Am I being mean? - advice please?

bunty109

Ex-Spendaholic wrote: »

Yes that's correct.

I never said earlier in the thread but at the ripe old age of 35 I would quite like a pair of heelies myself. When I was a teenager I wanted rollerboots. I never got them as they were "unsafe". To this day I can't think of another child that I knew that didn't have a pair. It was a bit of pain standing around while the whole neighbourhood flew up and down on their skates.

Noooo!! Don't do it!! There was a man trying on a pair when I went in the shop at Bluewater and he looked a right numpty!!! :rotfl:

My children have them. My eldest bought hers with her birthday money: it was what she wanted and paying for them herself taught her the value of things. I really don't think they are unsafe unless you allow them just anywhere willy nilly. It's a bit like the whole thing with trampoline accidents: kids are going to have accidents on them and you increase the risk if you leave them en masse and unsupervised on a trampoline. Child at school broke her arm ice skating recently: do you stop children doing things like that for fear of accident or let them have the experience?

Crispy_Ambulance

My DD couldn't think of anything she wanted for her 7th birthday. She is not a very materialistic child, but the only thing she asked for was Heelies.

I did a double take at the price but bought some for half that from Cruz Shoes - someone has given the link above.

I don't think they are any more dangerous than rollerskates and are easier to stop in. And she loves gliding around the park on them.

She didn't want them because of the brand, she wanted some because they looked like fun. And they are. I would get some, but I think I'm a bit too old.

and they have really helped her improve her balance.

You can get a pair for about £30. the only difference is that they don't say "Heely" on them.

victory

I had exactly the same prob with heelys with my 6 year old, xmas came and they all had them (there was no way I could have afforded £60 for them even on ebay they were terribly expensive) each month since then I have been checking on ebay, asking around for second hand ones, the other day I was very lucky, in the shop that I work in they all knew I wanted a pair and someone sold me a pair for £3!! Happy days:D

Like I said I was lucky, had I not been I would still be sitting here trying desperately to get them cheaper and to make my son part of the gang, happy etc as they were always out of my price range.

My son when told he could not have any and we were honest with him and showed him the cost etc on ebay he shrugged, disappointed obviously but he can see we do not have that kind of money.

When all the kids were out playing he was the one that did not have them, what I usually do (may not work with heelys) is if we have something and they have different go out and see if they can swap, borrow for a bit and that way my DS and they get to use, play with different toys for a while and is not so obvious so and so has not got the latest toy or gadget....so long as they are only lent, not broken and given back it seems to work well....

I have a 13 year old that is psp, ps2 mad and when all the latest games come out the kid down the road has them so I tell him to lend them from him and swap what he has and that way everyone is happy....

I would as any mum would go without for my kids but just could not stretch or justify paying £60 for heelys:eek:

funky-footprints

Rupa wrote: »

Resist the temptation to get them. They are only attractive to her because she doesn't have them. They are dangerous, I think one boy died when he skidded in front of a car a few months ago.

They are no more dangerous than skateboards, roller skates, skooters, an unsupervised child on a bike having just learned to ride it etc etc, they just happen to be the latest thing !

My son spotted them at Florida last Easter and he waited until christmas time to get a pair. He had the Heelies rather than the cheaper makes, but my parents bought them for him and my mother is brand aware !! probably as she couldnt afford to be when i was younger. must admit we have had a lot of fun on them !!!!

My son is 6 and is nagging for a nintendo hand console, he is about the only one in his class without one as he wanted a lego castle for christmas where as all his mates had consoles. He has been told to wait until Christmas, so he is. I do feel slightly mean, but i want him to understand that money doesnt grow on trees. He does little jobs for me now to get pocket money, but that £1 on a sunday morning is nornally spent after swimming in the sweet machine !!

Carmina_Piranha_3

Ex-Spendaholic wrote: »

It was a bit of pain standing around while the whole neighbourhood flew up and down on their skates.

i can still remember the feeling one christmas when i opened up my rollerboots i'd been after them for ages and everyone seemed to have them except for us and next door. sis and i got them, so did the girls next door - all the same ones in a hideous colour, we never knew which boots belonged to which girl but oh we loved them! i don't think they were second hand but they were certainly a cheap alternative to the ones everyone else had. we went out skating on the snow and ice and returned covered in bruises

i think skates etc. last. they get played on for years and it's physical exercise.

i doubt that my son is brand aware, he just wants trainers with wheels, won't care if they are heelies or not.

ailuro2

fwiw Heeleys are now banned in our local Sainsburys for causing accidents- the kids round here all know the heeleys are no use on slabs or rough tarmac and will all heeley around at the first sign of a smooth surface.

My 8yo dd had her eyes on a pair of heeleys but I refused on long term injury grounds- the way her pals walk in them when they are not gliding is knocking their posture out of kilter,and the extension of their achilles heel when they are gliding looks just as bad! Not to mention how much they cost for a few months wear,and with her having very wide feet they'd probably hurt her!

My dd now agrees with me now all the reports are in the news suggesting the same thing, and she is happy to stick with her Bratz rollerblades as she can go faster,on more surfaces, and I reckon they also help balance,posture -standing up looking straight ahead makes for better skating!
(p.s. they are only Bratz ones because they were the best deal when she bought them-I helped her find them through pricerunner :money: )

roni.b

my brother called me today to ask if he could get the kids heelies and i said no - he asked why and i said cos they aint asking and even if they did no way as in another 3 weeks they would be to small. Waste of money i asked him to stick to easter eggs and just the cadbury cream ones lol as my kids dont like chocolate that much anyway but will want big eggs just because everyone else gets them so say. Mind you i dont have a tv and they dont ask for one either so im quite happy but that isnt to say that they dont pester for stuff when going around shops or if they have seen an advert on tv when at their dads!!!!!!!! Stick to your guns cos every child feels mum and dad didnt get them a certain something they wanted and i bet you it will be a bratz doll house more than the heelies. Get her some roller boots and say if she masters those then maybe, just maybe by which time she would be past that stage

EthelBloggs

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I would not buy my child branded clothes/shoes/toys just because of peer pressure even if I was a millionaire, however much the child wanted them..

Easy to say but not so easy to do when they get beaten up at school for wearing 'cheap crap'

Carmina_Piranha_3

does that happen often? my boy's going to high school this year and isn't brand aware.

they can't wear heelies to school though can they?

ailuro2

EthelBloggs wrote: »

Easy to say but not so easy to do when they get beaten up at school for wearing 'cheap crap'

:eek: That's awful...I'd be horrified if that happened to mine...this rotten behaviour is one of the reasons all brand names on clothes are banned form our child's school.:D