We're really lucky to live in a beautiful part of Devon not far from the sea, glorious countryside and some stunning natural beauty spots such as Haldon Forest. With the lighter, longer evenings upon us, we intend to make the most of this by getting out as a family and doing some exploring!
Yes, Spring is almost over, but Summertime is just around the corner. Fortunately, it's not all just angry wasps drowning in your Prosecco in a pub garden, or neighbours having weekly barbecues that go on a little too long and get a little too loud - it's time for kids to get fresh air and enjoy themselves. It also means Jon and I can stretch our legs and enjoy the fresh air as well!
Naturally this often entails our three little monkeys running wild, exploring, and generally having a lot of fun. With the boys becoming more adventurous in the great outdoors, they've decided that for almost every outing, their bikes and or scooters must accompany us. Since both Tyne and Noah have bikes, and Sailor has a scooter, we know what scrapes and scratches, bangs and bumps can occur.
Evel Knievel has nothing on our three. Lots of knees kissed better and fancy sticking plasters (whether they are needed or not!).
Needless to say, we take their safety whilst using their scooters and bikes very seriously.
Each has a helmet, knee, and elbow pads, and the boys get a real laugh at their 'Helmet Hair' when we get home. We always stay close to them, and never let them shoot off on their own. As much as they may want to be cool and not seen too close to Mum and Dad (they all think they're 16 years old, even Sailor!) they have all been made aware of road safety and how to be safe in car parks and to stay close to us. It's one thing however to make sure they are aware of danger, but even with lighter nights they have to be aware of being seen by motorists and other cyclists.
Every year, the traffic volume here in the UK soars in summer. More people take to their cars and bikes to enjoy evenings out, the weather, or simply to dust off the cobwebs after a day at work or with the kids. No doubt you are aware that accident rates soar at this time of year, and sadly many of these often tragic events could be avoided very simply. An old safety campaign stated 'Be Safe, Be Seen' and whilst this is more obvious during the Winter months, it's just as important all year round.
As the boys have childrens bikes and scooters, the accent for them is on fun and child friendly colours. They all are quite bright, but like many kids bikes, they don't have reflectors, or lights.
Many kits are available to retro fit lights and reflectors to bikes and scooters, but most involve clamps, screws or specialist fittings. As the boys are growing so fast and their tastes change seemingly by the minute we wanted to find something suitable for all of them that could be used from bike, to scooter or even a pushchair.
Fortunately, there are a few products available that cater for situations like this, and one such item is the Scoot Wize.
The Scoot Wize is an innovative piece of kit from Extra Wize. Extra Wize are an Estonian company who state their mission is to make pedestrian safety safer and make them more visible to drivers. Having seen how bright the reflectors are when a car's headlights hit them, we can certainly believe this.
The Scoot Wize itself is made of soft, silicon like, rubber and featuring three vertical reflectors split in to pairs, it's easy fit system means it can be used on almost any bike or scooter with a 'Pipe' diameter of 29-35mm. The simple, yet secure fastening method also means you can remove it from one bike or scooter and place it on another within seconds-it can even be placed on the side bars of a buggy or pushchair for extra visibility.
Our boys love theirs, and as the Scoot Wize comes in three colours, Jet Black, Glowing and Aqua, they can never settle on a favorite and always end up swapping them between themselves. So whilst the boys are still a handful when we go out, at least we feel a little safer knowing they are that little bit more visible.
Do you have any safety tips or useful devices for when you're out with children? I'd love to hear about them! Please leave your comments and tips below!
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