10yo scooting without helmet

[KarmenPQZ]

Just sanity checking here to get some more opinions.

my 10 year old hasn’t scooted in ages (years) and it turns out it’s because she doesn’t want to wear a helmet. She knew we wouldn’t agree to scooting without a helmet so she’s never requested it…. TIL now. Credit to her she’s come to us and asked rather than her usual screaming and whinging approach so I want to mull it over fairly.

but I don’t really need her to scoot anywhere. We mostly walk or cycle and she knows helmets on bikes are non negotiable so I don’t think she’s using this as a Segway.

what’s the thoughts on letting a 10 year old scoot on pavements without a helmet. She’s generally very coordinated and risk adverse so I think the probability of anything happening is very slim. But it still feels slightly wrong. Although I did borrow her scooter once and did a massive stack although I still didn’t hit my head! If she does a lap of the park on a friends scooter I don’t like it but don’t insist on a helmet within the park

AIBU to make her stick to helmets at all time?

I used to allow my sons to ride on their scooters without helmets at that age.

I don’t even make my infants use a helmet on their scooters.

I don’t make my 6 year old wear a helmet while scooting. She did when she started out but not for ages. Am I horribly neglectful? Honestly, I don’t know if I am.

I would be fine with it if she is just mooching around. Skate parks, ramps, or just high speeds down massive hills, helmet required.

I think most kids scoot without helmets don’t they? So long as she’s on pavements so minimal risk of being hit by a car and not doing tricks in a skate park I’d be fine with it. DD had an awful scooter crash when she was about 4 and smashed her (thankfully baby) teeth on the handlebar. She was wearing a helmet but actually I dispensed with them after that because it made me think the helmet wasn’t going to do a great deal for the types of falls you typically get from a scooter.

But if she wears it on her bike why is it different for scooter in her eyes?

We've always made both our kids wear helmets for both bike and scooter, I don't know why parents think scooters are less dangerous than bikes for accidents

My dc never had helmets for their scooters. They were on the pavements and all was well

OH god that’s so true. The only scooter bad scooter crashes I’ve heard off have involved teeth being lost. Maybe a mouth guard is more important than a helmet!

Because the impact is likely to be less is how I look at it. Lower speed, no cars, so not much difference to falling over whilst running

Everyone saying "mine never wore a helmet and were fine" - were they fine because they never had an accident involving a head injury?

Round here if you got knocked into by an adult on an e-scooter, I absolutely dread to think of the consequences without a helmet. It's not just the scooter rider you have to think about - they may be super cautious and careful but not everybody else on the roads/pavements are.

If it has wheels you wear a helmet in our house.

Letting your child ride a scooter without a helmet is not without risks. As long as you can live and justify those risks, then do what’s right for you.

Personally, having seen the damage caused by lack of helmet with scootering and skateboarding along a pavement, there is no way I’d allow it. And I say that as a family who participates in very risky and extreme sports.

Do you wear a helmet to walk on the pavement?

I can’t understand why wearing a helmet on a scooter is any different than wearing a helmet on a bike. If you think kids should wear helmets on bikes (and I emphatically do having known someone to suffer a terrible brain injury that way), then I would also suggest wearing a helmet for a scooter. A lot of people where I live don’t wear helmets for either but to me that’s kind of like not wearing a seatbelt, which is another thing I’d never consider personally.

Both of mine (10&5) wear helmets for scooters and bikes. Neither complain.
I’m glad because both have had near misses where the helmets have saved what would have been a nasty injury.
Once my daughter lost her balance down hill and fell off and the other time my son went over a ridge in the pavement and the scooter flipped round.
The other consideration is cars on the road.
I wouldn’t risk it personally. Most oh the children in our area wear helmets for both.

It’s totally different. Scooters are on the pavement travelling slowly, barely more than jogging speed. Bikes are on the road with cars, travel much faster than a scooter and the cycling position means you’re more likely to fall on your head e.g. if you go over the handlebars.

But that would mean everyone should wear a helmet all the time even when walking?

Similar age DC and they don’t wear helmets on scooters. They don’t go all that fast. It’s not much different to if they fell over running, no faster. They’re not going down steep downhills or on the road.

Have a look on YouTube at the devastating impact not wearing g a helmet has had on some people’s lives. She may be careful but what if a bike or even a car hits her? Our kids were told a helmet was to be worn at all time and if they were ever caught without the bikes/scooters would be taken away. Tell your daughter to wise up and be the parent and keep her safe

Mine are 7 and 9 and don't wear helmets. They're not going paticularly fast and don't ride on the road. They could probably run faster and don't wear helmets for that either.

I know someone who very nearly died after a crash on an e-scooter without a helmet. As in, coma, surgery, months in hospital.

I know it's not on the road, but I wouldn't risk it. I'd potentially allow it if cycling on paths away from roads, so through parks, along a wide promenade, but not along a pavement. There's a risk of the child not steering correctly/getting distracted and steering into the road, or coming off it and going into the road.

I think if it's a non negotiable from the first ride then they get used to it being the norm.

I'm assuming you are talking about a bog standard push scooter and not an eScooter which is a different beast.

I have seen a nasty concussion from a child going over backwards without a helmet on so like you I'm on the fence on this one but I'd rather my child be active than not.
There's a few factors that would go into my decision
Adult or stunt scooter - helmet. A the stunts and/or B the weight of the scooter
Landscape - steep hills and roads nearby eg on school run. Probably helmet
Tootling around the local flat part on a maxi micro 3 wheeled scooter, I wouldn't insist on a helmet.

Generally she needs to understand that she is getting bigger, taller and therefore heavier. With a proper two wheeled scooter she will pick up a lot more speed and needs to be safe. Evidence that she's not being sensible means either a helmet or no scooter.

Caveat, I have an adult scooter [albeit not used for ages as the kids have outgrown their scooters] and didn't wear a helmet. Given the speed I could pick up on a slope and how hard it is to brake and stay stable, I was very conservative on it. It's great fun and very easy to get places quickly with the kids in urban areas though.

Credit to her she’s come to us and asked rather than her usual screaming and whinging approach so I want to mull it over fairly.

A usual approach of screaming and whinging. She's 10 FFS not 2.

She's nearly secondary school age, and she shouldn't be screaming and whinging like a toddler having a tantrum.

High time she grew up before secondary school.

I don’t honestly see how the risk is much less than on a bike. DS can move at a fair old speed on his scooter.

if it’s a push scooter on the flat and I’d not use a helmet but if she’s doing any sort of tricks or big downhill journeys then I’d encourage her to do so.

I didn't insist on a helmet on a push scooter when used on the flat

An escooter is different - that's more akin to a bike, in my opinion. And using a push scooter at the skate park should probably require a helmet

I do understand what PP are saying, but short of insisting on a helmet every time a child leaves the house, you have to draw a line somewhere.