Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

10yo scooting without helmet

64 replies

KarmenPQZ · 08/09/2025 13:46

Just sanity checking here to get some more opinions.

my 10 year old hasn’t scooted in ages (years) and it turns out it’s because she doesn’t want to wear a helmet. She knew we wouldn’t agree to scooting without a helmet so she’s never requested it…. TIL now. Credit to her she’s come to us and asked rather than her usual screaming and whinging approach so I want to mull it over fairly.

but I don’t really need her to scoot anywhere. We mostly walk or cycle and she knows helmets on bikes are non negotiable so I don’t think she’s using this as a Segway.

what’s the thoughts on letting a 10 year old scoot on pavements without a helmet. She’s generally very coordinated and risk adverse so I think the probability of anything happening is very slim. But it still feels slightly wrong. Although I did borrow her scooter once and did a massive stack although I still didn’t hit my head! If she does a lap of the park on a friends scooter I don’t like it but don’t insist on a helmet within the park

AIBU to make her stick to helmets at all time?

OP posts:
LouH1981 · 08/09/2025 14:05

Both of mine (10&5) wear helmets for scooters and bikes. Neither complain.
I’m glad because both have had near misses where the helmets have saved what would have been a nasty injury.
Once my daughter lost her balance down hill and fell off and the other time my son went over a ridge in the pavement and the scooter flipped round.
The other consideration is cars on the road.
I wouldn’t risk it personally. Most oh the children in our area wear helmets for both.

comfyshoes2022 · 08/09/2025 14:04

I can’t understand why wearing a helmet on a scooter is any different than wearing a helmet on a bike. If you think kids should wear helmets on bikes (and I emphatically do having known someone to suffer a terrible brain injury that way), then I would also suggest wearing a helmet for a scooter. A lot of people where I live don’t wear helmets for either but to me that’s kind of like not wearing a seatbelt, which is another thing I’d never consider personally.

Ablondiebutagoody · 08/09/2025 14:03

Numberninetynine · 08/09/2025 14:00

Everyone saying "mine never wore a helmet and were fine" - were they fine because they never had an accident involving a head injury?

Round here if you got knocked into by an adult on an e-scooter, I absolutely dread to think of the consequences without a helmet. It's not just the scooter rider you have to think about - they may be super cautious and careful but not everybody else on the roads/pavements are.

If it has wheels you wear a helmet in our house.

Do you wear a helmet to walk on the pavement?

dimsiaradcymraeg · 08/09/2025 14:02

Letting your child ride a scooter without a helmet is not without risks. As long as you can live and justify those risks, then do what’s right for you.

Personally, having seen the damage caused by lack of helmet with scootering and skateboarding along a pavement, there is no way I’d allow it. And I say that as a family who participates in very risky and extreme sports.

Numberninetynine · 08/09/2025 14:00

Everyone saying "mine never wore a helmet and were fine" - were they fine because they never had an accident involving a head injury?

Round here if you got knocked into by an adult on an e-scooter, I absolutely dread to think of the consequences without a helmet. It's not just the scooter rider you have to think about - they may be super cautious and careful but not everybody else on the roads/pavements are.

If it has wheels you wear a helmet in our house.

Ablondiebutagoody · 08/09/2025 13:59

Youcancallmeirrelevant · 08/09/2025 13:56

But if she wears it on her bike why is it different for scooter in her eyes?

We've always made both our kids wear helmets for both bike and scooter, I don't know why parents think scooters are less dangerous than bikes for accidents

Because the impact is likely to be less is how I look at it. Lower speed, no cars, so not much difference to falling over whilst running

Original poster
KarmenPQZ · 08/09/2025 13:58

Bitzee · 08/09/2025 13:56

I think most kids scoot without helmets don’t they? So long as she’s on pavements so minimal risk of being hit by a car and not doing tricks in a skate park I’d be fine with it. DD had an awful scooter crash when she was about 4 and smashed her (thankfully baby) teeth on the handlebar. She was wearing a helmet but actually I dispensed with them after that because it made me think the helmet wasn’t going to do a great deal for the types of falls you typically get from a scooter.

OH god that’s so true. The only scooter bad scooter crashes I’ve heard off have involved teeth being lost. Maybe a mouth guard is more important than a helmet!

OP posts:
tripleginandtonic · 08/09/2025 13:58

My dc never had helmets for their scooters. They were on the pavements and all was well

Youcancallmeirrelevant · 08/09/2025 13:56

But if she wears it on her bike why is it different for scooter in her eyes?

We've always made both our kids wear helmets for both bike and scooter, I don't know why parents think scooters are less dangerous than bikes for accidents

Bitzee · 08/09/2025 13:56

I think most kids scoot without helmets don’t they? So long as she’s on pavements so minimal risk of being hit by a car and not doing tricks in a skate park I’d be fine with it. DD had an awful scooter crash when she was about 4 and smashed her (thankfully baby) teeth on the handlebar. She was wearing a helmet but actually I dispensed with them after that because it made me think the helmet wasn’t going to do a great deal for the types of falls you typically get from a scooter.

Ablondiebutagoody · 08/09/2025 13:55

I would be fine with it if she is just mooching around. Skate parks, ramps, or just high speeds down massive hills, helmet required.

AnneLovesGilbert · 08/09/2025 13:54

I don’t make my 6 year old wear a helmet while scooting. She did when she started out but not for ages. Am I horribly neglectful? Honestly, I don’t know if I am.

butterdish93 · 08/09/2025 13:53

I don’t even make my infants use a helmet on their scooters.

morellamalessdrama · 08/09/2025 13:52

I used to allow my sons to ride on their scooters without helmets at that age.

Swipe left for the next trending thread