A new craze has kids gliding across hard surfaces on tiny skate wheels built into their sneakers—but the "heelys" are deceptively unsafe, a new study says. The report claims the skate shoes sent 1,600 youngsters to the emergency room last year.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons urged children to sport helmets and knee and elbow pads when street gliding. "When he first got them, I'm like, 'What's the big deal? They're shoes,'" said a father of a six-year-old who suffered scraped knees and elbows. "But now we know. You have to be careful." Doctors warn against heeling in malls and stores and on uneven concrete sidewalks with cracks.