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.

I agree Whatmeworry.

Not only having to wear a helmet may put a lot of people off cycling, so probably does the idea that cycling is a dangerous activity.

Not that I'm against wearing a cycling helmet, but I'd rather my children cycle than not cycle at all because of having to wear a helmet or thinking it's too dangerous.

Accidents happen all the time, everywhere. It does not mean that the activity is "inherently dangerous". Then even walking the stairs would require a helmet, after all, terrible accidents have happened with stairs.

Well, I've been knocked off my bike as a teenager and knocked unconscious so although a helmet is hot and a tad less comfortable I would never cycle without one. I cycle 40+ miles every week with the children in my bellabike.

By that logic we shouldn't have seatbelts in cars either. I did them very uncomfortable, I still wear one.

What's the worst that could happen? Well, you could be in ICU having a conversation with a medical team, discussing whether or not you should turn off your own child's life support machine. My aunt went into a vegetative state due to a fall from a bike when not wearing a helmet, and this is exactly the decision her family had to make.

We take risks all the time - we get in cars and put our children in, too, even though we know it's (statistically) one of the least safe ways to travel. But, we try and reduce the risk - we use seatbelts and buy cars with good safety features, if we can afford to.

Bikes are risky things, too. So, we take some precautions so we can still enjoy them. We check the brakes and bells work, and we put on our helmets.

I fear that it is only the parents view that makes wearing a helmet something that 'puts off' children cycling. If children learn the message from a young age that wearing a helmet is just what you do when you cycle, then they won't find it off putting.

As I said on the other thread, I have no front teeth due to an over-the-handle-bars fall aged 10 without a helmet.

Not life threatening, but a cause of trauma and embarrassment, also uncomfortable dental procedures every ten years or so, and my pretend teeth are not as nice as my real ones were.

So my kids wear helmets. I nearly killed XH the other day for having DS2 in the child seat without one.

It's up to you but I don't really see why you wouldn't make him. It is good for him to get used to wearing it all the time so that when he is on the road it is a normal thing for him to do. Accidents happen all the time so why not take precautions. You would waste less time just making him wear it than you would writing this thread!
Mine wear them all the time on bikes or scooters.

Yes you do.

I have mentioned this before on helmet threads, but several years ago ds (then aged 6) fell off his bike. Nothing should have happened, he shouldn't even have fallen off and he shouldn't have been hurt. However, he did and there was a stone where he fell and the side of his head hit it.

When he was air lifted to hospital an hour later, he was semi-concious and incoherent. One of his pupils was blown. The ambulance crew had refused to take him as they said he needed immediate transfer to a specialist head-trauma unit. He then spent several days in a drug induced coma. During that time no one could say what state he would be in when he came around. I cannot describe how awful those days were

Ds was wearing a helmet and the side of the helmet above his ear was completely crushed as a result of the unfortunate angle and force with which he hit a fairly small stone. It was the only stone there.

Today, ds is fine, but the neuro surgeon was completely clear that had the injuries sustained by the helmet been sustained by ds's head, he would be dead. All that stood between me not having my precious son any more was a bit of polystyrene. I thank God for it almost every day!

When my son was eight he was cycling down a hill in the park - a grassy hill. He hit a bit of uneven ground and went flying over the handlebars and landed on his head. Luckily he was wearing a helmet - however be broke his elbow so badly it took 1 1/2 hours in surgery to pin it back together again and we were warned he might not get full use of his arm back. With lots of swimming he did. However, given what happened to his elbow which only took the second impact after his head I thank God that he was wearing a helmet.

I think (depending on how fast he cycles and how good he is) the chances of him injuring his head in the park is slim so you're not IMO being wildly unreasonable. However I always make DS wear his helmet (he's 6) so that he gets used to always wearing his helmet when riding his bike. A bit like how we automatically put our seat belt on when we get in the car - we don;t even have to think about it.

It would be lovely to treat cycling like they do in Holland but it would require a massive shift in drivers attitudes and a huge upgrade in cycling infrastructure. From memory cycle lanes in the Netherlands are much wider, cycles get priority, just about all drivers are also cyclists and legally I believe that in an accident the heavier vehicle is deemed to be responsible in the absence of other evidence. Like it or not cycling in this country is unsafer and I'm not sure I'd chose to use my childs head to try to change that!

There is some evidence in this country that cyclists without helmets are given a wider berth by cars especially if they are women and look a bit wobbly. So better to ride wearing a skirt, wobble a bit and disguise your helmet with a wig.

I think you also need to consider the severity of accidents with or without helmets. I much prefer a slightly higher risk of an accident where the most likely injury is broken ribs or arm than a slightly smaller risk of a brain injury.

I think (depending on how fast he cycles and how good he is) the chances of him injuring his head in the park is slim so you're not IMO being wildly unreasonable.

I agree - if you are going to flap about this level of risk you may as well put helmets on when on the seesaw, swings, climbing trees or just being kids outdoors really.

(Thsi level of panic may explain why kids are never let outdoors these days?)

I agree with Whatmeworry

crunchyfrog how would a helmet have stopped you knocking your front teeth out? Are you advocating full face helmets for all cyclists?

I know if it was my ds, he would find the one big rock to land on. Or a tree, a fence, another child's bike, a swing, a goal post. Anything except the soft grass.

Our park has a mountain biking thing, so it's non negotiable in any case. Plus on the way to the park they hurtle down a paved hill at 20mph.

I don't wear a helmet on local runs, I do for mountain biking, or on busy roads that's my choice, knowing the risks. I do feel that an 8 year old isn't really old enough to make that choice, and should be wearing it.

Why is wearing a helmet "flapping"? It is just what you do. It seems to be the non-helmet advocates that are making it into a flap. Mine just put them on every day when they get into the trike, it is not a flap. Can't see any advantages to not wearing one. Also think it is misguided to think you don't need one in the circs described, false logic.

If there isn't a problem with getting the children to wear a helmet, great! It is probably a good idea to get into the habit of wearing one, which may avoid it being a problem ever. It may then be exactly like putting a seat belt on in the car, as some have suggested.

If it were however a problem, for whatever reason, I personally would still rather have them cycle without a helmet than not cycle at all.

I just don't think that allowing your child to ride without a helmet can be qualified as unreasonable. I tend to find the opposite, not allowing your child to ride without one, more unreasonable if the result was that the child then would choose not to ride the bike.

So yes, by all means encourage them to wear a helmet, and with small children you can certainly present it as a rule, with an aim of establishing the habit. The OP doesn't state her reasons for letting her son go without one, but I honestly don't think she is irresponsibly endangering her son's life by letting him go like that.

Of course he can, we want to encourage cycling as a NORMAL healthy activity, not put people off by insisting you need special equipment or clothes. The more everyone cycles every day the fewer cars, the fewer accidents and it becomes safer.

Whereas if you make it out its a big deal, and there's all that faff just to go to the park on a Sunday, kids never get in the habit of it and end up not getting enough exercise.

My kids are in and out of the house, bikes, prams, scooters, trampoline, dolls, skipping. If they had to take a helmet on & off every time they went on the bike, they'd be sat in front of the tv instead.

It's a normal everyday activity. Pedestrians are just as likely to be involved in accidents as cyclists are, but you wouldn't put a helmet on just to walk down the road would you? The main danger to cyclists is CARS and wearing a helmet is not a long-term solution.

Last time I got concussion I WAS wearing a cycle helmet and I was on a traffic free cycle path. I still got it wrong , going a bit fast and came off unexpectedly.

Personally I do insist DS wears his helmet at the park as he likes going very fast and trying to jump on the skatepark. BUT DS will have ridden his bike on the road to get to the park in the first place. He falls more in the park than on the road as he tries out new stuff at the park, like riding one handed or with his feet on the cross bar.

Torn on this.

Otoh I am not sure the fact that one child has been injured or killed from falling onto grass warrants the enforcing of helmets at all times.

My dd very nearly died from falling off a small children's climbing frame: she fell awkwardly and was unconscious for a long time. Does that mean that all of you who are letting your toddlers climb in the park without helmets are irresponsible parents? Possibly not.

Same dd also put herself into hospital by tripping over her feet and bashing her head against the wall in our hall. Again, I expect most of you would let your dcs walk down the hallway without wearing a helmet.

Otoh I can see the sense in wanting to enforce the idea "always a helmet when on wheels"- it makes for a nice clear message, which precludes lots of tedious argument about exactly when a helmet is needed.

On balance, I'd go for the helmet on those grounds only.

Why is wearing a helmet a 'big deal'? It's just taking a simple, easy precaution.

Anyone who can read GooseyLoosey's account of her son's injury, or any of the orher stories about serious injuries/deaths that have happened in apparently 'safe' circumstances, and still argue that helmets aren't important, is being foolish, imo.