavior. The pediatrician calls her 'spirited' and says she'll grow out of it. It's been going on for months now.
Anyone else have a kid like this?
We tried timeouts for 22 days. They quickly became ineffective. She would scream in her chair- we tried talking to her then, ignoring them- you name it. They just didnt work.
We have to keep a 'behavior' journal. We had Help Me Grow evaluate her and they said she was right where she needed to be she was just 'stubborn' and agreed with the pediatricians evaluation that she's "spirited".
We have tried getting her to help out with the babies, but she sees them like toys- and tires of them quickly.
Im really afraid she is going to hurt herself with the way she throws herself around.
We have tried giving her more attention- the past two nights I let her cosleep with me. (my husband is a 3rd shift police officer) She used to cosleep as a baby before she transitioned into a big girl toddler bed. She cuddled and all that fine, but this morning she woke up and had a massive tantrum when I didn't have breakfast made fast enough. I just want to do the right thing here- I appreciate all your responses.
Answer hehehe.. I WAS one of those kids....
Is she normally a good kid, loving, happy.. just likes to push buttons? Do you ask her 'pick up her toys' and she responds with a big loud 'NO'??? Does she stamp her feet, throw things when she's in a rage because she hasn't received what she wanted (or doesn't see the fairness in what you are asking)? Then... well I'll let you know what my mom did with me. (Gawd, I hope I won't have a kid like I was - luckily my mom was like me when she was little and therefore understood it)...
Anyway, My mom would ignore me when I would get into a rage like that. First she would put me in my room and close the door - I would tear it up, throwing things around - literally making it look like a cyclone went through it. If I would storm out of the room, she would put me back in, kicking and screaming on occasion. I had to be confined when I went into my rages (not just an 'open-air' time out, but in my room). She put all my breakable stuff up high so I wouldn't destroy that stuff - until I was about 4.5-5 years old. Eventually i would calm down. She would hear me talking to myself. She would keep listening until she would hear me playing. it wasn't until then that she would come in, calm and collected and nice. She would say to me "have you calmed down now? Do you think you're ready to come out? Do you know why I put you in your room?" After I answered those questions she would help me pick up my stuff I threw about the room. She would be really cheery about things though. I am sure it was frustrating on her lol. We would then go and have a few minutes just her and myself, without my brother or sister. She would get me to clean up the toys I had a rage over (or do whatever it was that she'd asked me to do prior to my tantrum). I would end up doing it most times, without fuss.
There were times when I would be so bad that she would almost lose her temper herself. She would lock herself in the bathroom, turn on the bathtub and sing to herself, blocking out my kicking and screaming. I would eventually calm down. and she could come out.
I remember being in those rages, even 30 years later. I remember being afraid of my anger but not understanding it. Having my mom let me get my rage out, and then coming in and tell me things would be ok and that she still loved me helped me to deal with them. I out grew them by the time I was about 4-4.5. I don't have anger problems now but I do fight for myself - I am sure just part of my personality. Just don't lose your cool with her whatever you do. Don't go into a rage yourself. Also, there are times when you will have to raise your voice and say 'NO' (say she tries to bite you when you pick her up). Don't raise your voice often though becasue then it'll just be expected. My mom raised her voice very rarely so when she did - I would know that i had really disappointed her (like when I would try and bite her.. eeks). I hated to disappoint my mom! My dad would yell all the time - I didn't care so much if I disappointed him because I always got that reaction from him. Anyway, if you refrain from getting really angry with her, she'll be less likely to respond with anger herself.. she'll probably out grow this earlier and it'll help her in the future. She'll mimic your responses and how you deal with your anger. She needs you and your husband to teach her that anger will be ignored and that she won't get what she wants. I know it's odd but she also needs comfort (that is probably partly why she's acting out). She's got a strong will - which is a good thing so you don't want to break her of her will (she'll be a fighter in the face of adversity) but you don't want her to focus her energies into anger but developing another productive focus. Mine became school and sports and making my parents (particularly my mom) proud of me.
I hope that helps
Edit: I noticed that someone said consistency.. that is totally true! My mom, without fail, sent me to my room. It was always the same routine. I guess that is why I remember it so well haha. Also, don't worry, the tantrums will slow down as she gets older, over the next year. I still had the occasional one when I was about 5-6 but really, it wasn't often!
Good luck!
I saw that you added that you ignore her.. keep that up - put her in her room and she'll learn to calm herself down. If you go in while she's screaming and throwing herself around, she's getting attention. Just let her rip her room up, throw herself around the room. If she hurts herself, she'll learn (I did a few times - I kicked a solid wood foot of my dresser so hard it cracked apart!!. I learned to never do that again). Ignore, Ignore, Ignore (while she's in her room where she can do the least amount of damage to things and herself). if the screaming is driving you up the wall, put on loud
music or start to laugh (I talked to my mom today about your question, she would try and find the humour in the situation, the fact that such a little kid could get into such a rage) She sounds exactly like I was. Peace to you! ;-)
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