Want to bring baby in-line skating: safety risks?

[trupa]

Greetings everyone,

Well my three months of parental leave are fast approaching, and one of the activities I had been looking forward to is going in-line skating with our new son, who will be about 10 months by then.

It was my intention to buy one of these special jogging baby strollers, except their manufacturer’s web sites all say they strongly discourage their use with in-line skates.

Can you help me understand the nature and the extent of dangers / risks? I understand baby equipment manufacturers have to be more paranoid that McDonalds coffee cup makers about warnings, given the risks or lawsuits *(baby equipment has more warnings on it than my rig back when I used to skydive…) * Is this a real danger, or is this just the lawyers covering their buts? Have you had any experience skating with your baby? Any advice?

Is it the risk of the stroller going on if I wipe-out? I was planning on using a safety tether to prevent separation if I lost my grip. I was planning on attaching the tether really low on the stroller, so as to not tip it over if I pulled on it hard during a fall.

I was planning to get a stroller that has a 5 point harness, and a farily sturdy “cage”.

Is the danger the longer stopping distance with the added weight of the stroller and the usual long braking distance of in-line skates? I was planning on buying a stroller with bicycle-type brakes, and my skates have an “active” brake that allow me to exert considerable brake pressure on the pavement and stop rather quickly while staying in full control. In any case I was only planning to skate on recreational paths where there are no cars, and only at a reasonably sedate speed, at that.

Am I missing something here?

In-line skating has been one of the few aerobic activity that I have been able to do with any success due to an asthma condition, and my son really likes being in a moving vehicle. I had really been looking forward to spending a lot of time with him this summer skating along the river, but now I don’t know if I should…

Please set me straight.

[keithnmick]

It depends on how fast you’re planning to skate. There is really no really effective way to brake quickly once you’re going fast and I could see how that could be a problem.
Also if you wipe out a low tether could still cause the stroller to roll over if you’re moving faster than brisk walking speed.
A roll cage will help but you don’t want to bang your son’s head against it if the stroller tips over.
I go rollerblading every night with my dog on a leash and we usually haul ass, and I admit I’ve had a few scares (usually when a rabbit crosses our path) but no accidents yet. I’m a very proficient skater and I can stop pretty much as quickly as possible using the T stop (more points of contact with the road) but I personally still wouldn’t feel safe with a baby. Your call though.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Yeah, second that, I think it’s the “speed” and “wipeout” thing. If you’re going really fast and you wipeout, or slam on the brakes, and the stroller flips…

At the very least, get the kid a helmet.

http://www.childfun.com/safety/helmet.shtml

A child of any age needs head protection when riding. A small toddler’s neck muscles may not yet support the weight of a helmet. If in doubt, take child and helmet in to your health care provider for advice. Children’s heads vary widely in shape and size, so pay careful attention to fit and use the foam pads.

The helmet should cover as much of the child’s head as possible, be positioned level and fit securely when the strap is fastened. As with adults, look for ANSI and SNELL stickers.

It is recommended that you never put your child’s name on the outside of the helmet. This has apparently been used by strangers to call the child by name and set up the appearance of acquaintance.

Let the child help pick it out.
Always insist the child wear it.
When you ride together, set a good example and wear your own helmet.

Praise and reward your child each time they wear it. It may feel strange to them. You can take away some of the discomfort with words of support and encouragement.

Begin the helmet habit with the first bicycle ride.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

And I found this, which you’ve probably already seen a version of.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/misc-kids/joggers/part2/

Q&A from Racing Strollers Inc.
(They sent me this when I told them I maintained an FAQ on jogging
strollers so there’s no copyright worries…)

Q) Can I rollerblade with it?
A) Unforunately, people do take their children rollerblading with our
(Racing strollers inc) strollers. We want to stress that this is NOT
SAFE. The conditions, balance, etc. are different for rollerblading than
they are for running, jogging, hiking, etc. If someone is about to fall
while rollerblading, their first reaction is to grab onto something for
balance (like the stroller). Then down goes the baby with mom or dad.
Please, if a customer even mentions it, tell them we DO NOT RECOMMEND IT.

[Cillasi]

Most product warnings are there in order to substanitate counterclaims in the event of a lawsuit. However, not all of them are frivolous.

I don’t rollerblade, but judging by the “armor” most rollerbladers wear, and the severity of the injuries that can occur, I doubt I would want to subject my infant to the dangers, no matter how proficient I think I am at the sport.

[BrotherCadfael]

With both of our kids, we used a baby jogger with in-line skates. We skated on the Stowe bike path, which is well away from cars and other incidental dangers, skated with due care and caution, and our kids today (long since outgrown the jogger) are fine.

[trupa]

keithnmick, Duck Duck Goose,

First, thanks for taking the time to reply. I can definitely see the point about speed, so if I ever do go ahead, I will be very mindfull of that.

Regarding the helmet, I definitely agree. It will be interesting to see if I can find one that will fit him (he’ll be a bit young, but he has a 75th percentile head circumference, like me. * (Makes it darn hard finding hats that fit, not to mention the wisecracks…)* and to see if he will tolerate it. I also want to make sure it doesn’t make his head flop around too much.

I handn’t seen that FAQ, Duck, so thanks for making the effort to quote it, and it raised a valid point: should I do this, I would have to be carefull not to clutch the stroller if I start going down. Easier said than done, so this will probably take some practice.

Cillasi,

Yes I agree, that padding can make a skater look like a SWAT team reject. Most of it (elbow and knee pads)however, is intended to prevent “road rash”, except for the helmet, which speaks for itself, and the wrist guards, which are actually intended to prevent wrist fractures of a type common to people who fall forward, like on an icy sidewalk, and try to brace themselves on extended arms (Colle’s fracture), as well as hand road rash.

If I do go ahead with this, my son would be wearing a helmet, and strapped inside the jogger stroller cage.

BrotherCadfael,

Thanks for contributing your experience. Did you ever wipe-out or come close to wiping out while pushing you child(ren)? If so, did you grab the stroller on the way down?

'preciate your thoughts, folks.

[billy]

I don’t rollerblade but I would suspect that the stroller would also inhibit your view of the surface you are riding on. Seems like this would also increase your chance of crashing.

[Iteki]

Not endorsing the idea, but you should look into whether there are any strollers with “airport trolly” brakes. In other words they will only roll while you are gripping the brake, if you release the “brake” then it stops rolling. Reverse breaking so to speak. Sounds safer than a tether.

[j.c]

Good idea, Iteki.
My two cents: I don’t care if he is ten months old or 20, it’s really important that he can hold his head up for an activity like this.

[Tamex]

Good luck finding a helmet. Maybe things are different now, but about five years ago, I was looking for a bike helmet for my 18-month-old daughter so that she could ride in a baby seat on the back of my bicycle. We had so much trouble finding a helmet that would fit securely. Granted, she didn’t have a 75th percentile head, but it seems like the helmet makers thought that the kid wouldn’t need a helmet until she was old enough to pedal something on her own! We did finally find one–a pink “Barbie” bike helmet at Target! This was after we’d been to about every bike shop in town.

[LordVor]

May I also suggest that, if you do go through with this, you push around a sack of sugar in the stroller prior to attempting the feat with an infant?

-lv

[manhattan]

Does there remain a General Question here?