Toys 'getting more dangerous'

Designed for 7-to-10-year-olds, a $3395, 79cc motorbike is advertised as having "more than enough power to satisfy".

But parents are being urged to make sure they match their children's "toys" to their age and strength.

Safekids director Ann Weaver told the Weekend Herald children would always tend to think they were immune from danger when riding wheeled toys.

It was up to parents to be sensible about what they bought children, and to keep an eye on them.

Suzuki New Zealand's sales manager, Simon Meade, agreed.

He said it always came back to the parent to make sure a child could manage the bike being bought, to provide safety gear and to ensure children were supervised.

The issue of children riding motorcycles has been highlighted by the deaths last week of Manawatu brothers, 7-year-old Ben Norwood and Jack, 5.

They were killed when the 70cc motorbike they were riding collided with their father's utility on a gravel road near their home.

The boys are thought to have taken the bike without their parents' knowledge. They had been warned never to ride on the road.

But few or no laws appear to govern children riding motorcycles off-road and on farms.

The Weekend Herald understands concerns are also growing about increasing numbers of children riding bikes, because of the proliferation of cheaper, imported motorbikes now available.

Safekids, the child safety division of Starship Children's Hospital, has a policy opposing children under 16 riding any all-terrain vehicle.

But there is less information about two-wheeled bikes and injuries.

Ms Weaver said children's judgments and riding skills were limited by their age and development.

"It's about parents considering realistically what they are buying their children, and making sure it's age appropriate and child appropriate.

"They have to think about what they're buying them to entertain them - some toys are getting more dangerous."

Mr Meade said Suzuki believed riders under 16 should be under parental supervision.

He said all bikes sold carried recommendations covering the suitability for particular ages and height-weight considerations.