Not letting my child ride/scooter without helmet, but I seem to be the only one AIBU?

[WearTheHelmet]

DD is 9, Year 5.

She likes to ride her bike or scooter but has recently refused if I make her wear her helmet. Like as in if I offer it she’ll say “Can I do it without my helmet?” and when I say no she says “Then I’m not going to be the only one doing it with one so no”.

I’ve noticed on the school run, Key Stage 1 and younger (so Years 2 and below) all wear helmets but once they get to year 3/Key Stage 2 they seem to stop, I haven’t seen anyone else in DDs year/class wearing one for years.

I always think it’s safer and part of the school run is along a fast B road where the cars ignore the 20 mile an hour zone around school times and drive down at 50+ (there have been a couple of fatal accidents along the road involving pedestrians, none involving children but still it’s a risk).

So AIBU? And if not how do I persuade DD it’s in her interests to use her helmet?

Mines 7, wearing a helmet with a bike is a must, we stopped wearing it with the scooter though when she was 6. Same for her friends.

My DS’s school had a policy that if you came to school on wheels (bike or scooter) you have to have a helmet.

small school with teachers on gate every morning and kids without helmets for spoken to and parents told as well…I saw scooters taken to heads office until they could prove thyes had a suitable helmet 🫣

Another one here for no helmet = no wheels.
My DD is 6 and so far this does go unchallenged.
I don't know why some think being on a scooter is a bit safer to forego it... I've seen the speeds my DD can get up to... She's more likely to try something stupid on it like jumps or ramps at the park - I would say the helmet is more required just for that alone.

Skatepark is full of kids on skateboards, scooters and bikes without helmets. I guess back in the day they weren’t a thing so were never worn and parents have taken the same approach with their kids.

Their choice but DC will never ride without a helmet. My DS’ has got a good few stretches on his - easier to replace a helmet than skin or a smashed skull.

If you see what my DD has done to one of her helmets then you would see it is bloody useless for protecting her head in an accident.

Saying that she won't ride any of her bikes without a helmet.

However she rode her balance bike before she was 3, and she still rides her scooter without one. However as she annoys me on her scooter I refuse to take her out on it.

Oh and she is only 5. And yes she has bikes plural. 🙄

All the primary age kids round here wear helmets

Although now that I think about, the teenagers never do 👀

Anyway yanbu

My DC is only 5 but we won't let her ride her scooter or bike without a helmet under any circumstances and that's always been the rule. DH used to cycle a lot and has always worn a helmet and we feel strongly about it. Locally not many children wear helmets even pre-schoolers on bikes near busy roads etc and DC has already noted and commented that she is in a small group of kids who do. So I can anticipate we may have resistance when she's older but I hope that we won't budge on it, it's not worth it.

I can't understand all the adults locally who cycle on our extremely busy roads full of awful drivers who don't wear helmets! I feel nervous for them when I'm just a passenger in a car!

No helmet?

No bike, scooter, sledging, ski, etc etc whatever

Too risky

No helmet - no wheels or ice skating (different helmets of course).

What about a tricycle inside for a 2-year old? Outside, a helmet obvs but i
what about inside?
sorry it’s not about your question but posters here seem to have good knowledge of helmets!

You are 100% right.

We didn't insist on a helmet inside but do outside, up to now DD asks to put her hat on so hopefully this continues. She's not quite 4

I once took the funeral of a man who suffered a catastrophic head injury when messing around on his kid's scooter without a helmet. He lived for months (might have been years), with some periods of seeming improvement and hope, before he eventually died.

Yes, the risk of something like that happening might be tiny, but given the unthinkable potential consequences why on earth would you take that risk?

If there were no cars, would we all feel quite the same way about helmets. Vision Zero is a strategy implemented by lots of cities across the world to try and reduce traffic deaths and injuries on our roads to zero, which are nearly all caused by motor vehicles. The strategies involve reducing cars, better traffic management and separation of pedestrians, cyclists etc from motor vehicles. Helmets are not mentioned.

My kids don’t go on roads, this has nothing to do with cars. Smacking the back of your head on a slab or pavement will do some serious damage (and it’s a common occurrence when your scooter disappears from under you). Same with heading over your bike handle bars.

Personally I think parents are insane letting their young kids ride without helmets - they are too young to understand the risks so need rules. When they’re older, up to them but we do more extreme sports and so helmets are a part of life - why risk injury doing something as mundane as riding your bike/scooter down the pavement?

That said, my DC have done more damage to themselves at home hitting heads on walls, falling out of trees and falling upstairs (!). All resulting in hospital treatment.

Head injuries are often not fixable - you are being very silly and irresponsible

@Allfur you've repeatedly talked about cars. Yes they're a problem. Yes they need tackling. But even if, as you say, cars are the majority issue, it doesn't mean we stop mitigating risks for minority situations. I've already pointed out that DH came off his bike at slow speed on a cycle path at center parcs and his helmet likely saved him from catastrophic issues or death. With it, he was seriously injured but treatable.

It's like saying smoking is responsible for more deaths than alcohol abuse and therefore we only need education in one direction.

Show her a picture of rtc victim's who weren't wearing a helmet and the consequences.

As someone who used to work in a major trauma hospital helmets save lives.

There are some astoundingly stupid comments on this thread. I can’t believe how dumb people can be sometimes.
Parenting fails left right and centre. SMH

A child was hit crossing the road to our village shop. She’d been riding her bike so had a helmet on but had dismounted to cross. She was with parents. A car tried to squeeze around parked cars and hit her. Because she had her helmet on she didn’t sustain the head injury she might have had from the impact and was bruised and got a broken arm.

He's 6, you are the parent. He puts on the helmet or doesn't ride his bike.
You don't have to be going far or even very fast to come off a bike. There doesn't even need to be any other vehicle involved. I know a family who's child came off his bike while not wearing a helmet and is now permanently brain damaged due to the way he hit his head on the kerb .

There are a serious number of adult cyclists who won't wear a helmet because rOOLz are for foOLz.

I think this attitude is being passed on and that's what people are seeing, because helmets have been a thing for over thirty years.

I probably wouldn’t for scooter. I also wouldn’t want them riding a bike along a dangerous B road, I’d take dc elsewhere with helmet and bike.

Allowing a 6 year old to dictate that they won't wear a helmet when they have no understanding of the consequences is not parenting. Your eyes are not going to prevent an accident from happening. All you having eyes on him will do is allow you to see him have the accident. Worst case scenario is not a broken bone. It is death from a head injury.

I don't understand the logic here, a six or 7ot 8 year old is likely to be going much faster and trying to do more tricks etc on a scooter so much more likely to sustain a serious injury if they come off than a 4 or 5 year old.