Heely's hooha and the kid with a death wish

[iradney]

I personally prefer to point out that if their kid knocks over a little old lady and she breaks her hip, they can be held liable. Best way to get ppl to stop doing something is to point how it will affect THEM, not the the people around them...*sigh*

[blas]

It'd be a toughie though, because society holds both children and the elderly on pedastols......which one would come out on top on this?

I'd feel sorry for the poor old lady when the little shit's mother and her PTA friends got together and made it out to be all about the kid and not the poor old lady her stupid kid ran into.

[ebonyknight]

They recently banned them in our schools in Virginia. Just happened to hear that on the radio.

Why parents would let their kids ride around on these things in the stores, yet not let them do the same with other "roller devices", is interesting.

I wouldn't be surprised if merchants started saying, shirts and shoes required (No Heely's).

[DesignFox]

I hate those things. I would LOVE to see the mall ban them. I know we have wanted to in our store, but since it is not a mall policy, we cannot say anything about kids using them. They are dangerous in my opinion, and should only be used outdoors- same as roller skates!

Thankfully, at my cellphone slave job, that's one thing I don't have to deal with.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Ban them! I hate those things. I see kids at my work daily with those things on. And we don't have just normal shopping carts; we have powered equipment like cherry pickers and forklifts that don't stop very well.

Ooh, nice wide aisles in the home improvement store...I'll bet they just love it!

I thought I was going to get run over in the grocery store a couple weeks ago. And they did ban them there. They have signs at both entrances in big fat black marker on neon green paper: No Heelies Allowed!

At the bookstore the kids like to come down the wheelchair ramp from the cafe. It's a good 15 -20 feet long, they can get up lots of speed before shooting out into unsuspecting booksellers coming around the corner. Though if it's quiet you can hear 'em rolling down.

[JustaCashier]

I think the so-called father should be banned from creating any more children that he wouldn't keep under control in public places.

Mike

[draftermatt]

Easy there, tiger! We don't condone violence here.

Sorry sir, won't happen again.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

If you wouldn't be allowed to roller skate or skateboard in a place, why would these be allowed? Makes no sense. So yeah, if you can't do either of those things, then yeah, they should be banned.

[Hobgoblin]

Someone uses Heelies in my store, out they go. It isn't even a warning type of deal. You roll around in here, you go outside. You can come back later, but for now, you have to go. When kids come in with parents, Mom and Dad get one (and only one!) chance to tell them to stop. After that, out the kids go. I'll tell the folks that their child needs to leave, as his skating around is liable to break something or someone, and we all need to avoid that.

I love it when they get all defensive. "We'll just tell him/her to stop!" No, you already could have done that. Any parent giving those to their chile show have made sure the kid already knew that those were not for use inside a store that has machines in GLASS CASES that sell for $400-$600. That's a serious mess waiting to happen. If I can't trust you to be a good parent, I can't trust you to be a good customer. So your parting volley is "We won't be back here!"?

I'll see you next week.

[Becks]

I'm always scared that a kid tearing around with Heelies will come flying into my salad bar cart. THAT would make one hell of a mess.



Knowing management/ownership, I'd be the one blamed, too.

[Polenicus]

I've seen a few heelies around... not as many as I used to. I haven't had any incidents with them, but whenever I saw them, I always wondered in the back of my head how long it would be before they started getting banned, or how long it would take for someone to really mangle themselves good while wearing them.

Case in point, I ride the subway to get around. Now, the platforms are tile, with rubberized matts with bumps right at the edge where the trains pull in. I've seen kids whizzing back and forth on the platforms on these, dangerously close to the edge and those mats. In my minds eye I see them veer a bit to the left or right, clip the bumps on the mat and tumble over the edge. Wouldn't take a lot.

If they haven't been banned yet, I figure we're probably a nationally publicized outcry away from it... which is unfortunate, because it'll take a few kids getting hurt before people wise up. But I agree... if it's not safe to use skateboards or rollerblades in a particular place, these aren't safe either.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

I don't see heelies as much as I once did, for which I am eternally thankful. Where once I had to tell at least one kid a shift not to roll around the store in those things I only ever see them on one girl now, and she knows better than to do that.

For the most part though I didn't have much trouble telling the kids to stop. I only ever had to do it once for each kid because they would stop as soon as they were told and not do it again.

Once, however, when I told a couple of young kids that they weren't allowed to roll around in the store, the grandfather actually chastised me and told me that they weren't hurting anything.
I had to tell him that the kids could fall and hurt themselves before he would accept my request. The kids, on the other hand, stopped once I asked them to and didn't complain about it like he was doing. Go figure.

[Tria]

Now, Heelys that come with parent controlled remotes might work...

Parents control their kids?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Good for you, IMAP!

[ArenaBoy]

As most of you know, I work in a arena parking lot and I have seen kids cross streets in these things. We've had numerous close calls because of them and the day an incident happens it'll be a big mess. I will say that when I have kids they won't be getting those shoes.