Hey guys, realizing my child is only 5 months old, she won't be on a sled this winter. However, I'm wondering if any of you know if there is a minimum age?, any devices you need to use to have them on?, at what age do they start to make helmets and stuff for?

I'm hoping by next winter she'll be able to go on short rides, that would make her 18-22 months old at that point. I know when I was little, it was a toque with a hockey helmet over top, goggles, and tied to my mother with a scarf......, I think things have probably changed a little.

I don't know if this will ba acceptable for you but Costco sells a real nice enclosed 2 person ski-boose. Either yourself or your wife could ride with with your little girl while the other drives.

Otherwise I would wait until she is big enough to sit on the seat in front of you and hang onto the bars. By that time she could be on her own kitty cat or 120.

I'd be very careful with helmets on her. The extra weight on that tiny neck would really worry me with every bump and corner I took.

I have a buddy that sewed up a nifty strap system that held his daughter firmly infront of him. Along with a hockey helmet with a visor it worked excellent. Your child is never to young for a little spin around the yard IMO. :div20: I will try to get some pics of his setup.

Thanks for the info guys, for sure there will be no riding this year, and somebody else had mentioned to me about the weight of a helmet on a small childs neck.

I'm hoping next winter she can take a very short cruise down our laneway or something, just to introduce it to her.

Heres a pic of my freind and the setup he made for his daughter. :div20:

Deisel:

That is awesome!

When I show that to my wife she is going to FREAK!!

She was a safety monitor in school and she gets nervous when I ride!!

I cringe when I see those skiboose things with the number of sleds out there nowadays and how fast people come around corners. there was some douche at the sled show with an add for one taped to his back... douche!! and I think the price was close to $2k

some people!

2 years old is old enough to ride up front, and you should be able to find a helmet for them at that age. I don't like the hockey helmets, the impacts are much less severe and they just aren't designed for the kind of speed a sled can travel at, but I used one (never needed it though)!

A hockey helmet is not legal nor will provide the protection needed. I would recomend a full face ( they do come in some very small sizes and are light) I used a ski helmet on my daughter at that age and it was not legal but fit better than any i could find so it was safer in that regard. My daughter is 6 this year and has been on the sleds with us since 3 . Royal has a good selection of kids helmets. I think you should at least wait until she can sit up front and hols the bars, you can squeeze her with your knees to help her stay on.

My first ride into the cottage on the sled was at 6 months. I don't think I went any farther than that, but can say I've been riding ever since. I say once you can find a helmet that fits you should take them with you.

At a year and a half , I held my daughter while I had the sled in front of the cottage and she cried at the sound. The next summer I took her out on my PWC (my wife was freakin by the way) and cruised around our lake once around the bend I opened er up and went to the far side of the lake out of my wife's sight. My daughter was screaming and I asked her if she was o.k. and she starts screamin "faster,faster" so I new it was all good . That winter I took her up and down the driveway and she loved it. Last winter 3 and a half hour ride no problems, not cold or anything. She loves it so much that she had to have a bladder check last year and when they had to scope her she was in tears( that by the way was the worst feeling seeing your kid cry and your helpless) anyway the nurses were trying to make her feel better telling her to think of fun things she does. What does she say " my daddy and I go snowmobiling " . I think if you get your kids involved with the sport it's good as it's sure better than seeing them hangout in the mall :div20:

Both my boys were on either a sled or a pwc at around 2. They fall asleep on the seld sometimes. Both love the speed, but my oldest (7) now does not like to go too fast on the PWC.

Get the kids helmet though, and a grab bar fro when they sit infront of you

Until she was about 5 my daughter fell asleep shortly into every ride. Sort of like a ride in the boat.
And yes the helmet weight was an issue. And then later she'd wear a toque under the smallest helmet we could find just for fit.
Now she's 7, is a terror on a seadoo (driving in front of daddy) and loves a sled ride into Bracebridge for hot chocolate at Tim Hortons. :div20:

For very young kids, if you're worried about helmet weight and neck injury (and you likely should), there is a DOT open faced polymer helmet on the market. Runs about $45 I think, but worth it.

:beerchug:

Brat was like that too :beerchug:
We were renting a 150 acre farm at the time and at around 1.5 years she was bundled up and sitting infront of daddy. Less than 15 minutes and she's sound asleep lol.

Hubby had made simple trails at the farm when she was 3 and she used my little Citation 377 while he followed her.
At 6, she got her first '84 LS 250 (Safari, I think) one lung which she loved.
At 8, she got my '81 Citation 377
At 11 she got her '89 mx 462
At 13 she got her '91 Mach1 617
And last year hubby gave her his '03 Legend 700 which she will also be riding this year.
Brat got her licence at 12 and what a year that was waiting for the snow to fly :banghead:

She was also riding her grandfather's quad at 4 which was a hoot.
We're still trying to get her into quads or dirtbikes, but so far not much interest.
There's not alot of places to ride around here yet.

I wholeheartedly agree with getting them into the sport early.
It's worth every penny spent to keep them off street corners and out of trouble :div20:

We did not even consider putting the kids on a sled until they were at least 6.

They are not strong enough to endure any extended riding.

Most helmets do not properly fit any younger than that and there necks are weak anyway. Just takes one sudden movement any you could hurt them. They are not prepared for bumps as you a rider are.

last year was the first year we took the kids on long trips and the youngest was 7. They were both whipped at the end of the day and they were not even doing anything, just passengers. Which to me indicates they are still to young.

There is lots of time for them to enjoy the sport, dont rush it, they may get turned off.

I'm gonna get kicked for this, but hey, it's my opinion so....

Personally, I don't agree with taking kids for 'extended' rides.
Around the house, yes.
Playing for a few hours in a field yes.
Somewhere really close to home in case they get cold, tired, have to use the potty lol.

Brat was 12 years old when she went on her first real long ride with her dad and they stopped everywhere.
Even now when we take her with us; when we stop, it's about a two hour break. Just so she can eat, get warm, and use the li'l girls room.

We must have done something right, 'cause now she's a die hard and can hang with the best of them :div20:
Daddy also taught her maintenance first.
So, not only can she ride, but she can repair too (now that's awesome! :banana: )
Actually, right now she's out in the li'l garage with her dad, installing her new foot rest thingy, brake switch and LEDs. She polished her sled two weeks ago lol.

last year i was riding with my 5yr old behind me and my 3 yr old in front. at royal they have a grab handle that fits over the gas tank opening and then you close the gas tank cap on it. thats for the little ones that sit in front of you . royal also has a "powermad" belt(around p311 in catalog) that has a few grab handles on it for the child behind you. great for the seadoo also. my kids last about 45 mins, just enough time from fenlon falls to kinmount for lunch and back to the car, then they get cold. i was also worried about a neck problems, so i was very careful till they were 3. i use an open face kids helmet also from royal. with a clear half lens and a closed face touque that covers their face except their eyes, and a scarf. hands and feet are the the problems...
P.S. i will be doing this run every other weekend, if anyone wants to join in with their kids. it is a great earily and late season run. there is no water to worry about, its all land based.

I took my little girl (3 then) out last spring, wasn't too cold, but it was windy. She last about 2 hours then she was getting cold. We dropped the sled near the Ganny and rode around in there mid day as there is one way trails (no jerks on the wrong side!!!!), lower amounts of weekday travel and also a looping trail system. It's great becuase your out of the wind she had a blast. That is untill we left the forest area. That's when the wind got her. Field running was a bit much.
Shes all geared up for riding again this season!!

Some good suggestions and points out there for sure. Just to be clear, my child is only 5 months old and I have 0 intention of putting her on anything anytime soon, I was just lloking to see what some of you do.

I think by age 3 I will entertain a small rip around some local fields, but that would be it of course.

Where abouts are you located and where would you be riding?

:arctic_cat_rules:

I do a similar run every other weeknd. Lets hook up. I usually run from linsay to fenlon for lunch and they a play in the park accross the bridge in fenlon. After that we take to the rail be for a while. Somtimes we go to the Ganny on those weekends that will be super busy on the 103. Sometime we go from Uxbridg to port perry for lunch. Where are you located?

Taillight and I will be doing this run , so it looks like HCSledder kid get together , something tells me the wives won't be as excited as we will :div20: :beerchug: (coke)

My daughter has been doing long rides with me since she was 2.5 yrs old.
I keep a zip loc bag of heat packs in the sled for mitts and boots DON'T skimp on a suit, they out grow it fast but a cold kid is a miserable kid. A neck collar( like in football or racing) will help with the helmut weight issue and also help keep their necks warm. They are cheap and easy to modify for length.
A small pair of knit gloves inside a larger pair of leather mitts with hot packs inbetween keep fingers from getting cold. Same thing, thin polyester socks and hot packs in the boots between boot and liner for toes. Stop for a hot chocolate and a warm up every once in a while. Kids helmuts can be found at nearly any dealer. We started with an open face with a big shield, balaclava and a big old scarf for warmth. At 5, we swapped to a kids full face. She has never complained about being cold. For the first bunch of seasons, she would just sleep infront of me, her head on one of my arms.
Now at 9, shes a 5 yr vetran of riding her mini sled and a 7 yr vetran of trail touring. She has logged well over 10,000 miles of trail riding with us and loves every minute of it. Matter of fact," Sled Head" is an understatement.
PS, add a mountain strap to your bars, it gives them a hand hold.

I'm in north york, i will make this ride every other weekend, i will travel up to 1.5 hrs away with the kids, i prefer simcoe (1hour) or scugog(1 hour), but if the water isn't safe i will go the rail bed in fenlon falls, i could meet up in lindsey...when the SNOW COMES IN 5 WEEKS :banana: :banana: :banana: we can start to make plans...others with kids are welcome, you bet stevie you are coming along, we can strap all the kids to a few g.t. snow racers and tow them behind us !! :beerchug:

You know, the Ganny is good running. 35/115 and lots of parking. Still within your 1 hour or so drive.
Ask Nutter on here, last year the conditions were great in there all season long.

So perhaps we need a handle for a kid ride club "Hardcore weekend kid sledder club" (ok that doesn't roll off the toung that easy )but you get my drift. :div20:

You know my daughter will kick your boys asses :div20:

A couple of times last year I left uxbridge and went up the railbed, and took a left on the B103 trail. We went to sutton for lunch. It was nice as there were lots of places to stop and get a hot chocolate. Saw alot of deers near pefferlaw which my son loved.