7 Year Old Girl Riding on Back of Motorcycle

A picture of a 7 year old girl riding on the back of a motorcycle has caused some controversy on social media. The photo was taken in Texas and shows the little girl wearing a helmet.

The girl’s mother explains that her daughter often rides to and from school with the woman’s boyfriend – who has over 20 years of experience riding motorcycles. 

In her viral social media post, the mother says:

Some of you may have seen this picture on Facebook, and some of you may have even seen this in person. It was posted in a motorcycle group by a fellow motorist. This is my 7 year old daughter riding home from school on a motorcycle. Yes. She’s 7, and she’s on a motorcycle. “Why?” Some of you may ask… Because I love my daughter. That’s right… I LOVE MY DAUGHTER and she loves to ride, so I allow her to ride on the back of a motorcycle in full gear with my boyfriend who has 20+ years of experience. This was not her first time, she has had experience. I followed closely behind on her first ride, and i as a mother, felt that she did great and that she could handle it again. She also wants a bike of her own which is why we AS PARENTS feel the need to give her as much passenger riding experience as possible before she is allowed to ride on her own.
“But it’s dangerous”. -yes… but so is allowing your children to participate in sports.
“But she can get hurt”. -yes, but how many times has your child gotten a bruise, scrape, or hell even a broken bone from a sport? Want to know how many MY daughter has had? Zero. That’s right. NOT ONE SCRAPE, BUMP OR BRUISE from riding.
“But there are idiots on the road that you can’t control” -absolutely right. But that doesn’t prevent you from driving on the road with your children as passengers does it? Didn’t think so. And i can guarantee you have looked down at the radio or phone a time or two, but cyclists know how cautious they have to be of idiot drivers (like the ones looking down at their phone) and do not allow any distractions while riding.

We’ve been called “bad parents” for allowing her to ride. Bad parents??? Hahahaha. NO. Our children are fed, they are happy, they are healthy, they are up to date on all of their shots and healthcare visits, they are punished when they misbehave and they are praised when they do good. They are EARLY every day to school, they do well in school, we are both stay at home parents that run a home based business together which means that WE raise or children. Not sitters or daycare. Everything we do we do for THEM. As parents, we also encourage our children to do the things that they enjoy, which just so happens that one of them loves to ride. We do not leave our kids at home alone for some random stranger to find them wandering the streets. We do not leave them locked inside of hot cars. We do not abuse our kids (physically, verbally or emotionally), we do not leave them in the care of strangers and RARELY even leave them in the care of a babysitter for a few hours. WE ARE GREAT PARENTS. If you want to keep your child in a bubble, by all means go for it. If you wouldn’t allow your child on the back of a motorcycle, then don’t, that’s your choice as a parent and I support you. But do not call us bad parents because we don’t lock our kids in their bedroom with iPads and cell phones. Don’t call us bad parents for allowing our children to experience LIVING. Don’t call us bad parents for enjoying putting a smile on our kids face every now and then with a motorcycle ride home after school. I WILL continue to allow my daughter to ride if she wants to. I WILL continue to be the best parent I can be. I WILL continue to keep my kids happy and pray that they are safe whether it be at school, at home, at a friend’s house, on the basketball court, or on a motorcycle. I’ll tell you what i WON’T do though. I won’t keep my child from riding just because a handful of close minded, ignorant people think they are the definition of a “perfect parent”.
THERE IS NO POINT IN BEING ALIVE IF YOU AREN’T LIVING!!!? #isupportmychildonabike

In Texas, it is not illegal for a 7-year-old wearing a helmet to ride as a passenger on a motorcycle.