AIBU to think that children should wear helmets whilst scooting

[Talkwhilstyouwalk]

Most children I see riding bikes wear a helmet, but loads of children on scooters do not! Is riding a bike considered more dangerous than riding a scooter? AIBU to think that my (otherwise very sensible) friends who let their children scoot to school without a helmet are risking their children's safety? I get that helmets can be a faff and wearing one messes up my daughters hair, but I'm very firm that if she refuses to wear her helmet then she's walking! Bit embarrassed that we had a showdown about this in front of another mum who lets her child scoot helmet free.

Mine used to wear a helmet when scootering whilst small, up to about 5yo. It was part of getting a scooter and definitely made sense.

One time DD and I were in the park, she saw some friends in the play area, dumped her scooter and went off to play with them on the climbing frame (still wearing her helmet). I sat down on a bench and got talking to another mum; she sued me which my child was and then queried “Does she always wear a helmet in the play park?”

At that point I felt I was possibly being labelled

@BadgerFace

My eldest once went flying over the handle bars on a scooter not going very fast on an uneven pavement and ended up with a huge bump on her head despite a helmet so I think it’s best for kids to wear them.

I also had a client who fell off a pavement from standing, bumped his head on the kerb, spent a couple of months in hospital with a bleed on the brain and then sadly died so think protecting children’s heads even at low speeds is preferable to not. Obviously most people who have an accident will be fine on a scooter with no helmets but it’s about protecting those incidents where you might not be so lucky.

That's the thing, if you fall in the wrong way and hit the wrong spot it can on rare occasions be fatal!! I know of someone who died falling down the stairs in a nightclub....

@ValerieMorghulis

Mine used to wear a helmet when scootering whilst small, up to about 5yo. It was part of getting a scooter and definitely made sense.

One time DD and I were in the park, she saw some friends in the play area, dumped her scooter and went off to play with them on the climbing frame (still wearing her helmet). I sat down on a bench and got talking to another mum; she sued me which my child was and then queried “Does she always wear a helmet in the play park?”

At that point I felt I was possibly being labelled

Haha!! Yes, I've had something similar!! Mind you, if she'd have fallen off the monkey bars whilst hanging upside down....

No helmet = no scooter/bike. It's non negotiable in our house.

My 2 DC have always worn a helmet. During his 1st year of school, my eldest was scooting along in a daydream and tripped over the roots coming up in the pavement of a large tree. He flew over the handlebars and his head hit the tree hard enough that the helmet cracked. He was in such shock, but his head was fine thanks to the helmet.

I agree - no helmet no scooter.

The number of kids I see scooting without a helmet on makes me crazy. It's potentially as dangerous as a bike accident especially (but not only) when going downhill. And it's good practice to wear one so there's no issue when your kid is ready for a bike.
But then you take chances with your kids, doesn't mean I will with mine.

My kid fell off his scooter , smacked his head on the curb and split his bike helmet open , he still ended up in A&E as he had a huge lump on his forehead , hospital told me the helmet did its job.

I'm thankful I make my kids wear a helmet to scoot.

No helmet = no scooter here.

It’s also not just about the child falling while scooting, it’s also being hit by a car reversing out of a driveway etc. It’s like bikes and trampolines - it’ll be alright until it’s not.

Helmets on scooters, bikes, skateboards, skis, snowboards and ponies. Blanket rule from the start - it’s much harder to impose later on a child who is used to being helmetless on a scooter but who has progressed from sedately riding a three wheeler to stunt riding at the skate park...

I don’t really care what other parents allow though. My children just get told it’s between X and X’s parents what he does, but I’m their parent so I make the decision I think is best for them. End of.

Yanbu

I think we'll continue with the enforced helmet wearing policy reading some of these 😑.

@Nexttome

No helmet = no scooter here.

It’s also not just about the child falling while scooting, it’s also being hit by a car reversing out of a driveway etc. It’s like bikes and trampolines - it’ll be alright until it’s not.

Indeed. Argh, trampolines....I've always refused to own one. I think I'm a bit of a risk averse kill joy though!

A friend of a friends 4 year old fell off their scooter with no helmet on and had a very nasty head injury. So much so that their life has completely changed and they will never live independently and are now in nappies for life pretty much. This will always stick with me.

I tell my 5 year old about this if she moans about wearing a helmet.

I don't enforce helmets, I'm sure statistically my kids are more likely to come to harm in a car etc

A helmet is non-negotiable here - on bike or scooter. Also never getting a trampoline.

I see DC as young as 3 belting down the downward slope towards the school daily, narrowly bumping into people, with no helmets on. Parents long, long behind. Makes me quite angry, they shouldn’t be in charge of a dog, let alone a kid .

I’m surprised by this. Mine wear helmets on their scooters and so do all their friends. I don’t know any who don’t. They go like the clappers and I don’t see how coming off your bike and the same speed is any worse than coming off your scooter at the same speed. You only get one head!

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/head-trauma-broken-bones-spinal-1884655
Incidences are obviously lower, but the injuries can be just as severe as on a bike. If your kid is used to wearing a helmet on a bike it’s really no more difficult to get them to wear one on a scooter.

Mine never have on scooters, until ds2 started going to the skate park on his and doing terrifying tricks. Then, helmet non-negotiable. The trouble is he's now at secondary and it's putting him off going as the older teenagers don't.

...and the worst scooter accident he's had was going very slowly on normal pavement. Ripped his knee to pieces poor kid.

Having worked in a child brain injury clinic i can confirm that children do fall off scooters and the impact can be significant- from concussion right up to traumatic brain injuries. It's not just them falling, they Can also ride into moving vehicles or walls. My dc doesn't ride one anymore but when they did they always wore a helmet.

My son has ASD and cannot tolerate a helmet. We tried for months but every time he would go into a meltdown, rip it off his head and throw it. He attends a school that’s a 20 minute adult paced walk away, as it has the best expertise in our area for his needs. To get him there I rely on him being happy scooting, so I’ve had to compromise on the helmet.

I borrowed a friends scooter when I was about 16 and played in her back garden. I tripped, fell and broke 4 bones in my foot (I wasn’t wearing shoes admittedly) ripped a ton of skin from my shin and smashed my elbow quite badly. I also went into shock on route to the hospital. No head injury though so a helmet wouldn’t have changed the outcome.

@mamaduckbone

Mine never have on scooters, until ds2 started going to the skate park on his and doing terrifying tricks. Then, helmet non-negotiable. The trouble is he's now at secondary and it's putting him off going as the older teenagers don't.

Argh, teenagers!!

yes the amount of reported deaths is shocking!! Oh, wait...there aren't any....