I swear there is nothing more annoying than people who wear Heelys in public. If you want to wear Heelys in the privacy of your own home, that’s your business. But in public they should be banned, just like skateboards, and roller blades, and scooters.
When I see some kid rolling toward me in the mall with their heels down, I want to do one thing - trip them and laugh. And if you were riding a skateboard or rollerblades in the mall, it would not be any different.
My biggest complaint about Heelys is that we don’t have a global Heelys ban to prevent people from “using” them in public places. Soon, somebody is going to bring a lawsuit against Heelys and sanity will be restored. It can’t come soon enough.
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While not particularly having a problem with heelys in public I do share your concern about being run down by an outa control heely wearer.
Aslo these things are a lawsuit wainting to happen, yeah they will be banned soon enough. as soon as some kid falls and becomes a vegetable as a result and the lawsuits start flying.
mark on December 26th, 2007 at 11:36 am | Link
My son has Heely’s. This is his third pair in 3 years. He is almost 9, and is a huge skateboarder, snowboarder, rollerblading, scooter- type of kid. We live in NJ so the outside weather isn’t always conducive to participating in these sports. Having lived with all of these sports, I can honestly say heelys are nothing like having a skateboard or blades, etc in a mall. Using heelys in a house is not something that can be done. They can mark up a floor, and going from floors to rugs within a short distance is a recipe for tripping.
Should also mention my son also has sensory issues, and he craves movement. I prefer to have him heely as I walk in a mall or store. He doesn’t go far from me, and he understands heelys are a privilege, not a right, and he knows how to control himself in a public place with heelys or have them taken away. So I have to say this- Heelys restore MY sanity because it helps my son (it’s a sort of occupational therapy for him), and I think it all comes down to the parents.
Susan on January 9th, 2008 at 8:05 am | Link
I hate the fact that you cant find sizes 10-13 mens heelys in stores or online.What if the bigger sized foot kid wants to have some fun.
danny on January 18th, 2008 at 6:29 pm | Link
@danny, keep looking. You can find them.
I wanted one thing for Christmas - a pair of size 12 Heely’s. I snuck out and bought myself a pair a few days before Christmas. Come to find out on Christmas morning, my wife and kids actually listened to what I wanted this year and they also got me a pair.
I now have two pairs of size 12.
You can do it. Keep looking.
Susan, it is a bit unclear what you mean by sensory issues but typically this means there is something wrong with the sensations one receives. ie not knowing where your body is. This combination spells certain disaster when the sensory uninhibited child can’t control himself on these things what is your child going to do.
Oh and not to slight your childs shortcomings I feel for any child with a malady of any kind and I sincerely hope your child outgrows his snesory issues!
mark on January 24th, 2008 at 3:42 pm | Link
Mark,
My son will never “outgrow” his sensory issues. It’s more of a learning-how-to-live-with-it sort of thing. We don’t really consider a malady though. It’s just another way of going about life. He looks normal, acts normal, is smart and does fine in school. You probably know lots of adults and children with sensory issues, but don’t realize it. They may not even realize it themselves, but I bet they know they are somehow “different”!
I will be honest and say that from your statement it’s obvious you don’t know much about sensory issues. You are right in a sense (pardon the pun) that some children can have issues that relate to “where their body is”, but children who experience that side of sensory integration difficulties would have problems with the actual movement and would more than likely be deathly afraid of heelys. My child is on the other end of that, whereas he craves the movement the heelys give him. His balance and coordination are not affected at all; he actually has better balance than I do! He is completely under control-no disasters here.
Susan on January 24th, 2008 at 7:39 pm | Link
After four months of use my son’s Heelys have two huge holes in the tops of them. I think they were Escape. Still $70.00.
That’s the last pair I’ll buy.
bschmelzle on January 30th, 2008 at 12:08 pm | Link
I am 19 years old and i am a proud owner of heelys. Heelys are the funnest thing ever invented. Everywhere i go is fun no matter what when wearing them. Learning new tricks, gliding real fast by people and feeling the wind in your face, seeing how jealous people get when they see me having fun even though im 19, and the list goes on. Jealousy of adults and workers just spews out when they see me lookin cool as ice and i love it.
One time this manager of the mall told me to stop heelying and i said “ok” as i heelyd right past him and disappeared off into the distance. Similar situation at meijer.
When people get hurt and sue heelys i say they are a dumb bithc. Why stop at just suing the heelys? Sue the ground too for being there.
Falling is gonna happen when you wear heelys. Thats why they sell safety wear too. So instead of suing somebody for falling how about say “man i suck” and keep practicing.
My conclusion: The shoe box should have a warning that says “No bictches allowed.”
hunter on February 11th, 2008 at 8:15 pm | Link
I am shocked at the attention that these shoes are getting! C’mon folks! We have regular skates, we have roller blades and skateboards, SPORTS, that can cause just as many injuries! Common sense people, wear the protective gear! Give your child protective gear and know that when they are learning to do anything on wheels there is a potential of getting hurt!! Don’t blame the wild child on skates in the mall, blame the parents who dont have them under control! My son knows when it is appropriate and when it is not! You have kids that run into you without heelys on their feet! You have adults who are just as rude, so get off of the topic please about lawsuits and banning because that is straight up RIDICULOUS!!!!
Allison on February 19th, 2008 at 11:49 am | Link
While I agree 100% that this is the responsibility of parents to teach their kids (and enforce it) when it is right or wrong to use these shoes, one thing bothered me, Susan, in your post.
“Using heelys in a house is not something that can be done. They can mark up a floor, and going from floors to rugs within a short distance is a recipe for tripping.”
It struck me as selfish that you find it unacceptable to mark up your own floor but, as is clearly shown in your post, you assumed this is a fine thing to do to a public building’s floor. Their floors must be cleaned and repaired just like yours. And it costs money there too.
In no way do I hope to belittle your child’s condition. It’s excellent that you’ve found a way to help him to address his condition through a common daily activity. However, please still have some respect for others’ rights and property. The fact that your child is at a disadvantage may be unfair, but it in no way gives him any “extra rights or privileges”, just as it does not give extra rights and privileges to my brothers-in-law who suffer from serious ADD. They have to work harder, and they know they won’t get unfair compensation in the world for their disorder.
Best of luck to you and your son.
Sub1ime14 on November 6th, 2008 at 2:01 pm | Link