Do your kids wear helmets when riding their bikes?

[Nennie]

Do a search of news stories using the phrases "head injury" and "bicycle" and see how many recent articles pop up.

Here is one from yesterday involving an 8 year old:

http://waterfordtimes.thetimesgroup...serious-condition-after-bicycle-accident.aspx

Please, please, please reconsider using helmets. This goes out to everyone who had doubts about the difference a helmet can make in a child's life.

 

[RadioNate]

Yes it is.

I don't question how you raise your kids please don't question me, There is no chance my are going to get hurt. When they move on to bigger bikes then yes they will wear helmets

Wow - NO chance? That is a big statement. I really wish my kids had a place to play where they had no chance of ever being hurt.

 

[Darsa]

My older brother fell off his bike as a teenager, no helmet, concussion.

My younger brother's friend from down the street was killed several years ago because he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. No helmet.

Not sure there's a question as to whether it's a good idea to wear a helmet.

Heh, I just realized I've posted several times in this thread. I'm sorry, I'll stop clucking

 

[hentob]

I don't think anyone was called a bad parent.

I'll be honest....When I see children riding bikes without a helmet, I think their parents just don’t care about them or they are uneducated.

 

[hentob]

Wow - NO chance? That is a big statement. I really wish my kids had a place to play where they had no chance of ever being hurt.

Don't you have a driveway made out of marshmallow

 

[Geoff_M]

I'll be honest....When I see children riding bikes without a helmet, I think their parents just don’t care about them or they are uneducated.

I think it's most likely a third reason: They honestly don't think anything could happen to their kids.

 

[schmitty]

That's your opinion, and thank you for sharing. I think they were perfectly sound analogies that, in MY opinion, showcase how silly it is to think that a helmet is an unnecessary precaution.

As I mentioned before, JMHO.

I think 2+2=6 that is just my opinion. You may think 2+2=4 and I thank you for your opinion in the matter but 2+2=6 is my opinion. Just because you have an opinion on something doesnt make it any less factual. Those analogies do not work with the helmet for a bike. Riding a bike is not inherently dangerous but setting a kitchen on fire, doing drugs, and texting while driving are inherently dangerous.

So what happens when the kid cruising around the neighborhood hits a pothole or a rock on the sidewalk causing them to go flying off their bikes? And then they land upside down on their heads? Will you be able to live with yourself if that was your child and knowing that the injury might not be so bad if they were wearing a helmet? Or what about the kid cruising around the block when something jumps in front of them, and they have to swerve to avoid hitting it (maybe it was an animal, maybe it was a small child, whatever it was) and they fall off their bike and land on their head?

In many states, it is the law for children to wear helmets. I would be curious to see if there was any data on head injuries in children in those states compared to places where it is not the law so kids are not as likely to wear helmets.

As for the hockey player, I can only speak for the leagues my cousin has played in, but it is my understanding that full face shields are required through the college level. The one in her sig was probably a professional, and these are grown adults that know the risk they are taking and can make that choice for themselves. A child does not understand the risks of wearing a helmet while riding a bike vs. not wearing one.

What happens if a bomb lands on your house? What happens if your engine explodes while driving down the highway at 90? What if, what if. Dont play what ifs.
The higher the risk the higher the amount of protection needed. It is stupid that the NHL does not enforce a full face helmet rule.

I'd actually argue that you need a helmet only when you have an accident on your bike. The problem is knowing when you're going to wreck. While I agree that your odds of crashing are greater on any given bike jump than riding around any given block, the cumulative risk for causal riding is greater for most bike riders... kids even more so. The only time I've gone over my handlebars was when I was a kid simply "riding around the block".

I agree, I wear a full cage when I play.

You never know when anything will happen. Its best to just live life and enjoy it instead of worrying about all the possible bad things that may happen.

Ive gone OTB many times without a helmet and have known many many people who have done the same but walked away with just scrapes. It is far more likely nothing serious will happen.

 

[LaraK]

My children are not allowed to ride anything without the proper safety devices whether it is a car seat or a helmet.

I work in healthcare...I've seen what a child looks like when they come in with a massive head injury. I've seen kids die because parents did not insist on safety. I never ever want to be that parent.

 

[Darsa]

Riding a bike is not inherently dangerous

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree. It is indeed inherently dangerous. Which is why a helmet is a sensible precaution.

 

[lil mermaid]

For the 20 of you who have so far answered "not usually" or "sometimes", please reconsider. My brother was a grown man (age 25) when he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. That was 25 years ago and he hasn't been the same since. As a family, we have helped him live for the past 25 years. He lives alone - several of us pooled our $$ and bought a mobile home for him. He sometimes calls my Mom 5 times a day! He is mentally disabled, but doesn't look disabled. So that creates other problems.

Please - insist that your kids wear helmets - and wear one yourself when you ride!

I am so sorry that happened to your brother.

I am a cyclist, and I have seen so many people crash, and in various circumstances. Please people, put helmets on your kids.

 

[MineMail]

Please people, put helmets on your kids.

Parents should also wear their own helmets. You set the example and rules.

I don't think anyone's used the "Bizarro Argument" in this thread as yet. That's where they say that wearing a helmet will actually CAUSE a head injury. The anti-seatbelt crusaders try to use it all the time when that discussion arises. *snickers*

Back on topic, I'm sure I'll never regret being the mean parent who made her kid wear a helmet. Unlike the mother last week whose daughter needed stitches after falling off a skateboard without a helmet. "She's NEVER doing that without a helmet again!" was the pledge, followed by "Thank GOD it wasn't worse."

 

[lil mermaid]

Parents should also wear their own helmets. It makes it easier to enforce it when you follow the rules too.

You are 100% right.

Everyone in our family wears helmets.

 

[Geoff_M]

You never know when anything will happen. Its best to just live life and enjoy it instead of worrying about all the possible bad things that may happen.

Of course my family and I taking such precautions increase our chances of being able to live our lives longer and continue to enjoy them. Wearing a helmet isn't succumbing to fear or dread. Your logic could also be equally applied to wearing seat belts, looking both ways before crossing a street, climbing without a belay, caving with only one light source, wearing a PFD when canoeing, swearing off batting helmets, etc., etc. "Anything can happen, so why bother... just relax."

 

[candykisses]

Mine do.

They have also seen enough residents in the Head Trauma Unit at the rehab hospital to know the importance of wearing helmets.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our kids wear helmets while on their bikes, scooters or skateboards. Zero discussion. If it is coming out of the garage, you will have a helmet on. DH and I wear one too.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

No, mine don't. And I'm not afraid to admit it.

LOL, says the new DISer
This is always a touchy subject... You are quite brave

Ah, here's how these threads go. The true believers who can't wait to pounce post, a very few dissenters post and are shredded...

and the vast majority read, but don't bother posting, because they don't feel like being shark bait in the "you're a bad parent" feeding frenzy.

Absolutely...
Some PP said it best.. Yes...I know my kids should wear helmets, but when they leave my sight, I can't guarantee they are still on, and I really doubt they are. 99% of the kids in my neighborhood dont

 

[MaumeeMom]

If anyone is interested, here is an experiment I did with my DS Cub Scouts a couple of years ago.

Drop a watermelon on concrete. It breaks.

Put another watermelon in a helmet. (I looked for a smaller one that would fit in a helmet.) Drop it all with the helmet hitting the driveway. Watermelon does not break.

I must admit I was nervous because I didn't test it since I didn't want to throw away two helmets! It worked, and we took the watermelon inside and sliced it for a snack. The plastic part of the helmet did crack.

That sounds like a great demonstration, thanks for sharing. I hope the kids learned something.

PARTIAL
There is no chance my are going to get hurt.

Never say never.

My son got a goose egg on his head by tripping over his own two (growing) feet on the sidewalk. It is never too early to start kids out with a helmet but it is your choice.

 

[jodifla]

Just got back from my hour walk around the lake...

Dozen bikers. No helmets. (No ambulances, either...)

Life in the real world, without the DIS judging squad.

 

[HardShell]

Just got back from my hour walk around the lake...

Dozen bikers. No helmets. (No ambulances, either...)

Life in the real world, without the DIS judging squad.

And, no more populous than our state is, I review several child fatalities (not injuries, deaths) on bicycles every single year, many (most?) of which could have been prevented with a helmet. (And for every fatality, there are many times more serious injuries. )

Many (most?) of their parents didn't think it could happen to their kids, either. I've spoken with many of them over the years, unfortunately.

Life in the real world, without any rose-colored glasses.


(No disrespect intended at all, I just deal with these issues every day.)

 

[Geoff_M]

...without the DIS judging squad.

Oh, the irony.