Designers looking past pedals are coming up with creative ways to turn your kid's spastic energy into locomotion. A few examples:

The six-wheeled PlasmaCar has no pedals or gears; kids simply torque the steering wheel from side to side, which creates enough flex in the ABS plastic body to create propulsion.

The Pumgo Scooter converts stairmaster-like motions into rotation for the rear wheels. It's a tad on the dorky-looking side, but then again I said the same thing about those wheeled sneakers that every other kid downtown seems to have.

The Orbitwheel is easier to carry than a skateboard, and easier to pop on your feet than rollerblades. And with a wheel radius larger than either of its predecessors, it rolls more smoothly across janky sidewalk surfaces.

The nutty-looking Air Kicks put a spring in your step, literally. I was more than a little tempted to pick up a pair of these as a replacement for a stepladder.