Elle MacPherson lets son ride on handlebars
Categories: Kids 5-7, Fun & Activities, Safety, Celeb Parenting, Behaving Badly
Supermodel Elle MacPherson is in trouble with the Royal Prevention of Accidents for letting her son ride on the handlebars of her bike. The model was spotted in London with son Aurelius Cy propped up on her handlebars. I'm sure there are worse things someone could allow her child to do, but it doesn't seem like a smart move at all.
The RPA is calling her actions "irresponsible" and dangerous. MacPherson was also clutching a handbag. I suppose that is to prove she had even less a handle on her son, but it's also probably because, you know, she's a model. A spokesman for the RPA said what she was doing was also illegal. I don't know about British law, so I can't verify that, but it does seem unsafe to use a bike built for one person to haul two people, especially when one of them isn't even in a seat. I can bet you neither of them was wearing a helmet either.
Plenty of people in New York City tote their kids around on bikes, but the kids get their own seats on the back of the bike. We see a lot of "co-pilot" stickers on the back of these bike seats which ads a little tinge of humor. Cheesy, sure, but a lot safer than letting your kid ride on your handlebars. If that happened in my neighborhood we wouldn't need an RPA to get involved--the neighbors would give a mouthful!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Katheryn 9-17-2008 @ 6:30PM
I hate it when governments try to tell us how to raise our kids.
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Uly 9-17-2008 @ 9:10PM
Heaven forbid that you're not allowed to risk your child's skull...!
TerriJ 9-19-2008 @ 9:01AM
Oh for the love of.....you know, we could all go around in bubble suits, but what a drag that would be. It's called LIVING, people. You are never going to be 100% safe all the time. We live, and we die. I get the safety issue, but danger is everywhere, and the BEST-LAID plans of mice and men often go awry. Let's outlaw automobiles, because even with seatbelts and carseats it is a moving deathtrap. While we're at it, include airplanes, boats, skates, theme parks, skis, and the list goes on.
buddapeacecz 9-19-2008 @ 9:50AM
Ah...remember when, we didn't have to wear seat belts?
When there were no car seats?
Before 911 and Columbine when you could joke and it wasn't looked upon as a threat?
Before bike helmets? How did I ever make it to 40?
I didn't have a car seat as a baby, I went to school without metal detectors, I took my first driving test without wearing my seat belt, I biked all over town and country without a helmet.....and even worse held onto my older friends car bumpers and "skitched" across ice on a frozen lake! Yet I am still alive and very healthy.....Oh my!
michelle 9-19-2008 @ 9:49AM
unbelievable...or is it I don't know. She was spending time with her son and he was probably enjoying every minute of it. There are definitly more "dangerous" things the authorities could spend their time on.
DEWITTA 9-19-2008 @ 9:53AM
Oh, give me a break, kids have been riding on handle bars for centuries and not wearing helmets. We all grew up when it was ok to do it. Give the lady a break, at least she was spending time with her kid which is a lot more than most people do.
LOL
deborah the divine 9-19-2008 @ 10:31AM
And people wonder why kids don't play outside. Everything is dangerous. What about climbing trees. My god the kid could fall and kill himself. We did so much stuff as kids that is "frowned" on these days. Life was fun. It was fun to be outside playing. We learned from falls and scrapes and bumps. And when got a little hurt we either didn't do it again. Or we got up and tried again and got better at it. Should be ban sports in school? We know how often sports injuries occur. But no one is yelling to ban football. Geez, let kids be kids.
Val 9-19-2008 @ 3:39PM
oh good grief,how many times did we as kids ride on the handlebars of a bike and guess what?we're still alive to talk about it
wily6ns 9-19-2008 @ 1:09PM
Elle is an Aussie and Aussies don't spend a lot of time looking over their shoulders seeking "nanny state" approval. .bh.
Kirstie 9-18-2008 @ 12:32AM
I can ride my bike with no handlebars, handlebars ...
Sorry, I've been written papers and an epic poem all night and my brain is fried, so I just had to do it. Joys of being an english lit major!
Sure, it's hideously stupid that she would do that .. it's downright dangerous. But that doesn't mean it should be illegal.
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Karen 9-18-2008 @ 9:00AM
Pffft! I don't think it is that dangerous at all. We rode like that all the time as kids and yeah we fell off some and jumped off even more. Falling down or off a bike doesn't necessitate a skull fracture.
Yes, a helmet would be ideal, but I don't see this as a huge big deal.
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Maureen 9-19-2008 @ 11:01AM
My brother in law rode a bike with my nephew sitting on the handle bars. The front tire of the bike hit a rock and the bike was stopped in its tracks but flipped over (forward) because of the momentum they had picked up from the speed at which they were riding. My nephew ended up at the ER with multiple injuries after he was thrown from the bike landing on his face and head on the street. He is okay now, but what a stupid thing to have done. The whole ordeal could have been avoided if he hadn't been riding with him on the handle bars.
Karen 9-19-2008 @ 12:14PM
And the whole thing could have been avoided if he didn't ride at all.
You can't bubble wrap life. There is a possibility of serious injury but I think that it is on par with th epossibility of serious injury in all of life...on par with other sports activities that don't necessarily have helmets.
The point is it isn't this grand evil. Yes, smarter to wear a helmet. But people over react to this type of thing.
Baron 9-18-2008 @ 9:57AM
How old is this kid? I could see it being a "danger" if it is some baby that can't hold its own head up, but if it is something like a 3 year old, their shouldn't be an issue. Granted, there are safer ways of doings things, but I remember when I was little, we would always pile on as many kids as needed on our "1 person" bikes and we are none the worse for wear.
Also, if you think those little baby seat attachments they make to put your kid behind your seat are safe, think again! It doesn't take much imagination to see why... Just think what happens if you get hit by a car or even if you hit a really rough patch in the road and you fall. You will likely roll and tumble out of the way, but your bike generally goes flying. In the case of the car, it usually ends up going under the car and you go over the top of the car. If you are falling, like I said, you tumble and such, but your bike pretty much ends up in an awkward position, many times in the middle of the street. You don't want to have a baby strapped into that seat where it can't get out. A bike trailer is a much safer option if you feel the need to do that.
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star 9-19-2008 @ 6:15AM
what the hell have people lost there mind first of all stop worring about bull crap like this and worry about these lids that are in real danger my husband is a social worker and the stuff he sees has gave him nightmares so a lady with her kid on the handal bars is fin we did it when we where kids and we came out fine we over protect aare kids what type of grown up will thay become
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Michelle 9-19-2008 @ 6:51AM
Elle Macpherson, is clearly a loving mother and we are all frustrated with Government and Cartel legislation that pretends to protect our children.
Strap in and lock down our active children and precariously position them away from you as bumper protection! During a period of our children's development it is no wonder our society suffers with obesity.
Thank God for organisations such as campaign for adventure - We have a treehouse and a large trapeleene in our garden, and organisations such as Go Ape adventure playgrounds in the forest along with cycle centres where I can ride out in the forest with my 4 children.
I may be biase, as my partner has had direct experience with Child Seat Legislation and has found a flaw in the use of child seats off road in the very young.
He has built a child saddle and has an extreme mountain biking video on his website. We all ride out and I ride with our youngest age 2 every day, I find this much easier, and better balanced and I entertain Toby in just riding along.
Interestingly, I have been told the exisitng Standards legislating the strapped down seats over a wheel have hidden dangers they are not recognising when using off road. The risk of Shaken Baby syndrome is high in the under 2's.
I find this ironic as they are intervening with mother nature's way to protect the child and prevent our natural instinct as parents to nuture and protect our children, and more importantly not allow our children to enjoy a ride, which they all love to do!
I have the benefits of outdoor life and exercise with my 4 Boys which outways the lunacy and Irony H&S and BSEN try to imply in a modern culture aware of many of the risks already.
Michelle, Surrey
Try 'Little Ones Come Too' to find us playing in the forest: LOCT
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mg181818 9-19-2008 @ 6:44AM
Well folks, that's socialism for you.
BBCE -- Before Bureaucratic Control of Everything
The standard mode for two kids and one bike to shift locations, was one kid on the handlebars. 99% of all kids had traveled miles on the handlebars before eighth grade.
Being ranch bred, we naturally rode horses in every manner, practiced trick riding, rode calves, found local rodeos to compete in, practiced bulldoggin (steer wrestling) and calf roping out on the range, hunted with .guns from about the age of seven or eight,
Yeah we were injured. But being mildly injured when very young, we learned t o be careful and develop skills first before applying them.
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Vernita 9-19-2008 @ 6:45AM
That is very dangerous....when I was 3 or 4 I was allowed to ride on the handbars and I fell off and was cut bad over my right eyebrow and had to have stitiches....that is dangerous and the parent should have known better...handbars on a bike were not designed to ride on ..............this is common sense
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lively 9-19-2008 @ 12:12PM
Oh give me a break. Just cause you couldn't jump fast enough, or you're a wimp, doesn't mean that she should have gotten in trouble. Go ahead and bubble wrap your kids, though, vernita. It won't help with the ER bills when they get superinfections because you were too protective
Vernita 9-19-2008 @ 6:51AM
That is very dangerous....when I was 3 or 4 I was allowed to ride on the handbars and I fell off and was cut bad over my right eyebrow and had to have stitiches....that is dangerous and the parent should have known better...handbars on a bike were not designed to ride on ..............this is common sense
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