ARE HOVERBOARDS SAFE FOR 11 YEAR OLDS?

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My kids hadn't actually asked for a hoverboard for Christmas, but I'd always thought they looked super cool. (read more)

Once I did a little research and found out they weren't exploding anymore, I decided a hoverboard would be the PERFECT gift for my 11-year-old. 

If you've looked, you know there are about eleventy billion different hoverboards on Amazon right now. Wading through them to find the best one can mean hours of clicking, reading, and pondering. 

I'm not that parent.

Give me a better than four star rating, a lot of reviews that don't say, "mine exploded", and I'm pretty much set. 

That criteria led me to Swagtron's Swagboard Vibe.

Is Swagtron a good hoverboard? I mean, so far, yeah. But, as a parent, let me just tell the makers of this hoverboard that their name is really terrible. I mean, I almost didn't want to buy it because it had the word "swag" in it.

​Now, let's talk safety.

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ARE HOVERBOARDS SAFE?

If your kids have a bike, a skateboard, a scooter, or any wheeled thing that leaves most of your body unprotected as you zoom around, I'm going to say it's about as dangerous as those things. 

Apples to apples, as long as this thing isn't turning into a little inferno in my kid's room while he's sleeping, it's much like any other toy of this type. ​It also has the same sort of learning curve.

I'm going to say it's a "bit" more dangerous than a scooter or bike, simply because those toys have handlebars. You get a little extra control on both of those, but I believe the hoverboard is easier to ride. I mean, if you can stand up, you can ride a hoverboard. 

It's definitely no more dangerous than a skateboard. I've ridden both, and I've fallen down less on the hoverboard. Meaning, I haven't fallen down at all. 

That's not to say my kids haven't fallen down, but it's been way less than when they learned to ride a bike. The falls don't involve a lot of metal you can get tangled up in either. 

You can buy helmets and pads, of course. And, you can be like the other good parents out there and actually make your kids wear them after the first few times. My kids wore them for a half hour or so, and then the protective gear hit the toy box.

Really though, they don't ride on the street with this stuff, so if your kids are riding on the street, I'm going to recommend ALL the protective gear, just like with a bike, etc.

Heck, it's rained so much in the last five months that I'm pretty sure none of us are ever going outside again, so protective gear isn't an issue. 

We have a slab on our front acreage where someone built a house, then tore it down before selling the land. It's really odd looking, but makes an amazing basketball court, bike path, colored chalk canvas, etc. 

Mostly though, the hoverboard gets ridden in the house. Sometimes as intended, sometimes like this:

You see, very safe! Very, very safe, and used exactly as intended.

This is probably the part where I should release Swagtron of all liability if my kids get hurt. So as long as it doesn't blow up, Swagtron can consider themselves released.

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ARE HOVERBOARDS SELF BALANCING?

They do self balance, and the hoverboard we have has a few helpful things built in to keep you from busting your butt when you get on.

The trick is to stay as still as you can. Don't freak out and start flailing around. This will cause the hoverboard to move, which will only make you freak out more. 

So, stay still, be calm, make tiny movements until you get more comfortable.

​Let's talk about getting on.

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HOW TO STEP ONTO A HOVERBOARD

When in doubt, ask your kids. They're always willing to give it a shot. 

According to Swagtron, the first trick is to put one foot on the hoverboard to trigger the sensor. At this point the hoverboard will enter self balancing mode so it doesn't fly out from under you when you put your full weight on it. So, place one foot on (your dominant foot), then wait a second and place your other foot on the other pad. 

Once you're there, stand upright without leaning forward or backward. It'll move a bit as it corrects and responds, but you should basically stay in one place.

If you're worried about falling over, get on it while you're near something you can hold on to, like a couch or counter top.

​Here's my 8 year old showing everyone how to get on a hoverboard like a pro.

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SWAGTRON HOVERBOARD
​LEARNING MODE

When you're first starting out, it can help to use learning mode. 

This mode just prevents you from reaching maximum speed. It doesn't seem like you're going fast when you're observing someone ride, but when you're on it, it can feel scary fast, even though the top speed is 7 MPH.

When you push the power button to turn the hoverboard on, just wait until it turns on, then quickly press the power button again. The hoverboard will beep to let you know you're in learning mode. 

When you're feeling comfortable enough, you can repeat the process to take yourself out of learning mode.

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WHICH IS THE
​FRONT OF A HOVERBOARD?

I don't know if it's all hoverboards, or just our Swagtron, but just like a car, there is a front and a back. 

If you step on the wrong way, you'll find yourself going slow forward and super fast backward.

That's not what you want. 

Check your model, but if it's like ours, it'll be indicated with lights. 

​Here's the front:

Here's the back:

Just like on a car, your red lights are in the back. If you see them, turn the hoverboard around. 

If you look at the front picture again, you can barely see the ending of the word "Swagtron" by my son's foot on the right side of the picture. That's another good way to tell the front. Just look for the logo.

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HOW LONG DOES A HOVERBOARD
​HAVE TO CHARGE?

We plugged ours in Christmas morning and read the directions. It recommended charging for 90-100 minutes. I had my son charge it for two hours, just to be on the safe side.

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HOW LONG DOES A HOVERBOARD CHARGE LAST?

According to the book, our hoverboard charge will last 8 miles. 

Since my kids only ride it inside, it's hard to say how many miles they go, so I'll tell you in hours.

If they charge it fully, it'll last all day long with them hopping on and off. I believe it should only need to be charged once a day with normal use, but my kids have a hard time staying away from it, so it gets charged for 15-20 minutes before one of them feels the need to ride it around. 

Still, I've never seen them put it on the charger more than twice in a day, and it's always those short bursts. 

If you can get your kiddo to remember to plug it in at night, I think it would be an all day kind of fun. 

The booklet does say not to let it charge unnecessarily, so keep that in mind. There's a light on the charging block that turns red when it's charging, and green when it's charged. 

​It's best to take the charger off once you see the light turn green.

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IS A HOVERBOARD GOOD EXERCISE?

I've had a lot of questions about this, which begs me to ask....what exactly do you think you'll be doing on a hoverboard?

I guess MAYBE it's good core exercise? You do have to keep your balance...

But, otherwise, no. It's the epitome of lazy fun. :)

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SHOULD I GET A HOVERBOARD
​FOR MY KID?

If the only thing you're worried about is them getting hurt, then I'm going to say a hoverboard isn't any worse than any other vehicle of the type, as I said at the beginning of the post.

If they're going to ride on the street, consider protective gear. If you're only going to let them ride with protective gear, even in the house, that's great too.

The problem of course, like with anything of this sort, is going to be busted wrists (whey they try to catch a fall) or a busted head, when they don't catch a fall. 

Speaking as someone whose first memory of learning to ride a bike was ending up in the ER with a concussion, I don't fear the hoverboard just because it's a hoverboard. That's just me, though. This is your kid, so you've got to go with your gut. 

The most common injury in our house has been to the innocent bystanders getting their foot run over when the rider isn't paying attention. That really hurts. I mean, this thing weighs like 40 pounds.

But, if you're worried about it exploding, you can rest assured that's been addressed. These things are no longer little fire hazards.

What they are is a lot of fun. Here we are, two months out from Christmas, and this hoverboard still gets used every single day, without fail. 

A Swagtron Hoverboard is one of the best gifts, if not the best gift, I've ever gotten for my kids.

Happy mulling it over!
​Ty

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