Or is teen ds re bike helmet?

[choosingchilli]

Ds (14) used to wear his helmet with no issues.

He hasn't ridden his bike in about 18 months purely because our rules are no helmet no bike.

He has a bike sitting in the garage, he wants to ride it to hang out with his friends in the local park but NONE of his friends wear a helmet and he freely admits he won't wear his because he will get "roasted" by his mates.

We're going round in circles, he knows the reason why helmets are important. I feel really strongly about this issue as I've seen brain injuries as a result of split second accidents and even though the roads around here are fairly quiet there is still always that risk.....

He's a good kid and he won't go out pretending to wear his helmet then take it off round the corner (which I half expected him to do).

I'm not usually particularly strict and even though I feel strongly about this I do understand peer pressure and I can see that the majority of teens around here don't wear helmets. AIBU in sticking to this rule?

For me it would depend what they're doing. Cycling to the park then hanging around being idiots but not doing bike tricks: no helmet is ok.

BMXing or stuff - helmet for that part.

Look up the story of Ryan Smith

We have the same problem. I hate it but I have to let it go. Even if he leaves the house with it on I doubt he uses it all the time.😐

I'm amazed how many parents are easy going about this. I'm all for picking your battles, but this is not one of them.

I’ve sent a copy of this link to Ryan’s family. They’ll be horrified and saddened by some of these posts.

I asked Incrediblysadtoo Can you send links to any proof of this? Whose bike helmets caused injury/death??

No sorry, I did my research into this a long time ago. Anything I saved or bookmarked would have been on my old laptop. Others have posted links though and google will help you find other studies etc.

Well, that was a pointless post, wasn't it? And uninformed, and a load of bollocks. Not true at all. People have posted links to sites that DO show a link between wearing a helmet and better outcomes. That's only common sense. Posts like yours are dangerous.

Cyclists are not as common and people are not cycle aware. So until it is (likely never), wear a helmet.

So it’s the drivers that are the problem and a helmet isn’t going to protect against an inattentive driver, helmets are for impacts of 12mph and under not against the force of a dangerous driver.

The benefits of cycling far outweig the negatives and in countries where they take cycling seriously as transport the people riding bikes don’t wear helmets

Having seen a number of people fall off (usually why doing less than 5mph as they slow down for a junction) and slam their heads into the ground then I am very much of the opinion they should be compulsory. Seatbelts are in a cars enough thought many are of the 'my body, my choice' idea so I can not see why cycles helmets should be treated differently.

I begged my parents not to make me wear a helmet around the same age for the same reasons. A few days after they relented I missed a pothole, went over the handlebars and landed on my head. Unconscious for ten minutes, I spent a week in hospital and was told I was lucky to escape with a simple skull fracture that left no lasting damage.

If you get hit by a lorry a helmet will make no difference, but it will for other types of accidents.

I would say no helmet, no bike. I refused DPs suggestion of hiring bikes on holiday a few years ago as adult helmets weren't available.

Yep, i was knocked off my bike at a roundabout at about 6 mph by a dangerous driver who didn't see me. Because we don't live in cycle aware Copenhagen. I was fucking glad for my helmet.

Opps:

Seatbelts are in a cars, enough people at the time complained using the idea 'my body, my choice 'and the law was still passed in the UK so I can not see why cycles helmets should be treated differently.

Please don't let him go without a helmet! I have seen several accidents on bikes. One of the victims didn't survive (two bikes bumped into each other, no cars involved). Helmet must always be on!

I wouldn’t let him ride without a helmet. Next door’s youngest would be dead if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet when he was run over. Of course there are many cyclists who are killed by chest injuries - a helmet won’t save everyone. But it will save people who would have died from head injuries.

I wouldn't relent on this because it would be effectively endorsing your ds taking risks with his safety due to peer pressure and wanting to fit in.

My brother came off his bike when we were teenagers, smashed the helmet to pieces. His doctor actually said he would probably have had serious brain injury or even perhaps died without the helmet.

I will never let my kids bike without a helmet! They are so important.

So no, you're not being unreasonable. And if he places not getting ribbed by his friends over his personal safety then he doesn't get to ride his bike. Youth is no real excuse for being stupid, it's better that he learns to stand up to his friends and peer pressure.

Op, I'm with you. No helmet, no bike.

My sons are now in their 20's but when they were younger they knew they had to wear a helmet to ride their bikes. Now, when they go cycling they still wear helmets.

I have heard so many stories about cyclists being saved from serious head injuries due to their helmets that for my sons to wear a helmet was non negotiable.

People come up with these ridiculous arguments for not wearing them because they just don’t want to wear them themselves and have to try and justify it

Not a ridiculous argument at all. And I say again - are Dutch heads harder than ours? Or Danish heads? I do wear one but not because I think for a minute it would protect me if I got squashed by a car.

The only time i have hit my head was slipping on some ice coming out of my mother's house and hitting my head on her step and getting mild concussion. Should I have worn a helmet?

Personally I think the current trend for letting small children ride scooters along busy roads out of arm's reach of parents is far more likely to lead to tears than letting an older child ride a bike in a park without a helmet.

If we all stuck together as parents (I know how unrealistic that sounds) it would be much easier

I agree in principle but not about helmets I'm afraid.

You cannot possibly draw comparisons between cycling in the Netherlands and Denmark with cycling in the UK. The Netherlands is famously specifically set up for cyclists, it's a whole lot safer to cycle there than it is in the UK. Denmark aggressively polices cyclists on behaviour and safety - so while helmets may not be compulsary, they are also much more aware, considerate, ride safer bicycles that have regular checks, use lights, safety gear, do not cycle with phones held to hears or friends on the back. It's an entirely different set up.

Are british heads weaker than Danes and Dutch? Probably not. Are british cyclists in more danger of having an accident? Very much so. Don't be ridiculous. (I would still wear a helmet in both the Netherlands and Denmark because I quite like my brain on the inside)

If ice is a regular occurance at your mother's place you might want to consider getting spikes you can put on your shoes. Not a helmet, no, but funny how preventative measures keep us safe isn't it!

There are so many arguments here - for our family, it's always wear a helmet when on the road bike. When my son is playing with his mates in the park on his other bike, he is free to not wear one.

Also, worth bearing in mind is this study: www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/24/bike-helmet-appetite-danger

No helmet no bike.

I’m in Australia too where it’s compulsory.

At school we have a teacher on bike duty every afternoon. The children have to line up along the benches with their helmets on to be checked. If someone doesn’t have a helmet they aren’t allowed to leave the school premises on their bike.

Our school is next to a huge playground that has novelty bike paths and a bmx track and the things I’ve seen kids attempt to do on their bikes and scooters..

There’s been several instances where an ambulance/ care flight helicopter has been called due to kids having accidents on the bike paths, so I disagree with those that have said they would let it slide if their kids were cycling at a park.

It’s rubbish the evidence is overwhelming that wearing a helmet saves lives!! I worked with a dr who’s a specialist in the field.

Why some of you are insisting that the dutch not wearing cycle helmets is a good reason for us not to is beyond me. The Americans and Australians don't wear horse riding helmets but British horseriders don't see that as a good enough reason for us to abandon this basic safety equipment

Our cyclists are also not, y'know, cycling in Holland. Big culture and infrastructure differences.

My Ds attends a cycle club where helmets are compulsory - if they turn up without one they aren't allowed to participate. We had issues with him wearing his helmet at the times he wasn't at club until they had a demo one evening.

Basically they dropped a watermelon with a helmet strapped to it from a height (think arms length above head when stood on a chair) the melon cracked but not a lot of damage. They repeated it with another melon without a helmet and let's just say it exploded when it hit the ground! Haven't had a problem with Ds wearing his helmet since and he not actively encourages his mates to wear one too.

Just an idea.....

"Now encourages" ffs

@MyCatHogsTheBed some US states you don't have to wear a cycle helmet !!