Two unplanned expenses; damaged children

[shortbun]

We wear helmets. I'm happy to say that my son sees people without them and now quietly calls them "donors." It's what I call them and although it's harsh, when I explained my theory to my son he is very clear on the benefits of a helmet. I do not understand the prioritizing of hair blowing in the wind over head trauma.

 

[shortbun]

Thanks for pointing this out. I survived a childhood full of many bike accidents(think gravel embedded in your arms no helmet would have ever prevented that) and we never,ever wore seatbelts. I don't think our vehicles even had them. While I do strap my kids into their car seats faithfully I am not a stickler for helmets. Of course my kids are still on trikes at this point. We live in the boonies with no chance of an encounter with an automobile and I am not going to live in fear of all the other things out there can harm them. On our property there is a chance of snakebite, falling out of a tree, falling down in the rocky drain, rusty nails in the barn, lime disease, rocky mountain spotted fever, west nile, drunken neighbors shooting all the time (just joking-I hope they aren't drunk), wild animals that carry diseases, etc.. I am not going to keep my kids locked in in front of the tv or computer for them to become obese and plagued with health problems. I know we live in a culture of fear, but I refuse to raise my kids in that manner. This is just my opinion and I am very flexible in that. If the situation ever warrants it, believe me, those helmets will be on.

I'm so glad your kids are active and I agree that we can not protect them from everything. My husband had tetanus and gas gangrene, nearly dying but he still runs in the same field where he was punctured with that fractured corn stalk that had been recently fertilized. You are correct that we can not live in a culture of fear. I laugh at fear; I've travelled into very dangerous areas. My statement is that I'd rather die on an adventure than from a stroke because I'm a couch potato. How will you know when "the situation warrants it?" Closing the barn door after the cows get out is not smart. In this case, you can easily prevent head trauma with sensible use of a helmet. Maybe trikes don't 'warrant' a helmet but it's a great time to get used to wearing one. Don't set your children up for injury. Scraping gravel out of your knees is not nearly as awful as weeks in a hospital with head trauma, loss of memory or permanent brain damage.

 

[teresajoy]

I think the point I was trying to make is that kids can get hurt doing a ton of different things and you can't always protect them 24/7 no matter what. If I were worried about statistics I would never ever put my children in the car. Sure, you don't want your kid to be the statistic but you don't have to be over zealous either.

And yes, I am fully aware that you don't have to be near a car to fall on your head. I would still take my chances on head versus rock over head versus Ford Excursion with/without helmet anytime.

I just noticed something kind of funny. My cousin, who fell on her head was named Marna too! I have hardly ever heard of anyone else by that name!