To think it's ok for DS to cycle around park without helmet?

[zozzle]

What's the worst that can happen? He might fall off and bash his head on .... some soft grass! Still unlikely as he's confident on his bike and rarely falls off.

There are no cars in the park (strange that!) but still I get surprised/shocked comments from other mums.

Yes, when he's older cycling on roads, of course I shall insist he wears a helmet. But do we really need belt and braces in a grassy park?

He's 8 yrs old btw.

But people have said they've known children to die in that exact scenario, thus making it not pointless and in fact good sense to do something simple like stick a helmet on which would prevent it.

No trees in your park, Sandra? No fences or railings? A helmet might save your child's life, and wearing one isn't really a big deal, is it? And if your child gets into good habits now, then there is a good chance that these will stick later, when they are cycling in what you consider to be more hazardous places.

A fall of your own body height onto hard ground can kill you - so yes tripping over can kill you. But you use your hands etc, to break the fall.

On a bike there is not only the height you fall, but also the speed at which you were going (my 8 year old can go fast). The grass isn't going to cushion anything.

You are deluding yourself that the park is safe and no risk for head injuries, but if that is a risk you are prepared to take, then no amount of replies are going to change your mind.

Also, when exactly does he need to wear a helmet, in your mind? On concrete path across park? On footpath next to park? Crossing a road to get between two "safe" park areas? Around the block, because he's "close to home anyway"? Or never, because my 8 year old doesn't have the capacity to do risk analysis on these scenarios - it's either on or off...

I really hope your faith is well placed and nothing serious happens.

Another 'no helmet no bike' Mum here.

SandraSue ^If an 8yo boy was to hit his head on a stone small enough to be hidden in grass and have huge problems with that, he's not like any other young boy I have ever met. EVER.
If the stone is obvious, I'm sure he has more than enough brain capacity to cycle round it^

DS1 is 7.9, and only learnt to ride without stabilisers 2 months ago, it's probably been 2 years since he got on a bike at all. His steering is still not great, he may or may not struggle to ride round a stone, i don't know as we have not yet encountered this. However, if he did fall off and bang his head, he would have 'huge problems' he is VERY sensitive, and hates the sight of blood, so if he cut his head all hell would break loose!

I'm sure more children have survived falling off bikes on grass than those who've died due to "hard mud" as you put it.

Yes, I'm sure you're right. Too bad if your own child happens to be one of the unlucky minority, eh?

FFS!

hitting your head onto ground covered in grass will still do some damage if you are speeding along on your bike.

I think helmets are not outrageously expensive and they are light and easy to transport so I cannot actually see any good reason for him not using a helmet in the park.

INeedABetterNickname, OP said he was confident on his bike and rarely falls off.

It depends on the situation, but I am only expressing my opinions, the same as you lot, who are obviously just as stubbon as me :)

Children survive car crashes when not in the right seats. That doesn't mean it doesn't have awful consequences for some children.

Children can play chicken and survive. Doesn't mean some won't get killed.

Putting a helmet on is so easy so why take the risk of not wearing one?

Confident and rarely falls off actually would worry me more. With the confidence your often going fast enough to not be able to see small obstacles which could easily cause him to fall off the bike at speed. Rocks and stones in grass often cant be seen but can be enough to stop a bike in its tracks.

SandraSue, I know OPs DS is confident, but your comment was a more general one about 8 year old boys. I was just pointing out that not all (almost) 8 year olds are the same :)

For us, it's just been easier to have a single 'if you are on wheels, you wear a helmet' rule - applies to scooters, roller skate, bikes, and applies everywhere. Much easier to make a single, simple rule 'stick' than have to keep discussing 'well, this place is safe but that place is less safe so here you can so this but there you have to do something different'.

At the end of the day, I want DS and DD to wear helmets when riding on the road - no, it won't save them from everything, but it may reduce the damage caused in certain impacts so for that damage reduction I believe it to be worth it. To make wearing a helmet on the road a 'given' for them, I chose to make using a helmet ALWAYS a given - a bit like practising the whole stop, look and listen even on quiet roads where you yourself know there is no car coming.

Sandra - why is it a problem for your child to wear a helmet? It should be lightweight, comfortable and not have any negative impact on their fun - and might save their life or prevent serious injury. Seriously, why is it a issue??

Fair enough, in my experience 8yo boys think they're MR T when it comes to everything! :o

To clarify, I'm not against helmets and I will def. make my sprogs wear them but grass in general seems a little OTT to me.

I don't think anything is likely to happen but I want my children to automatically put on their helmets just like I automatically put on my seatbelt in the front seat of a car.

I've never known anything different and it feels odd if I don't.

YANBU. How big is the chance really that he will fall and be severely injured?P Honestly, cycling in a park is not dangerous. No need to beat yourself up over it. He may even be more risk aware without a helmet than with.

YANBU

In fact I think this whole attitude that cycling is dangerous is doing more harm than good. Let him cycle and get to know his bike and hone his ability on it, and he'll be safer cycling anywhere.

Ok so cycling in the park is not dangerous..... We went for a family ride 2 years ago, husband is a very keen cyclist- mountain, road and bmx. Certainly he is skillled on a bike. We were going down a small grassy bank, dry weather, husband came off, split his helmet in 2, broke his collar bone, wrist and leg. That was on a quiet family ride well within his capabilities. In fact the day before he had been doing black mountain bike trails in the lakes. You just don't know.
We have a no helmet no ride policy. I have already replaced both kids helmets as the have been cracked from crashes. They are 6 and 8. The kids not even need telling. For them it's automatic.
I am all for taking a few risks with kids, but for our family tis is non negotiable.

Sandra - surely the fact that most small boys think they are Mr T is an even better argument for making sure you take sensible safety precautions?

And again, I have to say, I cannot understand why you are not making your child wear a helmet when, as far as I can see, it has NO adverse effect on their fun, but might save their life/prevent serious injury!

Of course a helmet is completely unneccessary - until it IS neccessary - and unless you have a crystal ball, you cannot predict the future - so why not take the precaution?

A helmet sceptic is someone who doesn't believe their benefit is proven. Anedotal tales of people who have fallen off & split their helmets don't constitute proof. Cycle helmets split easily. They are nowhere near as robust as motorbike helmets or horseriding helmets. Yes, they may help in a few low impact accidents. But so would wearing a helmet every time you go hill-walking or running, or get in the car. Why don't people wear helmets for those activities?

OK, so you may think that the risk of serious, life threatening injury is low (that is low -not non-existent) for a child riding on grass, but what about other injuries? Such as cuts, grazes, clumps of hair being torn out? These are far more likely, and are exactly the sort of injuries that helmets are very good at preventing. Are they not worth taking steps to avoid? Particularly when they can be avoided relatively simply and easily by putting on a helmet.

Some adult cyclists doubt the benefit of wearing a helmet when riding on the road, as their use in preventing a serious injury in a collision with a car is quite limited. However, there is no real argument with their effectiveness at preventing or lessening non-fatal injuries to the head caused by other falls from a bike.

I had a pretty relaxed attitude about helmets; used to ride without one during warm-up quite regularly. One lucky day, wearing my titanium enforced helmet for some odd reason, my horse, my bomb-proof horse, spooked and threw me rather spectacularly. Helmet had a 2 inch crack in it; any other day, it would have been my head, the one with a crack in it.

Yeah, but as I said horseriding helmets are much more robust. Falling from a horse you would have not got much protection from a cycle helmet.