To not make the kids wear helmets while scooting?

[DingbatsFur]

My kids have mini micro scooters and scoot to and in some cases from school. All on pavements, one road to cross. At home the scoot in the driveway and up and down the pavement outside the house. They have fallen off a handful of times. The speed they reach is about what I can do at a jog.
Now I'm all for safety gear and should they ride bikes they will wear helmets & should the roller skate they will wear elbow, wrist & knee pads and when they ice skate they wear helmets.
Scooting no helmet however.
Little boy up the street one year older than my youngest appeared by our house yesterday wearing a helmet with his scooter and wanting to know why my two were helmetless as 'helmets make you safe'.
I hadn't considered we were being reckless?

[currentbuns]

My 3yr old dd2 is a terror on her scooter. At one point, her favourite trick appeared to involve heading straight for walls, fences, parked cars, and then veering away at the very last minute - somehow unscathed. In her case, the helmet is an absolute necessity. On the other hand, my older two dc have always been very sensible on their scooters & have only ever used helmets for cycling.

[510]

I live daily with the effects of a traumatic brain injury from a accident with less force than that of a typical fall from a scooter. It was life changing.

If you want your dc to ask in the future 'But why didn't you just insist I wore a helmet?', then continue to not bother. But I think it isn't actually your choice to make, rather the choice you know your dc would have made looking back to their childhood whilst they struggle daily with the effects of a head injury.

[onedev]

My 3 all wear helmets to scoot as do most around here.

[Meglet]

Mine don't wear helmets for scooting. But they wear them for bikes.

[Blessyou]

Scooters and bikes for my 2. They can get quite a speed up on a scooter (v hilly round here).

[microserf]

We insist - no scooter if there is no helmet. Mine race along and get to quite a good clip. Dd's bike helmet has saved her from one very nasty face plant onto the pavement already. Little girl in her ballet class turned up with her entire forehead as one massive scab. She'd basically skinned it in a scooter accident, poor mite.

[lljkk]

sort of yabu but not how you think...I wouldn't have mine wearing helmets when ice skating or so many pads, either.

Have never seen a scooting child wearing a helmet except in advertisements.

[invicta]

Mine never wore a helmet when scootering, but do for bikes. They're 13 and 11. No one wore helmets when they were growing up. I also find it frustrating when I see kids with helmets put on incorrectly - usually too far up the forehead.

[missgrainger]

Think you should op. My DS fell off scooter on the way to school (hit a stone) and somehow the clip thing came open and embedded in his forehead. Blood everywhere it was awful he has a scar now but he was lucky it could have been worse.

[PQ77]

My DS does largely because I grew up in a country with a helmet culture (NZ - compulsory for cycling) and because a friend's daughter ended up needing surgery for a skull fracture coming off a scooter at low speed and hitting her head awkwardly on a kerb.

DS is very competent and safe but even he hit a hidden rough patch of pavement the other day, tumbled off and cracked the front of his helmet. If he hadn't been wearing it, his nose and teeth would have taken the full impact of his faceplant!

[Happymum22]

DC used to wear helmets as they used to charge down the hill near our house on scooters as top speeds.
They didn't have to wear them to go in the back garden on scooters (which is so small they couldn't go fast or really do much!)

Like to think it taught them to risk manage- fast and road = dangerous, garden and slow = safer

BUT then they started doing jumping tricks in the back garden and my theory was flawed and helmets were enforced.

[SkiBumMum]

Mine do. They have decent Met helmets which fit and are comfy and they're happy to wear them. They don't in the park perhaps but do for the school run as its busy, we are by the road etc.

[RememberingMyPFEs]

I don't have DC yet (37 weeks pg) but yesterday DH saw 2 kids on scooters with helmets on. He started to scoff and I said "good for them" he considered and agreed. I don't see why you wouldn't. It's not like its a hardship and if more parents pushed it it would become normal.

[Bookwolf32]

As a 3 year old I used to scoot around our patio (no helmet). One day I was scooting along and rode straight into our brick bbq stand with my forehead hitting first, lots of blood and a number of stitches, not pleasant at 3. I will make my DD wear a helmet if she is on wheels - it's not really worth the risk and like others have said it's a good habit to form.

[Crowler]

Why would you have your child wear a helmet to cycle but not scoot? I don't understand this (arbitrary?) distinction.

I laid down the law from the outset and my kids are used to it. I have absolutely no ambivalence about helmets so it's probably my most easily enforced house rule.

[DingbatsFur]

I've been wondering this and figure it's because te scooters maybe don't go quite so fast and the fall is less from the scooter than on a bike.
Also perhaps scooters are a hop on hop off thing? If I'm out with the dcs on their scooters they can be on them on moment and then off, if it was a bike they would be on the bike with all the kit.
Helmets for ice skating because of the impact of a small person's skull hitting the very hard ice when falling backwards.
Off to find some cool helmets though I think.

[DingbatsFur]

Also because bicycles go faster than scooters, you would fall from a greater height and there is the danger of hitting curbs and such like. My kids dismount when crossing the road so no curb issues and aren't as fast as a bike.

[weebarra]

DS1 scoots to school and I insist he wears a helmet. He can fall over and hit his head just walking, so I think a helmet is essential. DS2 will wear one too - he's just about to inherit DS1's micro mini and has a nice new Thomas helmet to go with it.

[Fairyegg]

No helmet = no scooters or bikes. After a while they can go just as fast on a scooter as they can on a bike, plus they start doing tricks etc. can't understand why anyone would take the risk to be honest.

[mama2moo]

I didnt used to bother with helmets on scooters until my nephew had an accident a few months ago. He fell off while going quite fast and hit his head, massive blood clot to his brain and had surgery straight away. He still hasnt regained the movement in his left arm and his vision still isnt back to normal.

He came very very close to death. My children only go on scooters with helmets on now.

[cakebar]

My DS hit a stone or twig or something and went over the handlebars of his micro and cracked his helmet open, he was fine, I was so glad he was wearing it.

[minouminou]

I've got a real thing for head injuries..... I insist on helmets for scooting and biking.

Really feel for the PP with the brain injury....people don't realise his easy it is to sustain one.

[minouminou]

Oh no, Mama2moo. That's awful.
Hope he makes as full a recovery as possible.