These are very safe for kids! thick foam provides nice protection for any begginer. These last a long time if your careful. The only problems with them are, 1) they are too light to spin fast enough for neck or leg spins 2) the cord rubs up against pvc and wears away (I've never broken thru the cord though 3) they build a worthless confidence after a while that means nothing when you eventually get real ones 4) the foam is bouncy it bounces right off your palm, where as the wood ones smack your palm and stay there (for the most part) these just bounce and spring off your fingers and hands making it hard to catch and have a good grip on and 5) you cant hurt anyone