We’re not all daredevils.  Yes, we push the limits of our imagination and your patience when we dream up games that involve flying down the stairs on the back of a cardboard box, but generally, we want to stay safe.  When we’re using our ride on cars, that’s especially true—child safety tips are key to our happiness and we know it.  So let us tell you the best way to keep us safe while riding in that amazing new pedal car. First thing for everyone to know, when we’re talking about toy safety tips, is about the toy itself.  While motorized ride on cars have automatic brakes, pedal cars do not.  Makes sense—if you’re using your feet for propulsion, you generally use those feet for braking as well.  What does that mean?

Child Safety Tips: Stay away from hills, slopes, and steep driveways.


If you’re using your feet for everything, you have to keep your speed down—and the only way to absolutely make sure that happens is to avoid What that also means, if we’re creating a list of child safety tips for the pedal car, is that you have to be careful about speed. While we may love speed in general, it’s no fun when you can’t stop easily or it hurts to stop when you try! Try a sled or that cardboard box on the hills—not the pedal car.


Child Safety Tips: No pushing allowed—and watch what you wear.  


I know—it sounds like toy safety tips from preschool, but with pedal cars, it’s an important one.  Because a pedal car normally is open on the bottom, the risk of getting injured is much higher. Nobody wants to get their feet caught in the pedals while some joker is pushing you faster than you can move.  Not fun—so it goes on our list of toy safety tips.  No pushing.  And, as crazy as it may sound, be careful what you wear. Keep those shoes on and the shoelaces tied and, if you are lucky enough to have a pedal airplane, keep the scarves off your neck.  Even though it does, in fact, make you look like an old-timey pilot, it’s not safe.  


Child Safety Tips: Tell the World You’re Coming!


This one is my least favorite of our list of tips, as a kid, because nobody wants to go around to the neighbor’s houses and announce that they got a new toy.  That means Davy and Jenny and all of their annoying friends are going to come bug me about my new pedal car and, see above, probably will want to push me. But my mom is going to force me to do it, because the pedal car is so low to the ground. When they’re all driving their tall trucks and minivan beasts, they won’t see me coming.  So, toy safety tips annoyance aside, it’s important. Warn your neighbors that there’s a new vehicle in town so that they can watch out for us!

Learn more about child safety at SafeKids.org

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