kids biking with no helmets

[TwinFoxes]

I saw a boy leave DS's baseball game tonight on a motorcycle with his dad, neither had a helmet on, not required in Illinois.

Wow, not even for minors? That's crazy.

[123LuckyMom]

Here it’s the law, and everyone wears helmets, adults and kids alike.


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[candaceb]

I live in a college town where people are more likely than not to have at least a master's if not a PhD and I can't believe the number of people who ride without helments. Or they have kids wearing helmets but not the parents. Do the kids not need their parents to have functioning brains?
We went to a bike safety event last month where they did a helmet check and I was very proud of the fact that no adjustments were required on DS's helmet.

On a related note, while leaving said biking event - which was at an autonomous vehicle facility, so not a place usually traveled to by families - there was one family leaving the parking lot with 3 kids on bikes, dad with no kids, and mom riding a utility bike with kid in seat on back and infant (like I would guess 4 months old) in some sort of basket on the front. I just can't fathom what would make someone think it was a good idea to put an infant on a bike, no matter how trendy they are with their utility bike lifestyle. Plus, we were leaving in our car when they were leaving on bikes, and the kids were all over the place. I finally just stopped and waited for them to clear the area because I didn't want to risk hitting a kid that swerved into my lane.

[bisous]

I insist on it. I work part-time in pediatric rehab. We get patients with TBI from skateboarding/bikes/horse riding/motorcycles/ATVs. Ds knows it’s not optional.


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I thought it was required by law in CA? Maybe it’s just my city?

It looks SOOOO weird to me to see kids helmetless! Though I confess I really only see it on blogs!

[essnce629]

In my tiny neighborhood my kids and our neighbor kids always wear helmets.

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[NCGrandma]

On a related note, while leaving said biking event - which was at an autonomous vehicle facility, so not a place usually traveled to by families - there was one family leaving the parking lot with 3 kids on bikes, dad with no kids, and mom riding a utility bike with kid in seat on back and infant (like I would guess 4 months old) in some sort of basket on the front. I just can't fathom what would make someone think it was a good idea to put an infant on a bike, no matter how trendy they are with their utility bike lifestyle. Plus, we were leaving in our car when they were leaving on bikes, and the kids were all over the place. I finally just stopped and waited for them to clear the area because I didn't want to risk hitting a kid that swerved into my lane.

I had never heard the term "utility bike" so I looked on Wikipedia, where I discovered that these are a familiar style ... and also discovered that no one in the numerous photos was wearing a helmet! There was, however, a (scary) pic entitled "transporting a passenger on the back rack and a child next to the handlebar"


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[ett]

My kids are required to wear helmets and it's also the law here for kids under 16. I do see a number of kids without them (and it's usually the older ones).

[khm]

I had never heard the term "utility bike" so I looked on Wikipedia, where I discovered that these are a familiar style ... and also discovered that no one in the numerous photos was wearing a helmet! There was, however, a (scary) pic entitled "transporting a passenger on the back rack and a child next to the handlebar"


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Are Madsen's utility bikes? There was a while where EVERY blogger and their brother was #ad #sponsored for Madsen. Their website appears to have the kids helmet'd up, but the bloggers / IGers rarely did.

https://www.madsencycles.com/

[Chitowngirl]

I never wore a helmet growing up. It totally wasn’t a “thing” back then. I took my bike to college and didn’t wear one then either. After college I didn’t own or use a bike for years. I did have roller blades though and didn’t own a helmet then either! I wasn’t trying to make some sort of statement - I think since I didn’t grow up with them I just never thought about it. Anyway, I just got my bike a few years ago when we wanted to start riding as a family. Now our whole family wears helmets and the few friends of ours that we see riding bikes wear helmets too so it’s not hard to convince DS that it’s required. Not sure if it will be then same as DS gets to the teen years. I know I will still require one, but hopefully his friends will still wear them too so it won’t be an issue.

A few of the posts talking about how loose helmets don’t do any good have me a little concerned. Even though my DS always wears a helmet, I’m not sure if it fits him properly. He doesn’t have a “normally” shaped head. It’s unfortunate - his pediatrician said it would get better on its own so he never got a shaping helmet as a baby. As he’s grown it’s actually gotten worse, but now it’s too late. Now he can only wear an adult size helmet cause the smaller ones don’t fit over the “misshapen” parts of his head, but it’s too loose other places. I tried to google custom fit bike helmets but wasn’t able to find anything. He’s only 6 now and I worry when he’s actually an adult he won’t be able to find one that fits since he’s already in such a big size. I also worry that it’s too loose and not really protecting him. I have to hope that something is better than nothing.


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[Mommy_Mea]

I never wore a helmet growing up. It totally wasn’t a “thing” back then. I took my bike to college and didn’t wear one then either. After college I didn’t own or use a bike for years. I did have roller blades though and didn’t own a helmet then either! I wasn’t trying to make some sort of statement - I think since I didn’t grow up with them I just never thought about it. Anyway, I just got my bike a few years ago when we wanted to start riding as a family. Now our whole family wears helmets and the few friends of ours that we see riding bikes wear helmets too so it’s not hard to convince DS that it’s required. Not sure if it will be then same as DS gets to the teen years. I know I will still require one, but hopefully his friends will still wear them too so it won’t be an issue.

A few of the posts talking about how loose helmets don’t do any good have me a little concerned. Even though my DS always wears a helmet, I’m not sure if it fits him properly. He doesn’t have a “normally” shaped head. It’s unfortunate - his pediatrician said it would get better on its own so he never got a shaping helmet as a baby. As he’s grown it’s actually gotten worse, but now it’s too late. Now he can only wear an adult size helmet cause the smaller ones don’t fit over the “misshapen” parts of his head, but it’s too loose other places. I tried to google custom fit bike helmets but wasn’t able to find anything. He’s only 6 now and I worry when he’s actually an adult he won’t be able to find one that fits since he’s already in such a big size. I also worry that it’s too loose and not really protecting him. I have to hope that something is better than nothing.


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DS1 has a tough head to fit as well, and the adjustable helmets (with the dial in the back to tighten) help so much:

Schwinn Thrasher Lightweight Microshell Bicycle Helmet Featuring 360 Degree Comfort System with Dial-Fit Adjustment, Youth, Blue/Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CFQB56A..._6kV9CbQP1FHZV

I was the one who mentioned loose helmets, and I mean like practically falling off their head, often with the straps undone.