...to not make my 5 and 3 year old wear a cycle helmet?

[blindasabatenburg]

Am I failing to protect them sufficiently? Nobody wore helmets when we were kids and I don't recall anyonr suffering a serious head injury, though we all came off from time to time.

They could just as easily fall from a climbing frame at the park, but nobody would insist on a helmet for the park!!!

People used to not wear seatbelts. They used to not wear suncream. They used to smoke while pregnant.

Just because people used to not do something is a bloody stupid reason not to do it now.

I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't make their child wear one.

Fortunately, it's law here and saves children from idiot parents.

I remember one of my brothers being put on the back seat in his carry cot in our car.

My parents asked me whether I'd be happy taking DS1 on my knee in their car when there was some issue about getting somewhere and no car seat when he was a baby.

Just because something used to be fine, or nothing happened to anyone you know doing it, doesn't mean it's a good idea...

So easy to put a helmet on them, why wouldn't you?

Riding hats, gloves, and body protectors for horse riding amigababy!

"But if you come back here in 6 months telling us that your child died or has significant brain damage as a result of a cycling accident in which they were not wearing a helmet and expect us to give you any sympathy or support, then YABU."

nice

OP it's your choice entirely- personally i think where's the harm in getting them to wear one?

and I would be full of sympathy and support for you or anyone who lost their child regardless of why it happened!

It's up to you. My children wear them as I care about protecting them as best I can.
Your child = your decision.

OP - the 'I don't know anybody who got hurt when I was a child' excuse doesn't wash. You are one person so by yourself statistically insignificant. The probability of you knowing somebody who had a head injury from falling off a bike is very very low but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Chances of dying from not wearing your seatbelt also very low - I bet you don't know anybody injured from not wearing one of those either. Chances of getting lung cancer through passive smoking - very low. Would you let somebody smoke in the same room as your children regularly? There are so many things that you won't have experienced but that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen more often than it should to other people. Why would you not do what you can to protect your children.

TBF, if mine were riding around, in the back garden on the grass I might not bother but if they ride on hard surfaces like paths and roads then just put the helmet on. It will set up good habits for when they are older and out with their friends as well as protect them now.

Yes. YABU.

Children are more likely to suffer a head injury when walking, so for consistency all those insisting that they should be worn when cycling should ensure their children also wear walking helmets.

When you are walking you are not going at a great speed.

You are not higher up from the ground and in danger of going over handlebars if you need to stop.

You are also normally walking on a pavement, so unlikely to be hit by a car.

It's not really a sensible comparison is it?

patpig interested in your ascertion that a child is as likely to get a head injury whilst walking....is that based on evidence? (genuine question, not being sarky)

I feel the difference, is the speed you travel at, and the position/angle etc means your head is more likely to hit the floor if you fell from a bike

I was quite slack about helmets, until I fell off and hit my head myself. Both my kids have been on the back of my bike daily since aged less than a year, so its been more important that they wear them. Not sure really of there effectiveness overall though

makingthelink.net/child-deaths-road-traffic-accidents
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/9066/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-main-results-2011.pdf

In 2010 there were:

pedestrians:
5,200 serious injuries, 1,620 (31%) of which were children
405 deaths, 26 (6%) of which were children

cyclists:
2,660 serious injuries, 391 (15%) of which were children
111 deaths, 7 (6%) of which were children

So walking helmets for children should be a higher priority than cycle helmets, since there are both more deaths, and a much higher proportion of the serious injuries were to children among pedestrians than cyclists, suggesting that child pedestrians should be a higher priority than child cyclists.

There were lots of things that we did as children that we don't do now, or vice versa. Why would you risk your DC hitting their head hard on Tarmac when you could have a layer of protection?
It does mean that you have to wear one yourself and not have a double standard. DCs do as you do and not as you say. I am surprised to see families out cycling with only the DCs in helmets- don't they have DCs who question it? And how can they possibly justify it?
I suspect it us laziness- it is easier to let it go if the DC doesn't want to wear it.

I have researched the benefits and concerns around cycling helmets and everything is very contradictory and far from clear cut. There seems to be as much evidence against them as for them. Some suggestions that they can contribute to more serious injuries caused by twisting the head and neck and they are useless in impact of greater than 12 miles an hour. So no protection if a vehicle is involved.

A silly comparison, PatPig- DC pedestrians don't die by falling over!

My sisters friend was killed falling off a stationery horse without a helmet (it was her horse, she was very experienced but accidents happen). A friend was in hospital for weeks, and off work for over a year after head injuries when he was knocked off his bike. Two other women I know fell off their bikes as they swerved to avoid traffic. Both whacked their heads and had concusion (which is no picnic).

If they wear it then what's the risk (flat hair?), if they don't, a fall (not even a bad one) can really injure them.

Yes, we didn't in the 1970s but how many kids were injured/died? So what if the kid looks like a mammas boy? Better that than an afternoon in a+e waiting to see of he's cracked his skull. You only need to hear that horrible 'thwack' sound of a head hitting the ground once to encourage you to grab a helmet.

Ever seen anyone on a life-support machine, OP??

My SIL was 'tapped' by a lorry whilst riding her bike, and thrown over the handlebars. My PIL turned off her life support machine 3 days later. She left 4 children.

Put the damned helmets on your DC.

patpig i think that would be comarable if people spent the same amount of time/distance/same location on bikes as they do on foot. as it is i'd say far more people walk than cycle so that will be why there were more injuries and death for pedestrians than cyclists.

Yes I think YABU and I don't understand why you'd take the risk

PatPig - there are far, far in fact MASSIVELY fewer cyclists on the road than pedestrians.

For that reason, you're actually more likely to be injured cycling than walking.

For that reason, OP yabu.

Yes lasttango I have. My mum actually.

Sometimes I'm glad I live where I do. Where it's illegal to ride without a helmet.

OP, yanbu as long as you'd be happy to donate your DC organs if they sustain a serious head injury. If you're not prepared to think of your children as organ donors, then get helmets on them.

Patpig when using statistics you have to be reasonable. Many more children walk than cycle therefore there will be proportionally more accidents to walking children than cycling children. the statistics do not suggest walking helmets. they are telling you that accidents happen and that as adults we should take reasonable steps to prevent them either for ourselves or others. go onto the rospa site. as for the OP - up to you love. when I was little ( I am 50+) no seatbelts, lead in petrol, no helmets for anything, smoking everywhere, babies put on their front, no car seats, no stairgates I could go on. we learn things to make us safer and we either choose to put them into practice or not. would you drive out now without a car seat and seat belt? no. why? because you know its safer so why don't you have the same view about cycle helmets. don't forget head injuries change lives.

"Children are more likely to suffer a head injury when walking, so for consistency all those insisting that they should be worn when cycling should ensure their children also wear walking helmets."

That is ridiculous. Of course children are more likely to suffer a head injury while walking because far more children walk than cycle. Also, the type of injury sustained from a bike accident is likely to be far more serious. Your logic is illogical.

exoticfruits How do you think pedestrians die then?

Cyclist deaths almost exclusively result from collisions with motor vehicles.

Pedestrian deaths likewise.

Furthermore, the most idiotic parents are those who patronisingly say 'why isn't your child wearing a helmet', but then you see their child is riding a Toysrus bike, which isn't safe, maintained, on and off the pavement because they have no idea of how to ride safely.

Helmets have no magic powers. The idea that you issue a child with a helmet and then they can go and play in the traffic without fear is sadly incredibly common as a result of helmet propaganda.