sarahlovesmickey
<font color=darkorchid>I could probably make Shake
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2006
It is also a law in our state; however, I see tons of kids not wearing helmets. The police just drive by and do nothing to enforce it. Sad....
I think we parents are "clueless" about helmets because we didn't use them as kids -- and growing up without air conditioning, video games, organized sports, etc., we spent waaaay more time outside playing and riding bikes than the average kids do today. And we rode on uneven ground with rocks and things to hit, not nice sidewalks. Didn't we all have homemade bike ramps in the backyard, and didn't we pretend to be the Dukes of Hazzard while jumping over things on our bikes? We had an old clawfoot tub in my cousin's backyard, and we'd ride up pieces of old wood (propped up by cinder blocks) and jump over that tub -- we all fell hard more than once. Looking back, I can't believe the things we did . . . and no one ever got more than a scraped knee. I also can't believe we didn't destroy the bikes in the process. We were more afraid of the Doberman than being hurt while riding.
Also, while these serious accidents can be traumatic, they are rare. We all know people who've been in car accidents -- in our collective psyche, that's a very real possibility for any of us. Most of us don't know anyone who's been hurt on a bike, so the possibility of it happening to us seems distant and unlikely. It's kind of like being hit by lightening; yeah, it could happen to us, but we don't really think it will.
Not excusing the lack of helmets, but explaining the thought process behind not bothering with them.
Most of us don't know anyone who's been hurt on a bike, so the possibility of it happening to us seems distant and unlikely.
But, at the same time, I think we should recognize the rarity of these accidents in reality. The modern media world makes us hear about all kinds of tragic incidents constantly in the 24 hour news cycle - but these things really don't happen all that often from a statistical basis.
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)
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. 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 to see this post because I actually have a related post. From the time my DD got her tricycle she's had a "bike hat". Well she's 3 1/2 now and her 3+ bike helmet is too little but the next size up (Like 5-7 or something like) is too big. I have read the instructions and it says to use additional pads to get the helmet to fit but I can't find them. Now I haven't made it to a bicycle shop yet....but Walmart, Target, etc doesn't have them. I have not allowed DD to ride because her helmet is way too big. So is a bicycle shop in the only place to get these? It probably isn't a bad idea for us to try and find one a make a special trip with her helmet so she can be fitted properly too. I never wore one growing up (and honestly still don't -but that is going to change) so I have no idea how they should fit beyond reading some not always clear instructions.
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.