Are hoverboards safe?

[ohgillian]

My 12 year old DS has asked for a hoverboard. He has asked in the past as well. He would wear a helmet, of course, like he does, when he scooters. I don’t know, they just don’t seem safe to me? Are they? I guess I’m asking if they are significantly less safe than something like a razor scooter.

[lessel]

I feel like you're likely only to get anecdotes and a lot of 'it depends on the kid' answers. I don't think there is any actual data source out there comparing injuries across these kinds of devices, unfortunately.

Fwiw my 7yo has a hoverboard and it's done more damage to my carpet than to him. When he first got it he rode it slowly around our house to practice (lol, in full safety gear w/helmet, elbow pads, wrist pads, etc.). He's very stable on it and cautious and doesn't horse around on it, which reflects him being generally a kid who pays attention to safety on his bike or scooter too. I find it's not really a practical toy... the charge lasts a good while, but he really only uses it to do loops around our cul-de-sac or driveway and gets bored with it fairly quickly. It's surprisingly heavy, so like if he rode it somewhere and it died, having to carry it home would be a pain.

[starburst604]

Physical injuries aside, I know a family who lost their house to a fire started by a hoverboard. I don't know the details other than I think it had something to do with it charging but maybe there's a particular brand that has an issue or something - you could research that. It's one of those things that sticks in my head and has me avoiding them!

[devonpow]

Dec 7, 2022 15:35:04 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

Physical injuries aside, I know a family who lost their house to a fire started by a hoverboard. I don't know the details other than I think it had something to do with it charging but maybe there's a particular brand that has an issue or something - you could research that. It's one of those things that sticks in my head and has me avoiding them!

I think this was an issue with them a few years ago - the charging cord would catch fire. From my understanding the issue was fixed, but we still don’t leave ours charging overnight/when away because I’m paranoid!

OP: my kids only use it in the house. We got it for my now 15 year old when he was 11 or so. It was used a lot for a while then gathered dust for a few years. We got the attachment that turns it into a go kart (super fun!) and now my 10 year old has discovered its original purpose and is hovering all over the house all the time. It WILL chip paint all over your house - be warned. In terms of safety - they seem safer than electric scooters or electric skateboards since they don’t go as fast. I think with basic safety gear it’s as safe as a bike/regular scooter/any object they can fall off of.

[nicolewi]

We have had two. My kids did amazingly well zipping around on them indoors (while I freaked out inside watching them). I think they are kind of dangerous but not really so dangerous that I wouldn't get one. However, BOTH of ours (both were Jetson from Target) very quickly developed problems and stopped working. We never even got to the point of using them outdoors in summer. They really liked them while they were working. I pursued trying to get a refund on one (was a gift but wanted a replacement option) but after multiple contacts and trying to follow this process I never heard back and gave up.

[mrsGreeko]

All I’ve got is anecdotes. My newly 11 year old got a hover board 2 years ago for Christmas. He loves that thing. We don’t have carpet on our main floor so kids ride it in the house sometimes. Mostly he uses it outside. If I’m going for a walk he will sometimes ride it on the path with me. It has enough charge to make the 2.5 miles loop we do no problem. He’s never fallen off of it, not even once, it seems pretty stable, but he also is pretty athletic and has good balance. He’s also never hurt himself on his razor or roller blades (and he is intent on jumping constantly on them). He’s fallen off his bike a few times going down some dirt hills, but not hurt himself, knock on wood. So in my experience it’s the same level of risk of all of the other wheeled things he uses.

[sdlaura]

Probably not, but my kids have a trampoline and other fun but potentially dangerous stuff, and I think that’s fine as long as you set safety limits you’re comfortable with!

[wesleycrusher]

Dec 7, 2022 15:23:06 GMT -5 lessel said:

Fwiw my 7yo has a hoverboard and it's done more damage to my carpet than to him. When he first got it he rode it slowly around our house to practice (lol, in full safety gear w/helmet, elbow pads, wrist pads, etc.). 

 I was the same- when my kids got one I had them padded up until they got used to it! Also DS burned my hardwood floors using it to "drift"

My friend who worked at an ER said the most common thing they saw was wrist fractures from falling. But there's a ton of "unsafe" things- my DH fell off a skateboard as a kid and scraped his whole face, so... 

[yellow23]

My daughter got one for her 6th birthday, she’s had it for 1 1/2 years now and still loves it. Her older brother and sister also like it. We got a cheap kid one and it’s held up fine. I don’t think it’s anymore dangerous than other riding toys. She’s fallen on her bike and roller blades much more than her hoverboard. I think she only fell off her hoverboard once when she was going too fast trying to impress her friend. Since we have a kid one it only goes up to 6 mph. She uses it to join me on walks around the neighborhood a lot.
We only use ours outside so I haven’t had to worry about it messing up my house. We also unplug it as soon as it’s done charging.

[luckystar2]

Dec 7, 2022 18:06:33 GMT -5 sdlaura said:

Probably not, but my kids have a trampoline and other fun but potentially dangerous stuff, and I think that’s fine as long as you set safety limits you’re comfortable with!

Same

I actually wouldn’t have gotten one for my dd. Mostly cause I didn’t think it would get a ton of use and probably not worth the risk. But my parents got it for her a few years ago - I think when she was 12. She basically just used it in the yard and occasionally has taken it around the neighborhood. It’s actually not as crazy as I expected. She seems pretty stable on it although she is a gymnast so has great balance. The only injury (mild) was to me when she either ran into me or tripped me on a walk in neighborhood. She always wears a helmet with it and it really hasn’t worried me as much as I thought it would. But she rarely used it so to me it wasn’t worth it.

[SusanBAnthony]

My niece is a wizard and rides off road.

I ended up in the ER on Christmas day and my kids weren't much better.

[CrazyLucky]

My kids are 10 and 12, I think they got their hoverboards when they were 8 and 12. They practiced inside until they got the hang of it and since then they only use it outside. They're not particularly graceful, but neither of them has been injured. They do have to ride it in the road though, because the sidewalks are so uneven.

[osulori]

I think it depends on the kid. My kid is a speed demon so even with a helmet and pads I wouldn't let him on one, plus I know quite a few kids that have ended up with broken bones from falls off them. That being said I know plenty of kids who do fine on them too. I'm not chancing it but I don't judge those that do.

[puppylove64]

Well my at the time 8 year old got one for Christmas, that night my 6 year old tried it. He fell off immediately and broke his elbow on the basement/concrete floor. He had on a helmet. This was 2 years ago and the older one rides it a good bit and seems good on it. I don’t really see the younger one ever get in it anymore.

[waverly]

I have an uncoordinated child, so I planned to never get them one because one kid will injure himself and the other one will be fine.

[DarcyLongfellow]

My 9 year old loves hers. I was nervous about it, but it goes pretty slowly and she finds it easy to just jump off, so she's never fallen.

She does mostly use it inside though. We have tile floors and a 1 story house, so she just hoverboards all around.

[hermione]

I’ve had two friends in the ER on Christmas mornings with their kids’ hover board induced broken wrists. We have one but C only uses the go kart attachment.