I am fed up with abusive people shouting at me and my son when i cycle my 6 year old son to school in the mornings. He rides on the pavement as he is only 6 and to walk is quite far.If he sees people he is always polite and stops to let them pass only on the odd occasion has he been caught out. i have had on various occasions middle aged hormonal women abuse me or my son for doing so. If i take him on the road its much to dangerous, besides it is good to teach a 6 year old to exercise rather than chuck him in a car and drive a few miles. What angers me is that my son goes to school in fear of some nasty old bag who shouts at him and tells him he shouldn’t be riding on a pavement and now i feel like walking him to school. other than me telling these people to bugger off, has any body got any suggestions on how to handle any similar future situations.

Good first post. Straight in there, nice and direct.

Tear a strip off the next one who gives out abuse.

I would if it were me. Reasonably though – strongly but assertively outlining the things you’ve said above.

Maybe rehearse it beforehand 🙂

have things changed, i thought kids were allowed to ride on the pavement up to a certain age?

i hope it doesnt put your son off. Saddens me to see obese kids.

Install an airhorn on his handlebars, they cant accuse him of sneaking up on them then.

Spray them with manure.

Or, right, poo in a plastic bayg, them ones you put fruit in at the supermarket, with the little holes in stop kids suffocating; then if they get all stroppy, smack em round the face with it. Poo squirts out of the holes and makes a terrible mess.

Whatever you do, make sure it somehow involves poo.

Loving the French approach Fred!

I had a similar incident recently. Now normally i like to think i can rationally debate any subject, but when you’re dealing with some people – hormonally challenged middle-aged women being top of the pile – its a total waste of time

Just tell them straight to **** right off!!! They hate everyone anyway so its not like you’re colouring their judgement about anything

i was under the impression kids are allowed to ride on the pavement up to a certain age also… for some reason my minds saying aged 11, but i’m probably wrong.

yup, what they said ^^^ up there ^^^

rip into them, he’s six years old ffs how can he be expected to ride on the road.

I remember when was about five years old, cycling along the pavement on my own, on my way back from a friends who lived down the road from us. Some guy opened a car door on me and forced me to scrape my right hand down a brick wall, garden wall. I remember looking at it and seeing blood everywhere. When I yelled and screamed all he did was have a go at me for riding on the pavement 🙄 Knobber.

Kev

Turn your sons skills in sneaking up into a positive, encourage him to take up ninja and despatch them with ninja death stars as he approaches.

just get the young lad to hurl abuse at them as he rides past. Oh and an air horn. that will some quieten the old dears down 😈

There’s no telling some people just ignore it. Or simply say what you are, you are with a capital C. You’ll most likely be long gone before they work it out.

I must live in a nice part of the world. I ride on the pavement with my son and my dog on a lead (just the dog, the boy is allowed to roam free) and people I see just smile and wave. Sometimes they give us sweets and money.

just smile and wave

Sorry – couldn’t resist.

binners post is the best approach though you need to threaten violence as well – they dont like that IME.
School run is absolutely the worst possible time to take your kids on bike..the school is ok as it is quite but the nursery was an absolute nightmare
In all seriousness unless you want to write a letter to give to them on the off chance they will read it and have think it is pointless to engage them.
Just teach your kid to be more tolerant/careful or to ram them after all he is too young to be prosecuted 😉

Just buy an X5 and park infront of my house at 8.30 and 15.30 like all the other wimmin.

And leave the diesel engine running.

Equip your kid with a loud bell and a cheeky grin and train him to emit a polite “excuse me” at the first sign of an arsehole middle aged hormonal abuse women .

If this doesn’t work kill them bags of poo/Bombers.

recruit a whole gang of kids to ride with him, reflective/high-vis vests and a grant from the council for the awesome ride to school initiative you’ve set up.

boom and indeed ting.

From “Cycling and the Law” on Bikehub

CAN CHILDREN CYCLE ON PAVEMENTS?

According to the Department for Transport (DfT), the maximum fine for ‘cycling on the pavement’ (ie footways) from the courts is £500. However it is more usually enforced by way of the Fixed Penalty Notice procedure (FPN) which carries a £30 fine if pleading guilty. However, there is a view that the FPN can only be issued to those over 16.

“The DfT view, from discussions with Home Office, is that the law applies to all but the police can show discretion to younger children cycling on the pavement for whom cycling on the road would not be a safe option.”

The age of criminal responsibility is 10 so, technically, only children below this age can cycle on footways without fear of redress.

While adults are not allowed to cycle on ‘footways’ (see definition above), children up to the age of 16 cannot be prosecuted for doing so

Tell them that if the police can exercise discretion so should they.

cheers everyone this has made me smile again. Sept for Keva poor you. i love the smile and wave i might teach my son that one i can Imagen that will confuse them “). As for the X5 its a bit out of my price range £££. 🙂

Just tell them straight to **** right off!!! They hate everyone anyway so its not like you’re colouring their judgement about anything

That pretty much sums it up. Just to add; do it LOUDLY might want to buy the sprog some ear defenders so that he doesn’t hear it!

“Just buy an X5 and park infront of my house at 8.30 and 15.30 like all the other wimmin.

And leave the diesel engine running.”

This.

Alternatively, paint your penis and testicles bright blue, tie a bit of pink tinsel round them, and if anyone gives you crap, just drop your trousers and gyrate so that your cobbly bobblers spin round, and get the nipper to have a portable stereo ready with some Mariachi baynd music and do a little Ukrainian folk dance.

They won’t bother you ever again.

i was under the impression kids are allowed to ride on the pavement up to a certain age also… for some reason my minds saying aged 11, but i’m probably wrong.

I thought it was down to wheel size – under 20″.

He’s only six, it would be dangerous for him to cycle on the road. Perhaps you should live and let live and maybe you would enjoy your life a bit more. Have a nice day.

Just teach you son to respond by shaking his little fist and asking “do you want f*ckin’ up!?”. Perhaps supply him with a small switchblade to encourage compliance from the particularly stroppy ones.

Get an aunty to take him next time so she can batter the snooty auld boots! 😀

btw i take it this is englandshire? you really do have strange attitudes to cycling down there, far too confrontational from reading these forums anyhow..

i have had on various occasions middle aged hormonal women abuse me or my son for doing so.

No, seriously, do they have a go at your son?

I had a bulb horn on my bike back when I did cycling proficiency at school, a very good way of informing people of your presence.
Honkah!
Maybe a quiet word to said vociferous individuals pointing out that
a) he is 6 and not trying to sell them crack
2) shut up

There’s no telling some people just ignore it

That’s what I do with my 8 year old, when they start to give it one.

Then when we get to school, we have a one to one history lesson about the V sign and when its appropriate to use it 😉

[edit]

The sad thing at our kids school, there used to be a group of parents (5-6) who used to ride in with all the kids in a group, one parent at the back & one at the front & it used to work very well on the school run, it felt safer in a group, now, we are down to myself and one other parent, after one thing or another, most of the parents are fed up with the abuse/dogs/roads & have giving up cycling their kids to school.

Its a shame.