Do your kids wear helmets when riding their bikes?

[Angelhalo]

I will thanks Do you know I rode bikes my whole life and had ton of bicycle wreck and never wore a helemt how in the world did I ever survive?

Did you know my grandmother went her whole life never wearing a seatbelt and survived? That doesn't mean I want to follow the same foolish habit when there are clearly safety measures available to us. My grandfather smoked his entire life and lived to the ripe old age of 85 but that doesn't mean I want to start smoking either.

Accidents can happen to anyone at any time, ANYWHERE, even in your own yard. Its silly to not take precautions when they are so readily available. If my child fell and cracked their head open, and I knew I could have prevented it by something as simple as making them wear a helmet, I'd never be able to forgive myself for being so stubborn or naive.

 

[happygirl]

Did you know my grandmother went her whole life never wearing a seatbelt and survived? That doesn't mean I want to follow the same foolish habit when there are clearly safety measures available to us. My grandfather smoked his entire life and lived to the ripe old age of 85 but that doesn't mean I want to start smoking either.

Accidents can happen to anyone at any time, ANYWHERE, even in your own yard. Its silly to not take precautions when they are so readily available. If my child fell and cracked their head open, and I knew I could have prevented it by something as simple as making them wear a helmet, I'd never be able to forgive myself for being so stubborn or naive.

That you not me I don't wear my seat belt either

 

[Darsa]

Well, I hope you survive. I truly hope that you never have to look back and say "why didn't I wear a helmet/seatbelt??"

 

[C.Ann]

Just curious.. For those who do not make their children wear bike helmets, are there other safety precautions they are exempt from as well?

Seat belts in the car?
Life jackets on a boat?
Vaccinations?
Engaging in dangerous activities without proper surpervision?

I guess I just don't understand why if there are safety precautions available for children, people choose not to make use of them..

Maybe it's because I can still hear my mom telling me over and over and over, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.."

 

[Angelhalo]

That you not me I don't wear my seat belt either

Well good luck then! Though it is hardly anything to be proud of

 

[happygirl]

Well good luck then! Though it is hardly anything to be proud of

In your opinion. I had some friends that would have died if they had there seat belts on

 

[Angelhalo]

Just curious.. For those who do not make their children wear bike helmets, are there other safety precautions they are exempt from as well?

Seat belts in the car?
Life jackets on a boat?
Vaccinations?
Engaging in dangerous activities without proper surpervision?

I guess I just don't understand why if there are safety precautions available for children, people choose not to make use of them..

Maybe it's because I can still hear my mom telling me over and over and over, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.."

Methinks there is at least one person here who is arguing just for the sake of arguing....at least I hope that is the case because I honestly can't imagine anyone being so misinformed, insensible, or obstinant.

 

[Angelhalo]

In your opinion. I had some friends that would have died if they had there seat belts on

Of course there are those people. To every rule there is an exception. Unfortunately the exceptions are in the vast minority.

 

[C.Ann]

Methinks there is at least one person here who is arguing just for the sake of arguing....at least I hope that is the case because I honestly can't imagine anyone being so misinformed, insensible, or obstinant.

I agree.. It's sad to think that someone could be so fool hardy with the lives of their children - as well as their own life - based on the arguments given.. As I stated previously in this thread, I would rather be "safe" than forever sorry..

 

[Darsa]

In your opinion. I had some friends that would have died if they had there seat belts on

My 18 month old niece was killed in a car accident while strapped into a carseat in the center of the back seat. Does that mean that she shouldn't have been in a car seat? I don't think so...

 

[redrosesix]

It's the law here too. but often kids get away with not wearing them in campgrounds, etc. However, the only time mine has been without a helmet, she lost her bike for the day.

that hasn't happened since, and unfortunately she found out the hard way why helmets are necessary -- my mum was hit by a car 3 years ago and sustained a major brain injury from the force of her brain hitting the inside of her head after her head hit the ground. She wasn't expected to live, although luckily she did (but life will never be the same for her). While she was still in a coma, the neurosurgeon explained to us, with my daughter present, that it was the same type of injury that often happens when somebody falls off a bike and isn't wearing a helmet. The only thing that saved my mother was the fact that she was 72 -- as you age, your brain becomes more compact so there was enough room for the bleeding without it causing fatal damage. Had she been under the age of 12, she would have been dead within 6 hours.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

It is a law in Florida that Children under 16 have to wear a helmet.

But even if it wasn't a law my child would still be wearing one.

 

[redrosesix]

Mine don't but mine don't leave the driveway or sidewalk

In the city where I live, kids were banned from riding the streets long before the helmet laws were introduced. It was because of serious head injuries and fatalities caused while riding on driveways and sidewalks that they first introduced the helmet law for kids -- now everybody has to wear them.

A couple of years ago my DGD fell on the grass at school during recess and split her head open - requiring stitches and head x-rays to be sure there wasn't any other damage.. If a child can split their head open on grass, I think it's a safe bet that a child could suffer brain damage from smashing their head on a driveway or sidewalk..

The helmets aren't expensive.. Better safe than forever sorry..[/QUOTE]

That's because the brain bouncing around inside the skull usually causes the worst type of damage to the brain (like my mother's injury -- she has very little damage on the side where her skull was broken) The padding in the helmet cushions the head as it hits the ground to prevent the brain from bouncing.

I worked at a Brain injured center for children when I was in college. So, yes, I make my children wear their helmets.

Maybe those that think they are not necessary should go visit one.

Good idea

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I think I might have to start wearing a helmut while Dissing.

 

[joyjoy]

I think there is such a thing as being OVER protective when it comes to your kids. Seatbelts in cars, life vests on boats and helmets on full-sized two wheel bikes are not examples of being overprotective.

However... helmets for scooter riders? Really? And tricycles? Please. I do get the whole "getting them in the habit" thing, but seriously. A child with a helmet riding a tricycle on the patio is ridiculous. You're going to scare those kids so bad they won't want to walk to the mailbox without protective gear on. I also think those water shoes or whatever they're called that people put on their kids IN THE POOL are silly. Swimming is a barefoot activity. If the bottom or sides of the pool rub your kids' toes a little the first week of swimming, let it go. They'll be fine and it won't kill them to toughen up a little.

And I'm a great parent, btw.

 

[redrosesix]

I think there is such a thing as being OVER protective when it comes to your kids. Seatbelts in cars, life vests on boats and helmets on full-sized two wheel bikes are not examples of being overprotective.

However... helmets for scooter riders? Really? And tricycles? Please. I do get the whole "getting them in the habit" thing, but seriously. A child with a helmet riding a tricycle on the patio is ridiculous. You're going to scare those kids so bad they won't want to walk to the mailbox without protective gear on. I also think those water shoes or whatever they're called that people put on their kids IN THE POOL are silly. Swimming is a barefoot activity. If the bottom or sides of the pool rub your kids' toes a little the first week of swimming, let it go. They'll be fine and it won't kill them to toughen up a little.

And I'm a great parent, btw.

People put water shoes on their kids in pools? We wear them on the beach in PEI (there are a gazillion hermit crabs )

 

[Tink_Taylor]

I Do Sometimes Depending On If Im Just On My Road Or Going For A Long Ride. I Ride Horses And Thats The Time I ALWAYS Wear A Helmet

 

[keetmommy]

I think there is such a thing as being OVER protective when it comes to your kids. Seatbelts in cars, life vests on boats and helmets on full-sized two wheel bikes are not examples of being overprotective.

However... helmets for scooter riders? Really? And tricycles? Please. I do get the whole "getting them in the habit" thing, but seriously. A child with a helmet riding a tricycle on the patio is ridiculous. You're going to scare those kids so bad they won't want to walk to the mailbox without protective gear on. I also think those water shoes or whatever they're called that people put on their kids IN THE POOL are silly. Swimming is a barefoot activity. If the bottom or sides of the pool rub your kids' toes a little the first week of swimming, let it go. They'll be fine and it won't kill them to toughen up a little.

And I'm a great parent, btw.

Let me tell you about why wearing a helmet while riding a scooter isn't too much, my DD was riding hers on our sidewalk, in front of our house, hit the sidewalk wrong and went head over the scooter, broke her arm, not sure if she hit her head but EVERY medical professional at the hospital questioned us if she had a helmet on, and several told us they saw more scooter accidents then bike ones. I could proudly say YES SHE WAS WEARING A HELMET..

 

[MarkBarbieri]

...By the look of the scrapes is looks like your kids fell on his face not temple. A full face helmet would of worked better. ...

It looks like he feel on his temple because his helmet protected the top of his head. Trust me, you'd realize where the initial impact was if you'd seen his helmet.

I agree that a full face helmet would have been better. The problem is that a full face helmet has other negative trade-offs. It's incredibly uncomfortable, so the kids would be taking them off whenever they could get away with it. They are also hot, which is a danger in itself hear in Texas. Finally, they restrict vision, which increases the potential for accidents. Everything in life is a trade-off. In my opinion, a standard bike helmet is the optimally safe trade-off for people riding bicycles.

Is it really necessary to start name-calling?

My apologies. I'll rephrase that. People who ride their bikes or let their kids ride their bikes are probably good people that are making a misjudgment of risk and the reasonable options available to mitigate those risks. They aren't necessarily idiots...many of them are just ignorant of the facts or have bad judgment. Most old people I know (including me) didn't wear seatbelts before the 1980s. They weren't idiots. They were just ignorant.[/quote]

I'm willing to bet that most of you who say your kids wear helmets EVERY SINGLE TIME NO MATTER WHAT have young kids, otherwise you really don't know. I see many kids riding around town with their helmets hanging on the handle bars. Some of their parents probably believe that their kids ALWAYS wear their helmets. It gets much more difficult as your kids get older.

Of course no one knows for certain that their kids follow their safety guidelines at all times. That isn't a reason not to give them those guidelines. Some kids smoke crack despite their parent's admonitions against it, but that doesn't mean that parents shouldn't forbid their kids to smoke crack.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

In your opinion. I had some friends that would have died if they had there seat belts on

I actually know a person that won't wear seatbelts for a similar reason. He was thrown from his truck when it rolled over and was crushed. Had he been wearing a seatbelt, he'd be dead. Now, he has a terrible phobia of wearing a seatbelt and can't bring himself to do it. Despite all that, he's smart enough to know that for every case where not wearing a seatbelt saves someone's life, there are many, many more cases where the opposite is true. He is actually working on getting over his phobia now because he has a baby girl and he doesn't want her to grow up thinking that seatbelts are bad.

On the opposite side, I was in a children's store years ago looking for a booster seat for my child who was outgrowing his car seat. They tried to get me to buy a gigantic car seat that was sized for kids up to 12 years old. I told them that while it may save them from additional car accident risk, it would also likely get them beat up routinely when other pre-teens saw them getting out of a gigantic baby seat.

Life is full of trade-offs. It's safer to sit in the backseat, but how often do you see two adults in a car in which one is in the front driving and the other is safely in the back?