HI everyone!
I was wondering if the razor scooter craze has hit Spain? My daughters want to bring them this summer with them, and I am not sure if we should. Are they used by the kids there? Do they need to wear helmets when using them? Thanks for your input.

Esperanza-
We didn't see any Razor scooters during our recent trip to Spain, and they are probably pretty impractical there. The streets in most towns are bumpy or cobblestones, and in Madrid, there aren't all the cuts in sidewalks we have here at street corners. In addition, the kids won't be familiar with traffic patterns or habits. Come to think of it, we didn't see any Rollerblades either.

Save the Razors for the safe sidewalks of your own neighborhood--there will be lots of things to keep them busy, anyway!
Have fun!

I tried to find a place to rollerblade in spain, and finally explored a stretch of retiro park on them. other than that, it was totally impractical due to all the cobblestone streets. I imagine they would have very much the same problem with a scooter

The scooters of this type are rampant, all the kids have them.

I live in Barcelona, and every kid from age 3 and up has razor scooters, and no one wears helmets. If they'll use them, bring them. Its easier for them than walking any distance. Even in the metro you can have a huge walk to transfer underground, and I'm always jealous of the kids who coast on by. Its bumpy, but they'll get used to it!

Maybe we didn't see them because it was still early Spring (and rainy, off and on)--but still, it seems like the streets would be hard to "scoot" on.

I used to rollerblade a lot, and found that I was much more prone to getting injured when (1) I didn't know the area or (2) the surface was rough. But if they are looking for some fun in Retiro (or along Paseo de la Castellana or in the Plaza Mayor), it would probably work. Can you convince them to wear pads?

Sometime in January, the Spanish magazine Hola featured a scooter race starting in Retiro and ...can't remember the route...in which HUNDREDS of kids participated. Also Princess Stephanie and her kids have been featured riding them (although not in Spain) and they (the scooters) were referred to as a 'craze' throughout Europe.

The razor scooter craze has hit hard in Spain too!We almost bought one for our nephew for Reyes but my suegra informed me he already had one...It didn't matter that we were there in January, the kids in the parks and paseos were everywhere with them...Let your kids take them and have a great time!!

thanks so much for all of your thoughts! I really appreciate your responses.