Overall, we're happy our daughter learned to ride a bike at this camp, but we have some serious concerns about the camp's safety practices - especially as it relates to concussion protocol and its aftercare program. Given the physical nature of the camp, it's concerning they don't have a safety protocol for head injuries, and the director Tim Hurley and counselors don't seem knowledgeable in concussion symptoms.
For background, we enrolled our five-year-old in the beginner biking camp, Two Wheelers Club. Our daughter had been hesitant to learn to ride a bike, and we thought this camp would help boost her confidence. We want to be fair and share the pros and cons of our experience:
PROS:
- COMMUNICATION. From the minute we signed up, the director Tim communicated really well. He sent emails immediately upon registration with guidelines. He answered all of our questions promptly. Tim also sent email reminders ahead of camp. Throughout camp, he shared a phone number to call while kids were on bike rides and field trips.
- BIKING INSTRUCTION. While the camp doesn't promise kids will learn how to ride a bike, our daughter learned within the first day or two. We were pleasantly surprised and would have given the camp 5 stars for this if it wasn't for a couple of safety issues.
- CURBSIDE DROP-OFF. The curbside drop-off after the first day is helpful given street parking is tough.
- OUTDOOR PLAY. The counselors take the children on bike rides around the local neighborhood and to nearby parks.
CONS:
- SAFETY STANDARDS: We experienced two safety issues we raised with the director Tim. In general, we think Wheel Kids' safety practices are too lax for the physical nature of the camp and its public location.
- CONCUSSION PROTOCOL. On the fourth day of camp, they went to Coyote Point Regional Park in Fremont - about an hour outside of SF. Our daughter fell off her bike while riding downhill and hit her head. Although she was wearing a helmet, it appeared she fell on her chin as there were several cuts and bruises there, and her lip/face was cut, swollen and bloody. She was later diagnosed with a concussion and got stitches from a plastic surgeon. We understand kids fall when learning how to bike, but what concerns us is the way Wheel Kids handled the accident:
(1) They didn't call an ambulance or take her to the local hospital immediately after the head injury. Our daughter wasn't seen by a doctor until 2+ hours after the accident. The ER doctor at CPMC was really surprised and told us we should flag it to the camp. When I raised it to Tim the next day, he told me the fall "didn't seem that bad". He asked why the doctor thought she should have been taken to the hospital right away and I had to explain it was because of the head injury. It's a major concern they don't have a standard protocol for head injuries, and the director and counselors don't seem knowledgeable in concussion symptoms.
(2) They downplayed the accident to avoid liability. While Tim encouraged me to get her checked out by a doctor, he didn't make it sound like she needed urgent medical attention. Even though her counselor Suu took the precaution to keep her awake during the ride back, Suu told me her throwing up could just be motion sickness. It seemed like nobody wanted to say the "C-word" to avoid liability. The ER doctor knew she had a concussion right away. She was throwing up, "out of it", and had no recollection of the accident itself (amnesia) - all standard concussion symptoms.
(3) We also question their judgment in allowing a child - who only learned how to ride a bike 2-3 days prior - to ride down a hill. Luckily, our daughter has ridden a bike since the accident, but we discovered she doesn't even know how to use her brakes properly yet. While they practiced going down other hills before the fall, we still think it was poor judgment to allow her to do it given her skill level.
- AFTERCARE. Our daughter was in aftercare from 4-5:30pm with less than 10 other kids. Note, the camp is located in a public playground, so the location is NOT used exclusively by the camp. There are mostly other parents/nannies with kids, but there are also homeless people and adults that come in and around the playground. Upon picking her up on the first day, I found my daughter sitting alone on the tennis court without any other children or counselors. (Our daughter is usually very social and friendly.) The director was inside the clubhouse and the counselors were playing cards with the older kids. None of them bothered to greet me upon arrival to ensure I wasn't a stranger walking up to my kid. When I asked my daughter what she had been doing, she said the kids in her group left at 4pm, so she sat by herself or helped some people pick-up their tennis balls. I asked if the people were part of the camp and she said no. From that day forward, we picked her up around 4pm because we didn't trust the counselors were supervising her closely enough.