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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Should I make him wear a bike helmet?

192 replies

springlike · 13/10/2019 09:24

My DS is almost 12. He has just joined Y7, likes to meet up with friends and often this means going out on bikes. He took his cycling proficiency earlier in the year. None of his friends seem to wear helmets and I have, so far, insisted he should. He doesn't want to though as this makes him different to his friends. Should I insist he wears one, advise him he should but let him decide or not let him out on his bike if he doesn't?

OP posts:
Ponoka7 · 13/10/2019 09:27

No he shouldn't be forced to wear something that will set him apart from everyone else.

A bike helmet only does so much and can lead to a false sense of security in young teens.

Part of me says yes, but not at the detriment of a peer group and being a target for bullying.

TabbyMumz · 13/10/2019 09:29

Tell him he will be a lot different to his friends when get falls off and gets a brain injury. We already have one person in our family with a brain injury so for my kids, they either put on the helmet or they didn't go.

milienhaus · 13/10/2019 09:29

Where are they cycling? If in a town / city then I think not wearing a helmet would’ve a mistake - it makes you more visible to cars as well as providing some protection in a crash (yes not 100% but still).

MustardScreams · 13/10/2019 09:31

Well yes of course you should. Other parents might be slack, but you don’t have to be.

A bike helmet does help prevent severe head injuries, that’s what they’re made for.

57Varieties · 13/10/2019 09:31

Yep. No helmet, no bike ride.

Not decent friends anyway if they would bully him for wearing a helmet. Some kids are proper arseholes.

ColaFreezePop · 13/10/2019 09:31

Nope.

With boys (and young men in general) any sort of head protection gives them a false sense of security so they take more risks.

If you want him to be better protected he should grow his hair long and dye it blond.

MockersthefeMANist · 13/10/2019 09:32

Go to the Netherlands. Never see a helmet. Their cycling culture is less aggressive and lycra-clad.

If your lad is racing around at speed doing skid-turns, a helmet is a good idea. But just pootling along at jogging pace, you no more need a helmet than a jogger does.

TeddybearBaby · 13/10/2019 09:32

My son has just gone into year 8 and we had this in the summer too. I didn’t make him wear one, not sure if that was right! He was sticking to the pavements and going round the block or to the park in our road.

yawnhedehihi · 13/10/2019 09:34

It's a hard one as yes he should wear a helmet really but none of the children around here wear helmets when playing out. I understand he doesn't want to be the odd one out. How far will he ride?

ColaFreezePop · 13/10/2019 09:34

Normal cycle helmets are not like motorcycle helmets so anyone who cycles regularly and is reasonably fit will cycle faster than any protection the helmet would be able to give.

Keepithidden · 13/10/2019 09:34

Do some research on how effective they really are, then make a decision. Emotional anecdotes are no substitute for rigourous analysis and only serve to precipitate assumptions that may or may not be correct.

For what it's worth though, the amount of kids I see having a helmet hanging from their handlebars suggest that they put them on for their parents then take them off as soon as they are out of sight...

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 13/10/2019 09:34

A dad at DSs sports club was knocked off his bike without a helmet. He was in hospital for months and ended up unable to work full time again and had a real character change (irritable, short tempered).

A woman at work fell off her bike and got knocked out when her head hit the kerb (no helmet).

A mum at school was also knocked out when she came off her bike - she had a helmet but it was split like a melon.

My cousin came off his bike - he races a lot and alway wears a helmet. His helmet was also split.

Etc etc etc

Yes a helmet won’t help if you get run over by a car but even a slight bang on the head can be catastrophic.

You will be teaching him that he doesn’t need to ‘follow the trend’ and can be his own man - what when his friends want to smoke and drink?

TheMonkeyWhale · 13/10/2019 09:35

You can still get head injuries from falling on pavements.

Yes, make him wear a helmet. Coming from someone who has had a brain injury.

MustardScreams · 13/10/2019 09:35

Bike helmets are the single most effective way of preventing serious head injuries and fatalities from bicycle crashes - quote taken from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Think I’d listen to them over posters on MN.

itsgettingweird · 13/10/2019 09:36

Of course you should!

There's currently a local family campaigning here after their ds fell of his bike and died. He wasn't hit or even on roads.
Because if that the. Umber of actual death from cycling is misreported. They report accidents - not no of deaths.

So the figure of 1200 ish is incorrect. It's more like 4500 per year.
Do you want your ds to be one of those?

Clangus00 · 13/10/2019 09:37

Absolutely. No helmet, no bike at ANY age.
I wish the UK took the same stance as Australia where it’s compulsory.

RiftGibbon · 13/10/2019 09:38

Loads of kids around here cycle without helmets
Loads of kids around here cycle stupidly; pulling out in front of moving cars, weaving in and out of pedestrians, doing wheelies and generally behaving irresponsibly.
It's only a matter of time before one sustains a head injury.
We have plenty of parks and open spaces where they could do all this, btw.
TLDR - wear a helmet or no cycling. Cycle sensibly.

itsgettingweird · 13/10/2019 09:38

Yes! Bike helmets should be law like seatbelts.

They irradiate the risk - you can still suffer fatal injuries. But they reduce the risk dramatically.

Samcro · 13/10/2019 09:40

there was a story on our local news about an 8yr old. he fell off his bike and hit his head. he died 2 days later.
better to wear one.

Chocolatemouse84 · 13/10/2019 09:41

My rule is no helmet, no bike or scooter. Although I am aware this gets so much harder as they become teenagers. I just hope I have drilled it into them enough.

I've worked as a nurse on brain injury units and have read all of the research and pros and cons of helmets and i feel it is the right decision to insist on helmets.

Mummyshark2018 · 13/10/2019 09:41

Absolutely! Ive worked with many young men who have suffered brain-injuries made worse for not wearing a helmet! It's not worth the risk. My dc school does head/ helmet safety awareness assembly in school. If that is the attitude of the students could you contact the school to see if they can do something similar?

Keepithidden · 13/10/2019 09:41

Cycling UKs stance:

www.cyclinguk.org/campaigning/views-and-briefings/cycle-helmets

itsgettingweird · 13/10/2019 09:43

www.itv.com/news/meridian/2019-10-02/parents-of-boy-who-died-after-falling-off-his-bike-join-reading-cycle-safety-campaign/

This one has the statistics. Much better to have to make an informed decision

Jeschara · 13/10/2019 09:43

Hard one, he does not want to look different from his friends,however there is the safety aspect.
If you insist he wears it, he may do so leaving the house, but when he gets to his friends he may take it off and hide it somewhere. I know because I did it when I was younger when my Dad insisted on things. I understand your concerns.

I