I am sure you hear from others that when we were growing up, we never used safety gear when riding bicycles. Is it really necessary or do we go overboard with all these measures? I asked some of our experts what they think about every day safety.
Jeff of Weehoo.com (Boulder, CO):
I feel that helmets are very important. I make my kids wear them at all times, but I rarely do:( Parents are faced with many decisions every day in regards to their children’s safety. I think helmets are just a good common sense for kids to wear. My 11 month old is now wearing a helmet every time we get on our trailer and he loves it. As far as cycling goes I think it is a good idea for children to wear helmets at all times.
Megan of MNM Special (South Dakota):
A friend of a friend lost her 9 yr old boy last year in Idaho when he fell off his bike & hit his head in their driveway. There might be some things that we go overboard on, but you can never be too safe.
Missy of Mistransformation (South Williamsport, PA):
Necessary. I hit my head bad as a kid without a helmet and I know it affected me somewhat for life
Jennifer of Comeback Mama (Boston, MS):
Necessary. My husband was in an accident where someone opened their car door right as he was coming by. He went head over heals onto the pavement. He would have been so much worse without his helmet.
Toni of Running Loving Living (Wantagh, NY):
Necessary. A helmet can mean the difference between life and death.
Francine of FrancineHaas (Chicago, IL):
I do hear that we never used safety gear when we were kids, every once in a while. And to those people I say, we’ve learned our lessons and so making sure kids wear helmets is a very smart thing! I’ve had a few tumbles on my bike over the years. Some have happened while I was racing, and others happened while I was commuting or just riding my bike. Each time I’ve crashed, I’ve inspected my helmet and found that it was cracked, saving my head. I’m happy to have been wearing my helmet each time I’ve crashed. It’s a simple thing that can prevent a lot of unfortunate consequences.
(Watch it on YouTube)
There are advancements every day. If it’s something that can help why not! Especially for children. Head injuries are scary and the effects can be long lasting so why not do anything you can to help prevent them?
This is a fantastic post! I grew up and we never had helmets. So I still struggle with wearing one myself. Although I don’t bike right now because my bike needs replacing. But My goal this summer is to get a new bike and a great new Helmet so I can be a great role model for my kids. They ALWAYS have to wear a helmet. So I need to lead by example.
I always tell my kids to make sure they were their helmet! It’s so important!
I think knowing how to wear the helmet properly is just as important as remembering to wear it. Great advice!
Better safe than sorry is always the way to go. As parents we have to be conscious of the example we set, so adults should wear a helmet too
I really need to work on making my boys wear their helmets while bike riding. We bought them one and often times they are out riding without them. Since we didn’t wear helmets growing up it is a hard thing for me to remember. Thank you for the reminder.
better to be safe! i think it’s a great idea to wear a helmet!
xo,
Sandy
Sandy a la Mode
Great review. I like that everyone you contacted is in support of helmets too. I hate seeing kids in my neighborhood without them.
i agree that wearing a helmet is imperative and we always have our daughter wear hers!
I grew up never wearing a helmet. Things were different back then. I’m glad things are changing and more parents put helmets on their kids, and them as well. I’m guilty. I don’t often make my daughter wear a helmet, but I should. I will definitely make her wearing one a requirement this bike riding season and all the rest as well.
This is a great post, and so very important to keep our children safe. Now that all 3 kids and we can all go on bike rides I had to go out and buy helmets for my husband and me! It is hard to enforce a rule on our children if we do not follow the rule too! Thanks for the video too – I was actually curious if my children’s helmets still fit them properly.
This is a great post. My mom was always crazy about us wearing helmets but she never did. Its very important to cover your head. My 2 year old loves to wear helmets even though he doesn’t ride much. 😉