Bouncing Back After A Fall: Our Top Tips

Bouncing Back After A Fall

The best thing to do if you fall off a horse is get straight back on, and the same is true for children’s scooters. 

Nobody likes to see their child tumble over, that’s for sure. In fact, your natural instinct is probably to pick them up, give them a big cuddle and carry them away from the scene of the accident. 

However, this won’t teach them valuable skills, such as how to overcome difficulties and to keep going even when things are challenging. 

It might also develop anxiety around scooting, becoming afraid to ever go back on one as they’re scared they’ll fall off again. That is why it is important that after they have been comforted, they are then encouraged to get back on. 

This shows them they are capable of scooting and their fall was just an accident; gives them pride they overcame something they were fearful of; and stops them developing anxiety about an activity they had previously enjoyed. 

But even though you know why you should encourage your little one to get back on the proverbial horse, how exactly are you meant to do this?

Check for a reaction

Not all children are bothered about crashing or falling down, so try not to run over to them immediately. If they seem ok, let them recover in their own way. 

Otherwise, they will associate a fall with your dramatic reaction and it may become a lot bigger in their minds than it currently is. 

A lot of the time the falls look a lot worse than they feel, so they might come out unscathed, even if, to you, it looked like a horror scene. 

Comfort and recover

If your child is upset from falling off their scooter, it is ok to give them some comfort. You may even want to get some ice or a plaster, so they feel like an adult has acknowledged their crash in some way. 

This gives them a few minutes to regain their composure, so they are better able to try again, so long as you encourage them to do so. 

Make sure the scooter is safe

Once you have checked your child is injury-free, make sure the scooter itself has no damage. If it was only a small crash, the chances are it will be ok. 

However, if you are worried it has been bent out of shape or something has broken off, it is best to get it looked at before getting them back on it, in case it is now unsafe to use. 

Teach them what went wrong

To give them confidence next time they get on the scooter, help them learn what might have gone wrong or what they could do to avoid a fall next time. 

It might be that they needed to swerve more to avoid an obstacle or they leaned too far to one side. 

Do not criticise their skills, but try to teach them so they can improve their scooting abilities. 

Former downhill cyclist Andrew Shandro told Bicycling.com: “The most important thing is to step back and see what went wrong.”

He added: “I think you can learn something from every crash, thinking about what happened and why it happened.”

Support them 

If they are really nervous about getting back on the scooter, give them some support. 

For instance, they could hop on to the vehicle with both feet, and you pull it along for a bit till they get used to the movement and balance to do it themselves. 

Alternatively, they could scoot while you gently hold their back or run alongside them in case they start to fall, so you are there to catch them. 

After they have built up speed - and their confidence again - you can let go or retreat, allowing them to do it all on their own.