I remember when I was just a youngster, can't have been any older than 7 or 8, and I really wanted a Nintendo for Christmas (you know the old fashioned flip top lid insert the cartridge types, none of this Wii nonsense).
Anyway, I raced out of bed Christmas morning and checked out the tree, but the only gift that was under it was nowhere near the right shape to be a Nintendo, it looked like a soccer ball.
I waited until my parents woke up and rushed over to unwrap it, and it was a bike helmet.
It took me a few minutes to figure out exactly what that meant, and I ran outside.
Sure enough, out on the front lawn was my very first 110cc pit bike! I looked at my Mum and Dad beaming down at me, and rushed over and gave them one of the biggest hugs I could.
Man, did I love that bike, and of course, I was the envy of all my friends (actually, the number of kids I could call friends tripled around this time.
Looking back on that experience now, I am so glad that I didn't get that Nintendo.
The bike had a big impact on my childhood, and during the next few years I learned a lot about mechanics, competition and mateship, which I wouldn't have learned if I was sitting in front of the box all day.
If you have a kid that is looking for some direction in their life, a pit bike could very well be a fantastic choice for them.
They're fairly inexpensive, and small enough to transport around easily.