How to Keep Children Safe on Scooters in Winter

While the spring and summer months have their own perils, from sunburns to bug bites, it can definitely be a bit more risky to ride a scooter during the winter.

With fewer hours of daylight and cold, wet weather that can turn icy, autumn and winter aren’t necessarily the best times to get the most enjoyment out of scootering, but that doesn’t mean that kids can’t ride their scooters at all.

To make sure that kids stay safe while riding scooters in the winter, here are some safety tips that can keep them warm and protected during the colder and darker months.

Improve visibility in the dark

The biggest issue with kids playing outdoors in the winter, regardless of the activity, is that shorter daylight hours mean it will be dark much earlier.

This reduces visibility and can increase the risk of accidents as a result, which is why it’s essential to make sure children are wearing reflective clothing, whether it’s a high-vis vest, reflective arm bands, or neon-coloured items that are more easily visible. Some children’s scooters come with light-up wheels with LEDs in different colours, so kids will be unmissable to pedestrians, cyclists, or drivers, even when scootering in the dark.

Always wear safety gear

Of course, wearing safety gear while scooting is a must year-round, but it’s especially important in months when wet and cold conditions can make surfaces slippery.

While older kids and teens may be more skilled at avoiding accidents, children of all ages should always wear a well-fitted helmet while riding a scooter. Younger children who are more prone to accidents will benefit from wearing elbow pads and knee pads as well.

Combined with high-vis elements, this protective gear should ensure that there is a lower risk of slips and falls and that their impact is kept to a minimum if they do happen.

Dress for the season and activity

What a child wears underneath their safety gear is also significant because they need to stay warm while still being able to move freely so they can operate the scooter.

While they should wrap up warm with layers, including a suitable coat (preferably waterproof), gloves, and sturdy closed-toe shoes (like boots with grippy soles), there shouldn’t be any baggy or dangling items of clothing that could pose a safety risk.

This means that scarves should be tucked securely inside coats that are zipped up, and kids shouldn’t hang or drape anything over the handlebars of the scooter.

Stick to supervised routes

When helping kids learn how to ride a scooter, they should start out in a controlled environment with full supervision from a responsible adult at all times.

However, as kids get older, they may want a bit more freedom, whether an adult is out with them or they’re playing with their peers not too far away.

In any case, parents or guardians should instil some ground rules in children before allowing them to ride their scooters outside the home. These rules will apply all year round but should be regularly reinforced in darker and rainier seasons.

For example, sticking to the path or pavement, taking it easy instead of going too fast, staying aware of surroundings, and stopping and dismounting – as well as looking both ways – before crossing a road are all key parts of scooter safety.

Is it safe to scooter in winter?

Most safety tips for scootering apply generally all year, but the greater risks that come with less daylight and icy weather make it even more crucial to adjust and enforce them in the wintertime.

As long as your child is dressed appropriately, with protective and high-vis gear as necessary, knows how to scooter safely, and is supervised as much as possible, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t ride their scooter throughout autumn and winter, too.

An extra tip is to give your child’s scooter a quick inspection every time they come back from riding it, so you can catch any damage or faults that need fixing before they are allowed to ride it again.

If you decide that scootering should be off-limits in the heart of winter, you should also be sure to store children’s scooters safely in a dry and sheltered area, so they will still be in good condition when you take them out again once the days are brighter and warmer.

*This is a collaborative post