Mini Micro 3in1 Scooter

If you live anywhere where there are a large number of children you can't help but notice the little scooters that all of them whizz around the park and pavements on. When Little Miss C and I visited our local primary school recently I was amused to see that the bike park had more scooters than bikes in it! LMC has been starting with scooter envy recently which increased when she was given a quick go on a friend's scooter whilst on a trip to feed the ducks in the park. With a second birthday approaching it seemed an obvious gift idea and everyone I spoke to instantly said that we should go for a Micro Scooter rather than one of the cheaper alternatives.

Not being familiar with the range I dispatched Mr C down to our local toy shop one Saturday afternoon with strict instructions that he had to come back having decided which one we should get. The Mini Micro 3in1 Scooter had been mentioned on Twitter as a possibly being most suitable for Little Miss C's age and having looked at them all that's exactly what we decided to go for.

The 3in1 is the newest scooter in the Micro Scooter range and really does help in those families where a younger sibling has scooter envy, but isn't quite big enough to go for the full Mini Micro Scooter. With a recommended age range of just 1+, the 3in1 consists of a Mini Micro Scooter (in either blue or pink), plus a seat and an o-bar handle.

The idea is that for the youngest children you attach the o-bar handle rather than the usual T-bar one and also clip onto this the seat. This turns the scooter into a simple ride-on for those less confident on their feet and there are two different height positions in which you can clip the seat depending on the size of your child. The o-bar handle is easier for little hands to hold onto, and most importantly to keep hold of whilst moving along! LMC also finds it really useful for picking up the handle to reposition the scooter in the direction she wants to go.

When a child is old enough to start scooting along on their own you can just remove the seat and you have a small scooter. We initially attached the seat when we gave the scooter to LMC, but within a couple of hours she'd asked us to remove it as she had worked out that it was just stopping her from scooting properly! Since then, especially when tired, she has asked for it to be put back on several times.

Even without the seat LMC has quickly mastered how to scoot along – in straight lines. Watching other children do similar means that it hasn't taken her long at all, but steering is another matter entirely! For now we're concentrating on straight lines and ensuring that mum or dad is close enough to help out before a collision happens. The speed she can already get up to on it is quite impressive and shows just how easy it is to get to grips with – even for someone so young.

What is obvious from the start is the quality of the Micro Scooter itself. Designed and manufactured to withstand plenty of abuse from little children the scooter is very solidly built so that you feel very confident that it's completely safe for your little ones and that you're not going to have to be constantly fixing it. Having seen the dangerous ways that some other scooters have broken in I definitely agree with the recommendation that everyone gave of going for a quality brand.

Once LMC gets older and bigger all we need to do now is replace the o-bar handle with the T-bar one and then you've got a regular Mini Micro Scooter. I think it's great to have something that will last for such a long time and that too definitely makes it worth the cost investment until a child moves up to a Maxi Scooter (approximately when they are 5 or 6 years old). If you already have a Mini Micro Scooter you can buy a pack containing just the o-bar handle and seat.

So, all we need to do now is master turning corners and then I won't need to run quite so close behind when Little Miss C whizzes along!

Disclaimer: After providing us with lots of help in choosing which scooter to go for, Cuthberts Toys kindly gave us a Mini Micro 3in1 Scooter to review. Although they don't sell them online, you can buy Micro Scooters in their shops in St Albans and Letchworth, and also in their new shop in the Hatfield Galleria. Their staff know all about the range and are happy to provide advice on which scooter would be best for your child. A pack containing the o-bar handle and seat costs £29.99 and this is also available in all three Cuthberts stores.