Hmmm - helmets? Mel rant for Tuesday!

[melchpeppi]

Ok, so I understand that kids still dont think that helmets are cool but FOLKS! Today I counted seven kids riding their scooters WITH THEIR PARENTS to school, without helmets! Add to that, the three kiddos riding their bikes WITH THEIR PARENTS to school - no helmets in sight!

And that is on our four minute walk to school .

Yesterday I saw a couple of boys riding their bikes with their helmets on... on the handlebars that is . No parents in sight, so I get that - cos helmets aren't cool hey?! And if mum and dad arent here to make me wear it then...

Accidents happen, even when parents are there. The statistics are there - scooters are dangerous and head injuries DO happen.

I just cannot believe that there were parents right next to the kids (or up or down the street) and they didnt enforce the helmet rule .

Please bear this in mind when your kids are on any kind of wheels - especially if they are crossing roads. Helmets, although daggy, save lives.

[~Miss Cinders~]

Yeahuh No helmet no ride here.
B14 learnt his lesson the hard way.

[pip]

I saw a family our riding on the way home on the weekend. Mum, dad and the three younger kids all had their helments on, but the older child probably 14 had his helmet hanging off his elbow. Not going to do much good if it isn't on your head.

From the moment our kids started riding their trikes they have the rule inforced no helmet no riding.

[melchpeppi]

I find it really hard to bite my tongue! We have the same rule here, although Lola is hardly old enough to be concerned about her appearance yet.

[KristyMum]

One of the Mums I know said gosh it's getting ridiculous - helmets are mandatory now 'oh look let kids be free, wind through their hair etc' and I replied back that yes well that's lovely but if it's gonna happen we usually have it happen to us if the kids don't wear a helmet to which she replied that bad things rarely happen to them... and that she wanted them to be 'free'
I very tactfully added that it's about the children, not about her and that it can happen to anyone.

I know because my brother, not even knocked down by a car but by another person on a bike flying by while he was standing still next to his bike to cross the road, got cleaned up and ended up with a massive gouge in his helmet... which otherwise would have been his head. You don't even need to have had that happen to know it.

DH also works in 'spinal and head injuries' so he sees the effects of nasty accidents with and without helmets every day.

Some people are lucky and that's great. Being cotton wooly isn't helpful either but a helmet is a reasonable precuation I think. We learnt at UNI with negligence/attributing blame cases that it's a see-saw equation of risk on one side and cost of prevention (both $ and other) on the other side. Helmets, seatbelts all fall into the category of worthwhile for not much cost. imo anyway.

Heck there are parents I see every other day who don't believe in seatbelts either, and have no prob with Baby on their lap in the front seat... *sigh*

Regardless of whether you believe in helmets, it's the law. simple.

[*Tracee*]

It's one of the big rules in our house too Mel.

I'm really glad our school enforce the helmets are for scooter and skateboard riders too, not just bikes. You can always ask the police to do a patrol of the area one morning, some warnings and police presence can make a huge difference!

[lush_jokes]

We have that same rule too. When my brother was in year 7 (and I was yr 5) I saw him get hit by a car If it wasn't for his helmet he would have likely been killed . . .

[Wems]

Elizajayne is the only one who has ridden her bike outside our yard and she always leaves wearing a helmet and returns wearing a helmet......So I hope it stays on the whole time Being Elizajayne I am pretty sure it would

Helmets aren't the done thing around here apparently.........I am pretty sure most of the kids riding around with out them wouldn't even own a helmet........so they don't even have a choice

[MadMel]

I only just brought the boys helmets

Having said that they had only been out of the yard a couple of times on their scooters. Now we are doing family walks at night with the kids on their scooters, I brought them helmets on Jaidans birthday...

but yeah I was one of 'those' parents

[Jo]

Can I also add for those who don't already know, the helmets for scooters and bicycles are *completely* different, a bicycle helmet will not protect your childs brain properly during a fall, the way you'd fall being hit off a bike and falling off a scooter are different, the impact points are very different, the helmet needs to protect the forehead and the base of the brain.