Let me explain. At January’s EAG International show at ExCel London I happened to be chatting to Richard Pike, the technical manager at UK kiddie ride manufacturer, Northern Leisure. While on his stand, he told me he had someone who he’d like me to meet. “She’s called Amber and she’s a huge kiddie ride fan who travels the country taking videos of them and sharing them on YouTube,” he explained. “She’s 14, autistic and fantastic. I just thought it might be an interesting story to share.” I do realise that autism is a hidden disability and that unless you know, it’s easy to misunderstand kids that have it. It’s not so much that they sit on the rides, it’s more that they stand there and film it, so we do get a few confused questions occasionally and most people are totally ok with it.” Sadly though, there are some whose reaction to a 13/14 year old occasionally riding a product or simply being around them is less than polite, however such appalling interactions are few and far between. On that note then, lets talk about kiddie rides, cranes and autism. I bet that wasn’t a sentence you thought you’d read today. Turns out though that the three have a closer relationship than you would imagine. new Mallow 2 Fix i-Size Adjustable car seat for children from approx. 3 to 12 years of age (100-150 cm)

Ride On Toys | Cars for Kids | Halfords UK Ride On Toys | Cars for Kids | Halfords UK

That the likes of Richard and his team at Northern Leisure are gracious enough to accommodate Amber’s requests for information is something that Dad Andy is immensely grateful for. While it’s mainly Richard that we deal with there, we of course have had interaction with most of the staff there and to a person, they’re all so lovely.”It’s not terribly often that heart-warming, human-interest stories get column inches in our industry – it’s normally about who’s making the most money, doing what and where. Which is fine for the most part, because, let’s face it, that’s what we’re here for. But every now and again, it’s nice to share a bit of insight into aspects of our business that we don’t often hear about. Once I had conquered my fear, when I was around 10, I really started getting into them. I took to searching for them online and I’d see videos on you tube and thought ‘I could do that!’ so I did. I started making them myself." The level of understanding and compassion the we get from Richard and the team at Northern is above and beyond – it helps us as a family immensely and I just think it should be recognised,” said Andy. See what I mean about their knowledge?” grinned Richard, “Amber and other kids often ring us up asking where a particular ride can be found and they’ll travel hundreds of miles just to see it. Their dedication is impressive.” There are around 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the UK – that's more than 1 in 100. If you include their families, autism is a part of daily life for 2.8 million people.

Kiddie Ride On 2 | Bizziebaby Kiddie Ride On 2 | Bizziebaby

Kiddie Rides provide an outlet for families with autistic children. Who knew? Dan Snook gets schooled at EAG. Despite being well used to the obsession by now, Andy still sounded immensely proud of his daughter (as a parent myself, I recognise the sound of barely-disguised pride in a father’s voice!), “Amber has a YouTube channel with over 2000 followers and 400 videos just on kiddie rides alone. Some of the videos have amassed over 50,000 views and all the videos together have an incredible 2.3 million views and counting. Richard explained: “Towards the end of the interview they asked her what else she was up to while she was in town. Amber spoke about going to EAG, how kiddie rides are so great and important to her. She also spoke about her relationship with me and the team here at Northern Leisure, so of course we were very flattered.”

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ME Group (Photo-Me PLC) Amuse.Me (formerly founded as Jolly Roger), is a British coin-operated ride manufacturer and the world’s leading manufacturer of licensed and premium coin operated kiddie rides. The company was founded in 1988 by Roger Newborough (1946-2014). In 2001, Jolly Roger was acquired by Photo-Me PLC.

Not just child’s play | Views | InterGame Not just child’s play | Views | InterGame

All of the ride-on toys available at Outside Play have been rigorously tested and come with a wide range of safety features to ensure you and your little ones have a fun, safe time. For more great outdoor toys, why not take a look at our range of kids quad bikes? Amber, as her father Andy explained, is classed as having high-functioning autism so had no problem at all in enthusing over one of the main objects of her fangirl-ism. Autistic children seem to get fixated with amusement machines, particularly kiddie rides, he said. “I’ve been in this business for over 30 years and the knowledge that these kids possess that are here today puts me to shame. new Aspen 2 Fix i-Size Adjustable car seat for children measuring 76-150 cm (from 15 months to 12 years)

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Ride-on toys are designed to promote independence in your child, from the early stages where you help them balance and push the toy along to the time where they’re ready to operate it themselves. It’s a great way to develop their self-confidence and get them to use their balance and coordination skills. Our ride-on toys for kids are also great for promoting physical exercise and improving essential motor skills; they’ll also keep you on your toes as you race to catch up!