Scooters and MP3 players for 5 yr old - Need Recs

[misskitty100]

Are most 5 yr olds okay with riding a 2 wheeled scooter like the one below? DS wants a scooter for his 5th birthday but has specified that it is to only have 2 wheels (he doesn't want the 3 wheeled kind). DH thinks these might be a bit dangerous. DS will only be riding on sidewalks or the patio in the backyard and he is not a dare devil type at all.

http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-4336176reg.jpg

I was also thinking of getting him an MP3 player. Can anyone suggest a good one for kids?

[beacooker]

My DS1 got a Razor scooter just before he turned 6, and has ridden it like crazy since then. Yes, he's gotten a lot of scrapes and bruises, but he always wears a helmet, and we haven't had any serious incidents. Oh, and before he got the scooter, I would have said he wasn't a dare-devil, but now I'm having to modify that assessment - the kid is kind of crazy! :) But I feel comfortable with him riding it, and I would have felt comfortable with it when he turned 5, too. Personally, I'm way more comfortable with a 5-year old with a scooter than with an mp3 player.

[hrk]

Miss Kitty-
We gave our DS who will be 5 in May the scooter you pictured for Hanukkah this past year, (so at 4 1/2) He only rides it with a helmet on and in our alley or on the sidewalk, but he seems to be doing quite well with it. He is still riding a 2 wheel bike with training wheels also to give you some idea of where he is at. He has had a 3 wheel scooter since he was 3 also.

As for an MP3 player, I have seen one advertised by Sansa that is in the shape of an hourglass and they can advance the songs by shaking it. Don't know if that is a good or bad thing.

Heather

[DeeK]

I would look for an MP3 player where you can set the sound level to the earbuds.

Little kids are unaware that the loud music can cause permanent damage and even if they are told, sometimes forget. Having a regulator that you control would be an important feature.

I have a Sansa Express. It can be a little tricky to set up. The booklet that came with it is useless. LOL Online information was much more helpful. I don't know how sturdy the Sansa would be for a child. You might want to look into an MP3 player geared towards the younger crowd.

[leebee]

As for an MP3 player, I have seen one advertised by Sansa that is in the shape of an hourglass and they can advance the songs by shaking it. Don't know if that is a good or bad thing.



That's the Sansa Shaker. We got 7 yo DS one for his birthday. It's actually pretty cool. It has 2 earbud plug ins, so in the car, DS & DD can plug in together. And, it plays thru the tiny speaker if they want to listen to it in their play room without the earbuds. You can advance songs by shaking, but you don't have to--they just play in order otherwise. The songs it came with were not to DS's liking, so we took those off & loaded on a few CDs he does like. We've been pleased with it, and it's held up to a bit of typical abuse (he's careful w/ it, but it's been knocked over and dropped more than once!). He doesn't use it constantly--maybe a few times a week, sometimes when he's having trouble sleeping, that sort of thing.

[misskitty100]

Thanks everyone!

We may move forward on the scooter and hold off on the MP3 player.

[RunnerKim]

My DD (5.5) just bought herself a razor scooter with her saved up allowance money. She wears her bike helmet and does fine on it. She's learned to balance fairly well. It's fairly new so she has only used it a handful of times. It scares me more than when she rides a bike and I think that's because she hasn't learned how to use the brake yet. and we live on a small hill so she can pick up speed.

For Christmas she wanted "earphones that play music" so Santa gave her the Fisher-Price FP3 player. It's obviously made for kids. The earphones are definitely controlled for sound level (she can't use it on our commute because we go through a tunnel and the train produces too much noise and she can't turn it up higher). FP has a web site where you can download stories or music (for $). It works pretty well, it very sturdy. It's big though (especially compared to MP3 players/IPods). She doesn't really use it all that often.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N6TH2xpFL._SS400_.jpg

Kim

[MrsReber]

DD (6) has the scooter pictures and DS (5) has a similar Spiderman scooter, which he's had since his 5th birthday. They both love them and haven't had any incidents with them. 2 wheels wasn't an issue. DS got his first and then DD got all upset because she only had her old 3 wheel scooter. We had to get her one for Christmas.

Just bought both kids mp3 players last weekend. I went to Toys R Us because there was a sale going on. DD found a sparkly purple mp3 player for $29 and DS found a Cars mp3 player that was on sale for $20. I really like DS's player. It came with a lanyard so he can wear it around his neck (no fear of it dropping). It comes with a rechargeable battery that charges off the computer. Plug it in to the USB port and it charges! The charge lasts for quite a while. It also comes with a card so you can add extra songs/memory. DS had no trouble figuring out how to use it. Both came with software to load songs. It's a Disney Mixstick. They had different ones besides Cars.

DD's player is interesting. She figured out how to record with it. She can record her own voice, which is hysterical. She recorded herself singing along to the music and then told me "I sound terrible!" And proceeded to record herself some more. Her player is made by Concepts and you'd need Windows XP to run the software. The controls are a bit more difficult to figure out. She's still learning about how the different buttons work.

I was actually looking for the Sansa one, but they needed players right away and I didn't see any at the store. DD is very good about keeping the volume low. DS sometimes puts his a little too high, but DD keeps an eye on him and is sure to rat him out. He prefers headphones, which hang off his ears, they don't go directly into his ears, like the earbuds.