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Betsy
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 10:26am | IP Logged
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+JMJ+
Although, my sons are very athletic and active they have never been into riding bikes. However, on Friday my 6 year old grabbed the bike and started riding. Horary!!!
This has totally caught me off guard and I don’t really have a helmet or any helmet rules.
Are all helmets the same? Are they really important (question being, some times things like this prove to do more harm than good)? Do you make your dc wear them always or just on long rides, etc?
Thanks for the help,
Betsy
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 11:06am | IP Logged
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helmets are an ALWAYS rule.. as in.. if you're on the bike without one.. the bike is taken away.
Any fall from a bike can cause you to hit your head and cause serious damage.. they've done some studies that show just the fall from the height of the bike with no speed can cause head trauma.
Just the other day I read an article where a man had his HEAD run over by a truck.. mangled the helmet but he walked away with only a concussion.
The biggest thing I've seen regarding helmet wearing that would be a problem is not having the helmet fit right.. wearing the straps so loose (or not buckled at all) that a hit to the helmet would knock the helmet off your head.
Many places now have bike helmet laws as well.
I've had one son who in the middle of summer on a hot day for no real reason came in and put on jeans before going out on his bike.. a neighbor brought him home after he flipped over his handlebars.. the front of the helmet was indented with the gravel from his fall.. and his arm was scraped up.. and the jeans which had had good knees in them had threadbare knees.. that helmet made a huge difference in the fall he took.
As far as all helmets being the same.. as long as it fits properly and is for use with a bike.. it should give proper protection. I haven't heard that any are that much better than others. I've gotten my boys the more rounded hard shell ones.. they seem to like those.. and the sun doesn't deteriorate the shell like with the more traditional bike helmet.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 11:17am | IP Logged
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We have a rule anytime they are on the bike they must wear the helmut--or lose the priviledge of riding. Have not had a problem yet--well, except ds's 2 year birthday when he got his first 2 wheeler with training wheels-he pitched a fit for an hour-he needed to get his helmut on to ride and did not want too!! Now he had been riding on the back of my bike prior and he knew the rule!
Please make sure the helmuts fit correctly. Styles and all are great and everyone has their preferences, but we see so many kids whose helmuts dont fit correctly-they are falling off their heads, over their eyes, etc. Drives my dh crazy--he says that is worse than not wearing one at all.
Also, we think parents should set a good example and wear them too! :) :)
Dh used to work at a bike shop and the best thing to do is use one(bike shop) first time through to teach you how to fit the helmut, adjust for growth, etc. It is worth the little extra you MAY pay for a helmut. I should have had him write this post 
It is great you are looking into this for your ds. Best of luck and enjoy the summer!
Anne
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Lisbet
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 11:39am | IP Logged
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I guess I'll be in the minority here, (please, no CPS calls) but my kids don't wear helmets. They all ride their bikes all the time too.
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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Greta, 3
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 11:49am | IP Logged
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We wear helmets (even Mom and Dad!) here. It the law in many places that children wear them. Check this out.
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Noreen
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guitarnan
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They're not all the same...some really cost a lot!
Consumer Reports says there are a couple of kids' helmets that are safe and reasonably-priced, including Schwinn Intercept, Bell Trigger and Bell Boomerang (toddler). For adults they recommend Bell Citi and Bell Slant as "Best Buys."
Most helmets on the market are safe (there was a recall of a couple last year), but the prices vary widely, so it's worth checking around. They also fit differently, so it might be worth dragging kids to the store to try on the helmets. I found Bell Trigger, Bell Citi and Bell Slant at Dick's Sporting Goods.
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doris
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 2:28pm | IP Logged
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Mine do wear helmets (and so do we), all the time.
I do know some keen cycling friends who recently abandoned helmet wearing, though. They'd read some research into the dangers of wearing a helmet. I don't have any info at all, but my friend mentioned something about you being more likely to survive an accident if wearing a bike helmet, but they can also cause neck/spinal injury or brain damage or something??
Sorry, that's so vague as to be entirely useless...
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Betsy
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 2:34pm | IP Logged
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doris wrote:
Mine do wear helmets (and so do we), all the time.
I do know some keen cycling friends who recently abandoned helmet wearing, though. They'd read some research into the dangers of wearing a helmet. I don't have any info at all, but my friend mentioned something about you being more likely to survive an accident if wearing a bike helmet, but they can also cause neck/spinal injury or brain damage or something??
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I must have heard something in the past similar to this and filed it away, but it's so vauge and foggy in my memory that I can't remember anything about it either!?! So, I guess that is why I am asking 
Betsy
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Betsy
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 2:35pm | IP Logged
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kingvozzo wrote:
| We wear helmets (even Mom and Dad!) here. It the law in many places that children wear them. Check this out. |
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I didn't know this. We live very close to an area that has a specific law! Thanks!!!
Betsy
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Lorri
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Our children always wear helmets when biking. End of story.
We have a good friend who lost his sister in childhood when she crashed her bike.
I once watched my oldest fall off his tricycle when he was almost at a stop and he landed right on his forehead. His helmet was pretty scratched up - and thank God he was wearing it or the scratches would have been on his face.
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Lisbet
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Just a little bike helmet funny... I'm not opposed to helmet wearing, most of my kids own helmets, I'm just not adament on them wearing them all the time. Just how I grew up I suppose... Anyway...
We bought my 5th child one of those all white baby bike helmets, the kind that are really big on their noggins. She loved it so much, she wore it ALL the time. I could only get her to take it off at night for bed.
Well, one day while we were all filing into our big white passenger van, someone asked me if I drove for our county mental retardation school.  They were very kind about it, I think they wanted information on the program or something, but I was nearly mortified! So was the gentleman that asked me!
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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Isaac, 11
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Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
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Paula in MN
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Lisbet wrote:
| I guess I'll be in the minority here, (please, no CPS calls) but my kids don't wear helmets. They all ride their bikes all the time too. |
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Mine don't wear helmets either. I never did and neither did my dd23.
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 Paula
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Maryan
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lisbet wrote:
| We bought my 5th child one of those all white baby bike helmets, the kind that are really big on their noggins. She loved it so much, she wore it ALL the time. I could only get her to take it off at night for bed. Well, one day while we were all filing into our big white passenger van, someone asked me if I drove for our county mental retardation school. They were very kind about it, I think they wanted information on the program or something, but I was nearly mortified! So was the gentleman that asked me! |
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 3:41pm | IP Logged
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I look at 'em just like seatbelts in cars...
sure we grew up without them and survived (mostly)
sure occationally there will be someone who was trapped or hurt worse because of wearing the seatbelt..
but overwhelmingly.. it's much safer to wear than not.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Anne McD
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| Posted: May 23 2007 at 4:20pm | IP Logged
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What about scooters? My ds4 goes about -2mph on his, but my ped. told me if they're on wheels, they need a helmet.
I do have to say (thank you, Lord!!) that one day my ds5 got off his bike and climbed onto the back of a motorized 4 wheeler that the next door neighbor was driving. He fell off head first, and I don't want to think what would have happened if he had decided to take off his helmet first (its a habit with him-- he always forgets to take it off! )
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JodieLyn
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oh scooters even more so.. of course not everyone has a 2 yr old riding the two wheel scooters (you know the ones labled 5yrs and up).. down the sloped driveway 
and skateboards more so that that..
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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CAgirl4God
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we always use helments...on everything. skooters, bikes, skateboards etc... the kids even wear them in the wagon when they are all pulling each other around....at warp speed! lol
an added incentive for us. on base it is a rule for everyone, young and old. and our insurance won't cover an accident if you didn't wear your helment.
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mom2mpr
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Anne McD wrote:
What about scooters? My ds4 goes about -2mph on his, but my ped. told me if they're on wheels, they need a helmet.
I do have to say (thank you, Lord!!) that one day my ds5 got off his bike and climbed onto the back of a motorized 4 wheeler that the next door neighbor was driving. He fell off head first, and I don't want to think what would have happened if he had decided to take off his helmet first (its a habit with him-- he always forgets to take it off! ) |
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That is a good way to look at it--on wheels need a helmut. My ds usually forgets to take his off too! But, it is easier to just leave it on when playing and on and off the bike...
We recently started using it on the scooter--yes, the helmut Nazi lady didn't have her kids wear them on scooters--can you believe that? A friend, more laid back than me about that type of stuff got scared watching her dd have a scooter spill-with helmut--and after she told the story, I was scared. So........ds is still adjusting to the new rule
Anne
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Bike Hemets
