My kids turned 3 in October for Christmas my husband and I are arguing over what to get them, he thinks bikes I think scooters. I was thinking I would get the scooters now and get them their bikes for their birthday next October. Thoughts?

JILL MOM TO
KOURTNEY 3 LBS 1 OZ
KEEGAN 2 LBS 1 OZ
KARVER 1 LB 10 OZ
10/4/08 @ 29 weeks

I would get them bikes now (12") and scooters next year. We just bought razor scooters for ours when they turned 5 and it's worked out very well. They got bikes at 3. 2 of mine where riding without their training wheels this summer!

Crazy mom to:
DS 10
DS 7
& BBB 5!
9/29/06 born @ 32w2d

Bikes. Definitely Bikes.

I had the same dilemma for the boys' birthday (they'll be 4 on Sunday.) Because of lack of space, we went with scooters, but if that hadn't been an issue, I would have gotten bikes.

Pam
Identical BBB triplets born 12/4/07 at 33w2d
http://www.pyjammy.com
New Orleans triplets: http://www.nolatripletsandmore.com/

Do you mean scooters like the stand-on Razor scooters? or the ride-on toys that they "scoot" on while seated?

Loren
GGG Jan.2005 @ 28wks

Sweetened Taters - http://sweetenedtaters.blogspot.com

Stand on scooters, not the razors that only have one wheel in back, the ones that have two wheels in the back and 1 in front.

JILL MOM TO
KOURTNEY 3 LBS 1 OZ
KEEGAN 2 LBS 1 OZ
KARVER 1 LB 10 OZ
10/4/08 @ 29 weeks

I guess it depends how coordinated your kids are My kids were NOT coordinated and couldn't figure out how to spin their feet. They would have been much better off with a scooter (like the one you described).

If you can't decide, there are these pretty neat plasma scooters that don't have pedals but you scoot them and steer them to keep the momentum. You can find them all over. We bought one for our nephew when he was 4 and he loved it.

http://www.scooterskids.com/detail/plasmacar-red-B000GUEXBG

Loren
GGG Jan.2005 @ 28wks

Sweetened Taters - http://sweetenedtaters.blogspot.com

My kids have absolutely adored their bikes starting the summer they were three. They have March birthdays and bike-riding season here in Michigan starts somewhere in April or May. They had 12" wheels with training wheels. We have a wide, flat driveway and they can bike around safely on it, so they used their bikes daily at that age. They really enjoyed riding around the block as well, also at the park near our house.

This past summer, when they were just 4, they all three got their training wheels off. I think bike-riding has really helped them with coordination, balance and being confident/taking risks physically. Also great exercise.

I'm sure that your kids would like scooters too (we have one that the kids will goof around on) but personally I don't think they compare to the fun of going fast on a bike.

HT

Mary (41) happily married to Case (45) since 7/2000

Stay-at-home mom to Madelyn Anne, born 10/31/04

and GBG triplets: Laura Catherine (4 lb 8 oz), Andrew William (4 lb 9 oz) and Elise Nicole (4 lb 7 oz) born 3/15/07 at 34w 1d

we turned 3 in sept and we are doing bikes, they love their trikes and can fly on them even fliped it once...make sure you check the bike size...ours are big for their age and we are getting 2 16" and 1 14" bike so it should last up...remember you can adjust teh seats and as long as their toes can touch the ground you are good

Joy

GBB Triplets born 9-24-08(31 weeks)

Kellynn Grace 3lbs 3oz
Holden Coy 3lbs 2oz
Cayden Thomas 3lbs 8oz

http://hilltriplets.shutterfly.com/

On the topic of bike size and price.. I wouldn't get majorly expensive bikes for them at this age. They are going to go through bike sizes quickly. IMO you don't want to start too big, they will feel more confident on a smaller size, and if you want to try to get training wheels off in the 4-5yo range you want them on a smallish bike so they can just put their foot easily on the ground if they start to fall. The whole "extend you leg straight on the pedal" thing is a better measure once they are confidently biking without training wheels. All our kids used 12in bikes until they got training wheels off. Our triplets (4 last spring, at a range of heights) got their training wheels off early in the summer, then moved up to 16in bikes toward the end of this past summer. My oldest, who turned 7 this fall and is a little above average height, moved up to a 20in bike.

That's what has worked for us... good luck!

Mary (41) happily married to Case (45) since 7/2000

Stay-at-home mom to Madelyn Anne, born 10/31/04

and GBG triplets: Laura Catherine (4 lb 8 oz), Andrew William (4 lb 9 oz) and Elise Nicole (4 lb 7 oz) born 3/15/07 at 34w 1d

We love the Mini Kick Scooters!! Below is a post from my blog on all of the reasons that we love these! (You don't need to go to my blog.. I copy and pasted it below.. it just makes more sense to include my blog to respond to this since I already spent time putting together my thoughts on why these have been great scooters for our family) See below if you want:

The Mini Kick Scooter is for kids age 3-5. In 2011 the Mini was awarded the Parent's Choice Approved Seal and in 2009, it won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold and Platinum Award Seals for Best Toy. The Mini also was named 'Best Pre-School Scooter' by Toy Report, 'Best Outdoor Toy' by Learning Express Stores and was featured on the NBC Today Show as part of its 'Best Toys for Summer' series.

I would give it an award too if I could! It is one of the best gifts for a three year old or gift for a four year old. Practically the color choices alone make it a great choice for twins, triplets and multiples. Each child can have their very own Mini Kick Scooter in their favorite color. We chose the Mini Kick Scooter as our major Christmas gift to our triplets this past year, shortly after they turned three. I'm sure that if we gave it to them when they turned four they would have loved it just as much!

Of course we chose a green one for our son that is obsessed with the color green since this color has been assigned to him since birth. Yes, he is going to be The Green Lantern for Halloween. We chose blue for our other triplet son, also his color assigned since birth and pink for our daughter.

Of course currently our kids have named their Mini Scooters' according to what they are completely into at the moment. Our oldest triplet considers his Mini Kick Scooter his Green Lantern scooter. Our youngest triplet believes that he is Batman. He will be Batman dressing up as Captain America for Halloween and has named his Mini Kick Scooter, the Batman Scooter. Our daughter clearly has three brothers and will be Pink Batgirl for Halloween and her scooter is her Pink Batgirl Scooter. Our twenty-two month old baby boy has a baby version of the Mini Kick Scooter. This keeps him happy too! He has to have everything that they do and be able to do whatever they are doing or he completely melts down. If you don't believe me, just ask all of the parents and kids that were at the Star Wars birthday party with us a few weeks ago. Our baby completely lost it that he could not drink the Green Yoda drink with his brothers and sister.

Anyways, they absolutely LOVE them and lately as soon as we pull in the driveway they ask me if they can ride them. So five hours later after they all go potty, have a drink of water, we come back out, get their helmets, knee pads, elbow pads and gloves on and we are ready to roll!

We chose this outdoor toy for our gift for triplets for Christmas because they were born prematurely at 29 weeks and need all the help that they can get in the motor skills, balance and coordination department. This is partly the reason this outdoor toy has won so many awards, it is designed to improve the motor skills, balance and coordination of 3 to 5 year olds.

I am a safety freak and appreciate the safety features of this product. There are not any sharp edges on the Mini Kick Scooters and the three wheels keep the rider from falling over. It includes a back brake for safety and it has a low ground clearance so that children will not have far to fall.

Another feature of this outdoor toy is that you can easily remove the steering column and store the Mini Kick Scooter very compactly. It is an extremely portable product that we are able to take with us when we travel. They enjoyed riding on their Mini Kick Scooters over Easter weekend at their Poppo's house and then again this summer at my parents' house.

I cannot say enough about this product. I know that you would not regret purchasing this as a gift for any 3 to 5 year old this Christmas.

http://tripletmomplusone.blogspot.com/

Mom to BBG Triplets and Singleton boy. Our triplets are almost four and our baby is almost two.

Big Wheels -- if they still make them and you can stand the noise! My boys loved them at that age!

Vaughn and the ABC Boys
Alex, Bryce, & Calder
The 14 year olds!