DS1 being picked on for wearing a helmet when riding his scooter to school. :-(

[tortoise]

This has really annoyed me. Lots of children ride scooters or bikes to school without helmets.
I insist mine wear theirs. And now DS1 10(and DS2 7 a bit) is being picked on.

Does anyone think its worth speaking to the head and maybe adding to a newsletter that children scooting or cycling to school must wear helmets?

the kid is ten

if it fell off a fecking scooter it would graze an elbow

boo hoo.

the POIBNT of the fecking helmet is to protect the head whilst riding on the road

ONE presumes the scooter isn't on the road

KMAH

KMAH?

Actually there is conflicting research regarding the safety of cycling helmets in the first place with some studies suggesting that they can result in worse injuries than if not worn

We make our children wear cycling helmets when cycling though because we've weighed up the research and believe that is safest

I don't know any child who wears a helmet whilst scooting, apart from very little ones

I have to say I'd be livid if a school tried to enforce a rule like that so would recommend not writing. Although you could ask them to have a word regarding teasing in the first place.

And I think forcing children of that age to wear helmets on scooters is rather making them a target for bullies .. because they'll stick out .. it might not be fair and it might not be PC but its true

Agree with posters who say it is your job to work round it if you believe it is necessary for them to wear the helmets then they should but you'll have to bolster them to deal with the bullying

oh fgs of course they can seriously hurt themselves on a scooter

at 10 we are not talking a fimbles flashing light thing, are we? we are talking a proper, fast scooter.

head injuries have little to do with whether you are riding on or offroad. It is to do with whether your head is likely to hit the ground with significant force, which is much more likely if you are going fast.

They need to wear helmets if they are getting up significant speed. Its not masculine or macho to spend your days drinking through a straw.

hathor i have a thread yesterday with my own newly invented acronym !

teaching your child to wear a helmet whilst riding a bike is the good parenting way to do things - becuase when they get older they may ride a bike on the road - especially if you are encouraging them to do so now

you mean a vespa? with an engine (of sorts)?

i dunno if what i think is a scooter is what everyone else thinks is a scooter - and i am not being facetious either!

if my 14 year old scooted muchly fast and fell off - i can't see much of an injury.

are you talking a mechanical battery scooter?

or one of those little motorised bike things

becuase i mean a two wheel push with one foot scooter which with lots of might cant go very fast without the aid of a steep hill

in which case i may be inclined to say " dont let your kid go down steep hills on scooters"

"i have a thread yesterday with my own newly invented acronym"

Nice

I appreciate that it is possible to fall off a scooter and seriously damage your head, but it isn't as likely to happen as on a bike.

We have to weigh up the risk and let our children get on with it to a certain extent,
I mean where do you draw the line - helmets when climbing trees, helmets for climbing up the steps of the slide in the playground ....

well my DD who is 6 next month can go very fast on a 2 wheel scooter and I am sure most others can!

I have wondered about a helmt. she did have one on when learning, but not since

I kind of think that you wouldnt suffer as many injuries on a scooter but then there will always be somebody that has a child who was seriously injured falling of one

really cant see why a the OP should be given a hard time though

Ok if she had brought up the subject of MMR or parking in Disabled spaces

But she is only asking about the safety of her children

Sorry custardo but through your sheer rudeness I appear to be missing something is the pavement a softer landing than the road or something???
Why is a helmet only sensible on the road???

Probably something to do with cars, bumpers and heads, rather than pavements/roads.

speed kaftan - rather than the road - i think one should be able to securely (for the most part) navigate a 2 wheeled one foot push type scooter at 10 years old without the need for a crash helmet. as i dont personally believe that a 10 year old can go disproportionatley fast - to his/her ability to control the scooter.

over parenting IMO. and believe it or not i am entitled to it

I would feel peeved about being dictated to by the school.
But I would also feel peeved about the teasing,.
I wonder if school could issue a letter of safety advice, saying that children on bikes or scooters could get hurt in falls, so might be an idea to use safety equipment; and certainly no child should be made to feel strange (ie, teased) for using safety equipment. If such comments are overheard the commenter will be reprimanded.

maybe I'm talking rubbish, 'course.

I am just in awe of the parenting skill that gets a 10 year old wearing a helmet on a scooter. Bikes, yes, but I really don't think I could enforce them on scooters.

Nobody has ever at any point said you weren't entitled to an opinion what is bang out of order is the utter rudeness with which you express it.

You don't know me you don't know the OP and I would't tolerat that kind of arrogance iIRL life certainly not taking it here.

so shoot me

Bang!

I am a pedestrian aged 40 plus. I'm wondering whether I should start wearing a helmet when walking to the bus stop as I am worried about all these children riding at breakneck speeds on pavements on scooters, and that one might crash into me....but anxious that I may get some comments.

What should I do?

If children are scooting so fast that a helmet is necessary then I hope this is not on pavements where pedestrians are trying to walk. I have only ever seen one child on a scooter wearing a helmet and admit I did think it was over the top BUT every parent has the right to decide their own health and safety rules.

Also some posters (not the OP) have decided that the name calling is bullying. I think we need to keep a bit of perspective.

Agree about actually getting your 10 year old to wear the helmet. Well done!

I watched a 2 year old lose control of his (foot powered obviously) scooter a few weeks ago - he suddenly shot off the pavement and in front of a taxi.
Luckily the taxi wasn't going fast and he was OK, but it could have been VERY different.
Have also seen children under 5 doing incredible speeds (faster than the traffic on the road) on foot powered scooters, so can only imagine what an 8 year old can manage.

Mixture of responses here!
Thanks to those who have backed me up.
My DC will continue wearing a helmet. They are happy to do so and i have no fights from them over wearing them.(Luckily!)

I am going to talk to the head about the teasing and see if there is anything she can put in the newsletter about safety on bikes and scooters.I know no-one can tell the parents they have to make their children wear them. I worded it wrong in OP.

There are a lot of children who cycle to school on adult size bikes which are far to big for them and no helmets.

Oh and in respose to speed on pavements, we live in a small town and live just outside town along a hardly used pavement so not too much risk to people walking.

Gosh who would have thought such a simple thread could cause so much angst!!