Should I make him wear a bike helmet?

[springlike]

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?

Yeah, that’s not what you said though. You said you’re “more likely to suffer a head injury in a car crash that a bike accident.”

Stats for that? Stats showing that of all the accidents involving motorists and all the accidents involving cyclists, a higher proportion of the motorists had a head injury than the cyclists?

For those who cite the netherlands for not wearing a helmet:
a) bikes and cars are mostly segregated
b) lived there for 6 years. in the 6 years, one colleague ended up long term in hospital with a headinjury (preventable with a helmet, it was a rather minor bump with major consequences ), 2 ended up with light skull fractures (shaved head and hospital stay included, no ling term consequences). and that was without cars involved...

@57Varieties

What specific checks do you make to ensure that your child’s cycle helmet is correctly fitted and worn?

@Notthemessiah - utter rubbish.

And in any case, how on earth is the fact that a helmet might also offer protection in a variety of other activities a compelling argument for not using one on a bike??

In circumstances where bike helmets are widely available and acceptable, and represent no inconvenience and not much cost, and certain reduce the risk of serious injury, it’s lunacy to wriggle around trying to find a justification for not wearing one.

I wouldn't. there is a lot of research into the effectiveness of bike helmets and there is no solid evidence that it makes cycling safer.

Some studies even point to the opposite end people are taking more risks when wearing helmets and driver are less careful around helmet wearing cyclists.

There is much anecdotal 'evidedence' but not more more.

most head injuries are sustained by people driving (or traveling in) cars yet noone is suggesting to put s helmet on for the car journey we make.

My son is in a similar situation but I insist on a helmet- he'll be very different from his friends if he's in a wheelchair instead of on a bike!! No helmet - no bike - non negotiable.

@gingerbiscuits

What specific checks do you make to ensure that your child’s cycle helmet is correctly fitted and worn?

YABU

We are a "no helmet, no ride" family. I would no more get on my bike without helmet and gloves than I would drive my car without a seatbelt. However, I know experienced cyclists who wear neither, unless racing when it is generally compulsory to wear a helmet. They cite all the arguments already discussed on this thread so I wont repeat them. As it is not against the law and they are adults, I leave them to it. But as far as my son is concerned, wearing a helmet is non negotiable, even if he is just messing around in the garden. A lot of the quoted data relates to mortality. Obviously that is a nice, easy thing to measure as its binary. But that is far from the only issue. Even major, life changing traumatic brain injury isn't the only issue as there is increasing concern about the long term impact of sub concussive head injuries, sometimes called micro concussions. Having something with energy absorbing properties between your brain and the ground if you fall off seems a fundamentally good idea to me. At worst, helmet wearing is a minor inconvenience and I have never seen any data that convinces me that they increase risk. The arguments against compulsory helmet use tend to be framed around them being off putting and reducing cycle usage which may well be true, though presumably if kids were brought up wearing helmets that would eventually cease to be an issue?
Fortunately all the people my son rides with wear helmets too so he hasn't had any peer pressure to deal with. I am sure he would have no difficulty resisting if he did though . He has always worn a helmet and believes it is silly not to. Plus all his cycling heroes wear helmets which probably influences him far more than what a few kids at school say.
Anyway, it isn't against the law not to wear a helmet currently so it is your personal choice. But at 12 I would say it's your choice, not your son's.

I’m not explaining myself to you, @recrudescence. We are a cycling family, my husband in particular extremely experienced and are fully aware of how the helmet should be worn appropriately and safely. Now do one.

No i wouldn't insist.

I make my DC wear a well fitting helmet. ( I'll fitting helmets are a big bear of mine) They leave the house wearing their helmet. I'm under no illusion that the helmet stays on their head when I'm not looking, but I've done my best. I will buy my DC any helmet they want - DS2 owns several rather expensive ones.

DS1 did have an accident in a city Center which resulted in a couple of broken ribs and a £1000 bill His head made contact with the car at a reasonable speed. I'm very happy he was wearing a helmet.

Helmets aren't perfect, but they're better than nothing.

@vulpine....why not?

@57Varieties
Why the ridiculous aggression? If you know how cycle helmets should be worn and always check your children’s, then that’s excellent. However, I’m willing to bet that many - even most - parents don’t check or, indeed, even know what to check for. You could do them a great service by explaining how a cycle helmet should be correctly fitted and worn.

Tabby - because i think the likelihood of an accident is very low. Its all about percieved risk. I think throwing oneself down a mountain on thin slivers of wood is dangerous, yet thousands of people do that every winter.

How is the likelihood of an accident low? My kids fell off their bikes all the time. Three of them were walked home by friends crying, after falling off. I've seen kids in my street fall off too. None of these were serious accidents, but they all fell off, and chances are they could have been more serious.

@flowery this was the first one i found - there are others if you want to look yourself. Besides, the point is still the same - if we are going to make bicycle helmets compulsory to guard against head injuries then the fact is we should make helmets in cars compulsory too, but I can't see many people arguing for that because that will inconvenience everyone, not just children and cyclists (who everyone loves to hate anyway).

I don't care what you, op or anyone else does - wear a helmet, don't wear a helmet, I couldn't give a toss. As I've already said, Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. What I don't like are those people who want to impose their choices on everyone else because they are so convinced that their opinion trumps all, even though the facts don't back that up.

@ladygagain I know, bloody scientific studies - I guess you can prove anything with facts can't you.

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

A middle aged lady of my acquaintance was just messing about on her son's new bike on a track. Not going fast, and she wobbled and fell and banged her head. Tragically, she died. It was a huge shock for everyone.

"I wish the UK took the same stance as Australia where it’s compulsory"

It is but there have been calls for a review as compulsory helmets has meant a drop in bike use.

www.timeout.com/melbourne/news/an-illegal-helmet-optional-bike-ride-is-coming-to-melbourne-022219

The car industry invests millions of pounds a year in primary secondary vehicle safety systems to protect occupants. I was recently involved in a serious car crash and I had the benefit of multiple airbags, seatbelts with pretensioners, side impact bars and a substantial crumple zone to prevent my death and minimise my injuries. Those systems are not applicable to bicycles and the two cannot be compared.
Plus the mechanism of injury is not always comparable either. Traumatic brain injury in a high speed RTC is likely to be at least in part a decelerative injury which wearing a helmet is not going to influence. A head injury sustained in cycling is more likely to be due to direct trauma which a helmet can help with. The decelerative component is generally less as generally cyclists are travelling slower that cars.
Every type of transport has different safety systems based on both what is necessary and what is practical. To say there is no value to a bicycle helmet based on the fact that they are not worn in cars makes no more sense than saying that car seatbelts are pointless because they are not fitted to urban buses.

primary and secondary, sorry.

Tabby - sorry i'll rephrase - the likelihood of an life altering injury to the head is relatively low - i'd rather my kids were out on bikes than playing fortnite so its just one of the risks i'm willing to take

@Mafil and yet no-one is arguing that there is no value to bike helmets because they aren't also worn in cars, just that the evidence does not support making them compulsory.