So we are the crazy parents that have decided to allow our five year old son race. No biggie right? Sometimes I think that my husband and I have lost our minds. But despite us being crazy, we have jumped into the world of go kart racing. This is going to be interesting.
We talked to our son a lot of the past couple of weeks making sure he was ready for such a big commitment. Meanwhile we were searching for the kart that we would buy for him. There were lots of YouTube videos that were watched to show him what he was getting involved in and many hours of conversations between the family and different friends who we trust their opinions. The general consensus was GO FOR IT! So we did.
So on Friday we finally bough him his first kart. The guy we got is from was really nice! He was very helpful with informing us the different things we would have to do to keep the kart running like a champ, i.e. cleaning the hell out of the carburetor and making sure not to tighten the bolts too tight because they would just break. I could not have asked for a better person to make a purchase with. So $1400 dollars later, we have a kart that is mostly put together.
We had not told our son that we were getting the kart and he was with the grandparents so we drove over there and pulled it out of the back of the truck and had the grand unveiling. He was so happy. He jumped right in and asked if he could take it for a spin, which the answer was immediately NO! Nothing was adjusted to him so we needed to make sure it was safer for him to ride before we made that step.
So after we bummed him out about not being able to ride, we determined that Sunday was going to be the day that we fixed it to fit him. Boy was that a great and terrible choice at the same time. It was hot on Sunday that we took ALL day to get it done just trying to make sure no one was over heating. Our son was a huge help, jumping in and out of the kart so many times for us to make sure we were putting everything in the exact spot it needed to be put it.
A neighbor then took our kiddo to go to the pool and that gave us time to fine tune all the work that we had put into it that day. We were some proud parents when we were done. We made brackets to put the seat in the right position, mounted and modified his foot box so that the steering would not get stuck on it, adjusted the pedals and the stops on them a million times to make sure that we were not going to cause him to speed off the track when he wanted to stop, and we took a look at a steering issue that we have. It was a good day.
When the kid got back from the pool it was time to let him sit done and make sure everything was just the way it needed to be. We set the kart up on a couple of pieces of wood and for the first time he got to be in it while it was on and hear and feel what it was going to be like. It was priceless seeing his face when he revved the motor for the first time. He jumped not thinking it was going to be so loud, but that did not stop him. He continued to give it gas and he got more and more used to the noise.
I know that this all may sound crazy as a parent, who would put their child in a kart that he is going to race, but I say live and let live. We want him to have opportunities that we did not have as children and we want him to not have the regrets of not caring about racing as a younger person therefore practically ruining his chances of doing anything with racing as he gets older like his father. We hope that this experience can help him grow to do what he wants to do later in life, even if it is not racing.
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