Kids like toys. Of course, some toys need you to teach your kids how to be safe. Bicycles, tricycles and even those battery-powered little cars toddlers ride in require the use of safety gear. If it has wheels, I think children should be wearing helmets and safety pads at knees and elbows. This goes for adults too. I even wear gloves when riding my bicycle, because your hands are usually the first thing to hit if you fall. Now after saying that, I don’t see a hoverboard with wheels as any more risky than other toys such as bicycles. That is, if you buy one that is made of great parts and has a reliable battery.
They are kind of cool looking, and you do need good balance to ride one. However, you need good balance to ride a bicycle or skateboard too. We actually have a law hear that children must wear helmets when riding bicycles. Adults do not have to. I see a lot of adults wearing helmets on bikes, but I do see a lot of children not wearing them. It is tough for a parent to enforce rules such as wearing safety gear, but it is important. A school coach is not going to let players get in a football game without their safety gear, and the players would not play without it. We need to teach this common sense type of approach to riding anything from hoverboards to skateboards too.
I admit that when I was growing up there were not even any helmets made for bicycle riders. I am glad to have not ever had a serious head injury, but I did get a couple whacks falling before. I want our children to have fun riding bicycles, skateboards, hoverboards and even ice skating and using inline skates. We just make them gear up every single time. Oh, and my husband and I wear our safety gear too. Every time and all the time.