Heelys - Shoes with a wheel in the heel

[SpongeBob]

Anyone have a unit policy regarding Heelys? (www.heelys.com)

 

After seeing a segment on the news about how docs in emergency rooms were seeing a bunch of injuries from them, I personally think that they should only be worn with proper safety equipment. (My son does not own them.)

 

I have been being very tolerant, but I reached the end of my rope when boys were rolling all over the banquet hall at Blue and Gold.

 

G2SS doesn't explicitly include them, but I would assume that they would be under "Skating Guidelines".

 

I just want to know how other units may be handling them, and what works/doesn't work.

[Eamonn]

While until I read your post, I had never heard of these shoes. I kinda think that if we try and have a policy on everything that comes down the pike, we are going to end up with something bigger than the US Tax Code.

The shoes are not the real problem.

The problem is the people in the shoes.

Before you set the policy writers to work, you might find that the answer lies in the Law of the Pack?

Maybe "The Cub Scout gives goodwill " covers this?

Ea.

[Its Me]

 

Heeleys are great fun. They have been around for about three years. They look like normal Rebock's but tip up the toe and you are rolling. Put your feet in-line like walking a tight rope and you are zooming along. But crashes occur and now most schools and malls have now baned them. However, I have never seen kids roll on table tops. They would never walk on a table top why would they heeley on a table top? Out of control kids playing tag (also banned at some schools) may get hurt wearing heeleys or not. I am not a big fan of ever increasing rules. Standard good conduct rules should cover most situations.

 

 

 

[Lisabob]

An outright ban seems a bit like overkill. Most of the kids I know who have these shoes see them as just plain fun (and I admit to secretly wanting a pair myself sometimes!) but they are generally responsible about them.

 

I have to ask whether the problem at your B&G was that adults and kids have different perceptions of that event? While we adults tend to want B&G to be ceremonial and dignified, the boys mainly want it to be fun. They may enjoy their moment in the spotlight, the food, and the ceremonies but on the whole they seem more interested in being with their friends and partaking in the evening's entertainment. And of course dessert! Now if they were rolling around and crashing into Grandma while she carried a plate of hot food or a drink back to her table, or having races in the back of the room while the other boys were being recognized, or rolling their way through the flag ceremony or something on that order, then no, that's not ok. But those are respect and behavior issues that are not directly related to their footwear (they could run around barefooted and do the same thing). So treat it the same way as any other mild behavior issue - not a ban or special rules, but just good common sense.

[ScoutNut]

Table top?

 

They certainly look like fun, but so does baseball & you would not wear spikes to an indoor event.

 

Whenever one of our Cubs rolls past me I will simply stop them & tell them to walk, NOT roll, or to take it outside.

 

[SpongeBob]

I was just wondering if anyone thought that they are like rollerblades and that they fall under the skating section of the G2SS. If they fall under G2SS, then I don't need a policy at all.

 

I'm not sure if the insurance that our council offers would cover any injuries if they are intrepreted to be rollerblades when the rules for skating are not being followed, and I don't want to get sued.

 

To me, they are just as dangerous as rollerblades without brakes. (Just Google Heelys on Google News if you don't believe me.)

[GernBlansten]

Would you allow scouts to skateboard indoors during a meeting? how about inline skates? These are skates.

Its a safety issue for everyone.

Solution:

The wheels pop out. If you have an infraction, simply ask for the wheels. Return them after the event. My son's middle school confiscates the wheels for good.

[catew]

We banned Heelys in my Pack. We meet in a church social hall, and having 10 of 50 boys rolling around was creating a very dangerous situation for everyone. We let the boys wear them, but we don't let them roll.

[Scouting Mom]

Our pack meets in a school. The schools have banned them even after hours because of safety and because they mark up the floors.

 

The church social hall where the local troop meets has also banned them.

[Beavah]

Yah, SpongeBob, relax a bit.

 

There's no insurance issue. There's no special risk of being sued. These kids' parents were there, and had no particular problems with their kids' activity, eh? So it sounds like there's only a limited "politeness" issue, or maybe just some sensitivity on your part.

 

Yah, and don't get bent up over the "risks" too much, either. Sure, kids fall down and get hurt from doin' lots of things, includin' having wheels on their shoes. But bicycles cause a lot more and a lot worse injuries to kids every year. So do baseballs. So does travelin' in cars with adults. But we don't ban any of those, eh?

 

No fair cryin' "boogeyman" to scare people into prohibiting Heeleys. Remember, too, in some cases these are the kids' only shoes.

 

This isn't a policy matter. Yeh don't need a policy to give you permission to act like an adult. If it was inappropriate, talk to the kids or their parents and ask them to stop. Simple.

 

 

[Beavah]

Yech. I hate the net sometimes. Re-readin' my last post came off a lot harsher than intended. The way text reads is sometimes so different from the way it plays in our heads, especially when typin' fast. Sorry, SpongeBob. Do me the kindness of readin' like a friend, eh?

 

And make that last somethin' like "You don't need a policy to do what any Cubmaster would do. Ask 'em to stop."

 

 

[SpongeBob]

You did come off a bit harsh, but I expect that here.

 

I'm going to wait until the next committee-parent meeting, and I'll bring it up there. If they don't want to do do anything about it, I will need to do something else.

[CA_Scouter]

I call 'em CONCUSSION SHOES.

 

I all for small government, and having yet another policy to regulate common sense behavior is just more paperwork to wade through.

 

This is one battle I don't wage. I don't like 'em either, but you simply cannot control everything. Is this the hill you want to die on?

 

 

[EagleInKY]

Geez, I hate those things. Not because are necessarily dangerous. Not because they aren't fun (they do look like fun). It's just that I'm always seeing kids rudely running into and around other people (usually adults). I was at the airport last week and a brother & sister were riding theirs around in a big circle. Travelers with their laptops and carryons were having to avoid them. Mom and dad did nothing. At our PWD, a boy kept wheeling from the start of the track down to the finish line every time he raced. He ran into other boys a couple of times. I was waiting for one to go flying into the track. I finally put a stop to that.

 

Outright banning is probably too much, but using the time to educate kids on etiquette and politeness is a great idea.

[SpongeBob]

At least one Cub Scout pack has banned them (other than in this forum):

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070221/NEWS/702210350

 

""It's a safety issue." Virtually every school district has banned Heelys, along with grocery stores, Cub Scout packs, churches and any place where kids congregate."

 

I am not aginst Heelys. They have an appropriate time and place where they should be used, and under appropriate conditions, like bikes, skateboards, and knives.

 

I will check with the school to see if they are allowed on school property. If so, we don't need a rule, because Cub Scouts respect school rules (or should).

 

CA_Scouter: You're banking on people (parents) having common sense. You're more optimistic than I am. Last night I spoke with one of the main offender's parents, and he said that they have been yelled at by workers in stores for letting his son roll on them. If that had happened to me, I would have put a stop to them then, but they just let it continue.