Richard Hogan: E-scooters for teens and mobiles for young children — a recipe for disaster

The best gift you could give your child this Christmas is the gift of parenting... not an e-scooter, writes Richard Hogan

Richard Hogan: 'Perhaps the best gift you could give your child this Christmas is the gift of parenting... don’t get them that e-scooter they have been pestering you for. You just might save their life.'

We are now only one week from the most special day in the calendar. All this week children’s dreams will be rich with images of flying reindeers, Santa, and the gifts he will bring.

It is a magical time with Christmas movies, Christmas FM, and lights all around the neighbourhood adding to the vibe.

Children can be a little overwhelmed with it all — my own eight-year-old daughter said to me this week: “Can I change something I have asked Santa for?”

It’s a lot of pressure to choose the right gift. As parents, we can be put under enormous pressure to get something we don’t particularly want them to have for our teenagers.

Parents often contact me asking ‘should I get my 11-year-old child a phone, they have put it on their Santa list?’ And I reply telling them what I told my daughter: Santa doesn’t bring technology like that. Santa supports parents, he doesn’t go against them. So, don’t ask for that because Santa won’t bring it.

E-scooters

But there is another gift that parents really should think twice about getting their teenager and that is an e-scooter.

I don’t want to be an Ebenezer Scrooge here, but parents should be very aware about what is happening with these e-scooters.

I work with teenagers every day, and I have seen the damage these scooters cause.

One young teenager I was working with fell off his friend’s e-scooter and was lucky not to acquire a lifelong brain injury, like so many other teenagers have done. It took him a considerable amount of time to get back into school, and he was one of the lucky ones. His life was very nearly irrevocably changed because of one brief moment going to the shop on his friend’s e-scooter. His parents asked me to write about his experience in the hope other children might be saved from a serious injury.

I think we have all been shocked with the speed these machines can go. I see it walking around my local area; kids without helmets whizzing by and taking risks flying between traffic on open roads.

Richard Hogan: 'E-scooter-related brain injuries now account for more than 25% of paediatric neurosurgical admissions in CHI at Temple Street in the past year. Nearly half of those children required intensive care, or underwent emergency neurosurgery, with some being left with permanent disabilities.'

Earbuds in, hoods up — they can’t hear or see fully. It is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

During adolescence the brain develops in an interesting way, the impulse system develops first while the control systems of the neocortex develop later. This means teenagers are far more likely to take risks that could potentially have devastating outcomes for them. I have often remarked to myself, as they go whizzing by, these things are going to do serious damage to children.

A good friend of mine is a doctor in an emergency department and I contacted him to ask if he’s noticed a rise in children presenting with injuries due to e-scooters. 

He was surprised I was the first person to ask him that question as they are inundated with teenagers having seriously injured themselves on these e-scooters. He sent me recent research conducted by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) that every parent should read: “Since the introduction of e-scooter legislation in May 2004, hospitals have seen a worrying rise in serious injuries among young riders.”

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A statistic that should wake up every parent is that e-scooter incidents have now become the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries requiring admission to CHI at Temple Street, surpassing car crashes, bicycle accidents, falls, and sporting injuries.

The RSA study showed that e-scooter-related brain injuries accounted for more than 25% of paediatric neurosurgical admissions in CHI at Temple Street in the past year. Nearly half of those children required intensive care, or underwent emergency neurosurgery, with some being left with permanent disabilities.

Richard Hogan: 'Giving a powerful machine to a child whose brain has not developed sophisticated risk adverse thinking is exercising very poor judgement as a parent. We spend all our lives trying to protect our children when they are young, and just because a fad arrives doesn’t mean we should simply abandon our responsibility of care.'

Giving a powerful machine to a child whose brain has not developed sophisticated risk adverse thinking is exercising very poor judgement as a parent. We spend our lives trying to protect our children when they are young, and just because a fad arrives doesn’t mean we should simply abandon our responsibility of care.

Parents often feel pressurised to get an e-scooter but we must never parent from a position of wanting to make our children happy to the detriment of their safety.

RSA chief executive Sam Waide recently warned parents: “E-scooters are not toys — they are powerful motorised vehicles, and the risks for children are severe. Our message is simple: if your child is under 16, an e-scooter is not a suitable or legal gift. 

"This campaign is about protecting children from preventable harm and ensuring every parent understands the potential consequences.”

Perhaps the best gift you could give your child this Christmas is the gift of parenting... don’t get them that e-scooter they have been pestering you for. You just might save their life.