Do you wear a bike helmet?

[trumansmom]

Tonight DH is getting me a new bike for Mother's Day. I will be getting a helmet. DH thinks I'm being silly and it's okay to insist the kids wear helmets even if we don't. I think he's wrong. :)

What do you do?

[KrisM]

I definitely wear one, especially with kids. If you don't, at what age will it be okay for the kids to stop wearing one? That's the message that is sent, I think.

[DebbieJ]

I don't have a bike, so I don't have a helmet now. But if I had one and was riding with my kids, I would DEFINITEY wear one.

Which reminds me that I need to go get a helmet for ds. The way he rides his tricycle is scaring me...

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
2 year check up: 25 lbs with clothes on and 35 inches!
BFARed for 20 months and 6 days
(Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org)

http://www.bfar.org/members/fora/style_avatars/Ribbons/18months-bfar.jpg

[tarahsolazy]

I was a big bike commuter in college, medschool and residency/fellowship. I always wear a helmet. I feel weird without one on a bike, like not wearing a seatbelt in a car!

Forrest has one, but only wears it in the bikeseat or trailer. He doesn't really "ride" his trike yet. When he learns to pedal, we'll start making sure he's got it on whenever he rides.

[Roleysmom]

I just got a bike last year and I wear a helmet when I ride it. I do feel goofy with it on and I hate the feeling of something on my head, but I just can't not wear it. DH rides pretty seriously and I would freak if he didn't wear a helmet and Roley wears one too when she rides with him, so I have to as well.


Paula -- mom to Roley Julia, January '02

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

I think it is such a huge safety issue. If you were to fall or get hit by a car and go unconsious because you werent wearing a helmet, what is your poor child going to think???
I just cant believe that people would trust every car that passes them to not hit them....
So yes, always always always!

[mcdonald29]

My Dad has been a serious rider for decades, and always worn a helmet. Last year he had two pretty serious accidents (both kind of flukes) but he and the doctors are convinced that both times the helmets saved his life.

I think you're 100% right, not only to set an example but just for your personal safety.

[Piglet]

I have been wearing one ever since I was 14 or so - usually the age most kids start fighting helmets. On day when I was riding my bike with my best friend, her mom called us in because their neighbour's son was hit by a car and nearly died because he wasn't wearing a helmet. She put her foot down that we were to wear helmets if we went riding and when my parents heard this terrible story they ran out and bought me a helmet immediately. I have worn it ever since and have forced DH and all other bike riders in the family to wear a helmet.

[chlobo]

I think your husband it wrong. It just makes sense to be cautious.

Not to mention the bad example he is setting. We all know children imitate what we do and not what we say. Imagine how your DS will behave once he's out of eyesight? He'll think, "well dad doesn't wear one, why should I?" And just take it off.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I see parents doing it all the time and I just can't believe people think that their children's heads are worthy of protection but their own is not. Or that their kids might get in an accident but they won't. You just never know. And an adult's head is just as prone to getting smashed up as a child's. And if that happens, who is going to take care of the child?

And I don't think it matters where you are riding the bike. Anything can happen. Does he wear a seatbelt? If so, same logic applies. Anyone can have an accident and helmets save lives just like seatbelts do.

[Sillygirl]

If you choose not to wear one, please make sure you've signed your organ donor card.

[ellies mom]

I didn't wear a helmet before, but now that DD is getting to that age, DH and I will both be wearing helmets. Mostly to set a good example and not the whole "Do as I say and not as I do" thing.

[californiagirl]

I was going to say I had two friends whose lives had been saved by bike helmets, but then I thought of a third. Who knows how many it is? But it's at least three. That's a LOT. Right up there with the number of people I know whose lives have been saved by seatbelts. You better believe we all wear helmets.

[maestramommy]

I know it seems silly if you grew up not wearing a helmet (like I did). But accidents happen so close to home, you just can't be too careful. DH was biking 1/2 a mile to work, but he did it on the streets so I insisted he wear his helmet.

Besides, "Why do we have to do it if you don't?" is one question I would hate answering.

[bostonsmama]

I just wanted to go on the record and say that I also always wear a bike helmet, and it's not even to set an example (as there's no one to set an example for yet, save for the neighbor kids). It actually makes me feel cool(er) than if I weren't wearing one. My DH nearly mandated it for me, as he remembers the days of being on the firefighter squad and responding to some nasty bicycle accidents. Then again, your city may have an ordinance requiring helmets for bicyclists...might wanna check that one out and get back to DH....

Larissa

My-oh-my, we're doing it in July!

Proud Aunt to Jack Dorian, born to my brother and SIL on 3/06
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/32719.jpg

[Saartje]

I didn't grow up wearing a helmet, but I always, always wear one now. Risking massive brain damage just isn't cool with me. :)

Seriously, I have been in one bike accident (a bike-on-bike accident) in which my helmet saved me from having to choose between breaking my arm or breaking my skull. Your husband is wrong. Why does he think it's okay for an adult not to wear a helmet?

[JacksMommy]

I always wear a helmet - not wearing one is like not wearing a seatbelt - crazy and dangerous. Although for some reason I never wear one when we are bikeriding in the country in Finland (where my family has a cabin) - somehow it seems unnecessary there...

Laurel
WOHM to Jack, 6/4/02
Baby Madeline 12/14/04

[elliput]

No, but then I don't currently have a bicycle either. :-) When I do get a new bicycle, I will definitely get a helmet. Lance Armstrong wears one, and who wouldn't want to be a cool as Lance?

[swampus]

You should wear one. I wear one, but dh will NOT. It drives me nuts.

More importantly, though--be sure that it fits your children correctly. Most children fall of the bike and fall *forward*--and WAY too many kids in my neighborhood have their helmets on very loosely, with the top tilted back. Their foreheads are exposed and that helmet will be useless in an accident.

If it's on correctly, it'll be so snug that when you try to tilt it, your ds' eyebrows will lower and raise with it. You should still be able to fit a finger in between the padding, though (so snug, but not eyes-popping-out tight). ;)

[hobey]

Always, always, always.

DS is also kind enough to remind us ("Mommy! Elmet! Daddy! Elmet!") to put our helmets on if we even touch our bikes regardless if we intend to go out riding or not. :)

Raquel
Nathan's Mom 12/19/03

[dogmom]

My thoughts on the subject pretty much mirror my thoughts on seat belt use. At the minimum keep your child safe, which includes them not witnessing their parents being thrown through the windshield or having their heads cracked open like a ripe melon. That's an image my kid can grow up without. Run that by your DH and see what he says.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03
& Eve
EDC 6/18/06

[HannaAddict]

YES! I would not bike without one, even on trails, let alone anyplace I might encounter a car (we live in city). You could be the best bike rider in the world, cautious, etc. and still have an accident that could injure you severely without a helmet. Children are also paying attention and it send the message that a helmet isn't really very important if you don't wear one. Be safe and set a good example, tell your hubby you can get a cool bike helmet.

Kimberly

[Globetrotter]

This is one of my pet peeves. Sadly, a lot of helmets are worn incorrectly. They should cover the forehead area and the straps should fit snugly over the ears. I can't tell you how many kids I see wearing the helmet high on their foreheads, where it will give zero protection in the event of a frontal crash.

Kris

[kalebsmama]

I never wore one growing up but always do now. My stepson would always "forget" to wear his during high school - probably didn't think it was cool. If I saw him leaving the garage without it, I would remind him and he would put it on but I'm sure he removed it once out of sight. However, last summer he was riding and luckily wearing a helmet. (must be cool in college!) He fell, needed stitches in his leg, had road-burn on his shoulder, back and side, and cracked his helmet in two. I shudder to think that would have been his head if not for the helmet. He gave the helmet to the police who do bike safety talks to all those younger kids that don't want to wear them.

Tell your DH that the children need to be safe but they also need parents alive to raise them.

[shilo]

ok, i'll post a real life story and see if that convinces him (or at least you to stand your ground). on the same note as pp, my dad was the first responder on a bike accident scene about 10 years ago (true story). i ride 2-3x/week and like pp said, feel naked without it. i wear one not only so that my son sees me setting a good example, but also so that hopefully, this sport we love never deprives him of _me_ in his life...

my dad was out riding one weekend in the foothills near our home and came upon an 11 year old boy who was screaming/crying/begging for help at the side of the road, as my dad rode around the corner. he was almost incomprehensible as he dragged my dad about 10 yards down the road and down an embankment to where his father was unconcious with multiple skull fractures and some other 'minor' injuries... you guessed it... no helmet. my dad said you basically couldn't tell where the whole upper right quarter of his forhead/skull was from about the eye socket on up - it was just one big bloody pulp. he managed to flag down a motorist back up on the road, got an ambulace called, started first aid, etc. while the little boy laid down next to his father, curled up in a fetal position, rocked back and forth and started hyperventhilating. the first fire fighters on the scene actually wound up calling another ambulance for the little boy, as they were afraid he was going into shock. the man and his wife called my dad about 9 months later to thank him - he (the father) had a TBI (traumatic brain injury), had required 2 facial reconstructive surgeries, had only just been released from rehab about 2 weeks prior and was only partially comprehensible - the wife had to repeat quite a bit of his slurred speech. the little boy had been diagnosed with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and the mother said he wound up missing the last 2 months of the school year that spring, but was finally doing a little better _9_ months later.

my dad was a ski patroller for two decades in the sierra's and still to this day will tell you he never had a call doing that which was harder for him to deal with than that little boy, in shock at the side of the road after watching his father almost die in front of him. this was a serious accident, which probably would have still resulted in injuries, helmet or no. but would you want to spend the rest of your life thinking "what if?"

i also rotated onto a TBI and a spinal cord injury unit for about 3mos each during my internship. it sounds awful, but healthcare providers often refer to helmet-less riders (of motorcycles _and_ bicycles) as "donor-cycle" riders.

even if you can't convince your husband, please wear a helmet. be their mommy. ok, off my soap box now.

lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[squimp]

Yes. It's a law that kids wear helmets here, so I wear one too. I have been wearing a helmet for probably 20 years. I feel like it's part of the bike, like the handlebars or the brakes.

The question is, what color?

[caheinz]

No vote, since I'm currently bikeless (but looking) -- the day I buy the bike, I will also be buying a helmet, if not before. The arguments have been stated enough already, though!

[trumansmom]

Just for the record, I want to make it clear that I am a firm believer in helmets. As I stated before, I WILL be wearing a helmet. (We put off buying the bike until next week when they are having a huge sale.) I think some of you thought I was trying to imply helmets were optional. As hard as I tried not to, I found myself getting a wee bit defensive reading some of the responses. You're preaching to the choir, okay?

And, FWIW, when I brought the subject up with DH again this evening while we were shopping, he said he had been thinking about it and it was really stupid and a bad example to not be wearing a helmet. He'll be getting one when I get mine. :) I didn't even have to sic you guys on him. :P

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04

[Melanie]

My thoughts are that I don't enjoy bike-riding enough to be willing to die doing it, so I wear a helmet.

[shilo]

FWIW, i went back and read the OP and you are totally right, by the time i finished reading the whole thread and responded, i'd forgotten you started out the whole thing by saying "i think he's wrong." it seems unfair to go back and edit my original reply, so i'll just ETA here - i of course meant to direct my reply towards those who might be on the fence on the subject of wearing a helmet. cycling is a _huge_ sport around here - you basically can't go anywhere in the bay area on a summer afternoon or weekend without seeing a ton of riders out on the roads - and i continue to be astounded at the numbers i see (both from the car and from the seat of my bike) who think helmets are optional pieces of equipment. it drives me nutso - so sorry again. i'm so glad your DH is coming around. and to pp re. which color - it's like matching your shoes to your handbag - i like to match the helmet to my bike :)

lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[swampus]

Thanks for sharing that story. There are real stories like that that happen all the time, unfortunately.

When I did my summer rotation in the hospital (speech-language pathology), the therapists I ate lunch with would see a motorcyclist drive by the outdoor foodcourt (no helmet) and just say matter-of-factly, "See you in the unit." I can't understand the thinking behind taking risks like that on a motorcycle.

[dr mom]

Always, always, always. The most important reason is obviously safety, but I think it also helps DS to have a consistent routine - he knows we can't go for a ride until everyone has a helmet on. The limit is so predictable and consistent, there's no reason for him to test it anymore, so he doesn't fuss or argue.

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

FWIW, I never thought you were implying that it was optional!
I hope you didnt think I was preaching at you, I was just rambling as usual ;)
ETA...I just went back and read my original post and I did say "you", oops! My "you" should have meant "anyone who doesnt wear a helmet"
My mom always used to say "listen to what I mean, not what I say"!!

[ykc]

I answered "always" though that's a bit of stretch, since I don't actually own a bike or a helmet at the moment. In fact I've never worn a helmet, but the last time I had a bike, I was 14. But if I did have a bike, I would definitely be wearing a helmet! I totally agree with you, and am glad to hear that your husband is coming around. Modeling good behaviour isn't just limited to manners and controlling tempers. Besides, adults can get their brains bashed in just as easily as kids!

My friends and acquaintances all laughed at me because I made my daughter wear a helmet to ride her tricycle in the basement (it was winter in Ohio). A little overkill, I concede, but I figured the earlier you make it habit, the better. Both kids know that no helmet, no ride.

Now the adults in the family need to go get some bikes and helmets too, so we can actually go on a family ride!

[kijip]

I don't have much choice. Where I live bike riders are required to wear helmets. So yes. However, I have let Toby trike around on grass. He wears a helmet *most of the time* but I hve broken that rule. Once he is actully riding the trike vs. oh say, being pushed slowly on it on grass, I will become more strict.