Scooters and Being Chill

The first week the kids rode their scooters (or les trottinettes) to school, I was a wreck.

They careened down the sidewalks, going to fast. They just missed knocking over people on the sidewalks, or would follow so closely to people walking ... it would drive me crazy.

"Leah! Slow down!" "Alice, Be Careful!"

What is the social expectations of kids commuting to school on scooters? Who has the right of way on a busy city street?

But than, after about a week, I started to chill out.

So what if they speed past pedestrians? Or messed with traffic patterns while trying to cross the street? 

The girls are getting cigarette smoke blown in their faces every time we go out. (Blargh!) They are being force to halt as people just stop to window shop or look at their phone. Or walk their scooters over cobblestoned streets and huge sidewalk cracks. Not to mention swerve to miss dog poo left on the street.

This is a small village in a residential district of Paris. And they're kids! Who cares what others our neighbors think, as long as they're safe, right?!

I ride my trottinette on most days, too. It cuts a few minutes off the commute to Leah's school and it's fun to ride home. I'm a bit more of a conservative driver than the girls, but I've stopped worrying over flying past the walkers. I like it.