Riding ATV right: A freaked out mother's view point
June 19 , 2007 
I am a mother to two boisterous kids who thinks that they rule the roads whenever they're riding their ATVs. Kelly and Kaymen are 9 and 6 respectively…as young as they might be, they're pretty good on their kid ATVs, if I can be a biased mom for a bit here. Although Kelly is keen on riding her ATV and having a race with her little brother, she's not totally into it as a sport. However, Kaymen is totally freakish when it comes to his ATV! Although both my kids are really addicted to ATV riding, there's one thing they know for sure….safety is always Numbero Uno! No question about it – they violate a rule and they're banned from riding their ATVs for a week, at least! That's worse than having to do homework 6 hours straight for Kaymen.
Hence, they know better that to bend the safety rules that I have laid out with regards to ATV riding. on top of all the normal cautions and precautions about ATV riding I have given my kids, if you're a kid, I would like to highlight certain ATV protective gear that you should wear if you don't want to land in the hospital. Mistakes happen, trust me, and when it does, you want to be thankful that you preferred to be safe than sorry!
Number one on my list is the HELMET . No helmet, no ATV….no compromise on this rule. The slightest crack on the helmet with send me whirling around in a frantic frenzy. With good reason, I would like to believe. ATV riding without helmet is a death wish. Your head, correct me if you want to, is the most important part of the body. I can break a leg but to break my skull…thanks but no thanks. If it's something I do not wish on myself, why would I let my own kids flout this rule?
Goggles are great ATV riding gears that I always insist on. No, it's not because my kids look awefully cool with their goggles on (read: too many space and alien stories) but it keeps flying objects out of their eyes. If something did, I don't want them to struggle to see where they're heading and what they're going to be crashing into. Of course, there's also the neck roll . I realize that not many people like to wear the ATV riding neck roll because it can get a little uncomfortable but actually, if you get a really good one, it'll keep your neck connected to your skull. I reckon that's an important thing as well.
Needless to say, the knee and elbow guards are MUSTs too (by now, you must be thinking that my kids look like astronauts when they ride their ATVs….you're quite right) but I don't like shinned knees and scraped elbows, so, the knee and elbow guards remain to be rules. I also like the elbow guards to protect my kids from breaking or spraining their wrists in the event they fall off their ATVs. Although I splurged on kidney belts and chest protectors for my kids, I kept an open mind. Only when they are racing or competing, they can choose NOT to wear their kidney belt and chest protector. I would have insisted on them wearing it if not for the fact that my neighbor's kids started calling my kids ‘alien' names whenever my kids rode their ATVs.
Ah well, I guess I got it covered as far as ATV riding is concerned, so, I let it pass.
So, kids, if you're reading this, a word of advice here….your mother's right. and if you're a mother or father reading this ATV article, you're right. Kelly and Kaymen's mom
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