Prevention Library
Be firm: No helmet, no bike riding
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Nicholas Petsas' is dark-colored and streamlined, and his sister's is pink and girly. But their mom, Kathy, doesn't care what her kids' bike helmets look like as long as they're on their heads.
"It's buckle up and bike helmet safety - the big two things they can do to protect themselves," said Petsas, a Paradise Valley mom whose 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, Christina, wear headgear to protect their skulls while wheeling around.
Petsas, 40, credits her children's schools, Cherokee Elementary and Cocopah Middle, and before that, their preschool, with reinforcing safety. The schools frequently sponsor bicycle events, doling out safety tips and beating the helmet drum.
"Two years ago, my daughter and my son put on their Christmas lists bike helmets, and we said, 'Why?' " she said. "Turns out they didn't fit anymore. They looked fine, but they were tight."
With the holidays approaching, bicycles, scooters, skateboards and in-line skates are sure to appear on many kids' wish lists. Life-saving helmets should be under the tree, too.
According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, about 800 bicyclists die in accidents every year in the United States, half of them children who are 14 and younger. Two-thirds of the total deaths are from traumatic brain injury.
There's no federal law requiring bike helmets, but 19 states have passed legislation doing so, according to the institute. Arizona is not among them, but Tucson and Yuma have ordinances requiring riders younger than 18 to wear them, and Phoenix officials will consider such a law next year. Phoenix Police Detective Robert Ward, the pedestrian bicycle safety coordinator, said children should wear helmets starting at age 2 and continuing through adulthood.
That's because even the best riders can't predict what someone else, in a car, for example, is going to do. And helmets should be worn whether your child is riding down the street to school or just tracing figure eights in your driveway, Ward said.
"You should apply the same standards as you do when driving (and wearing a seat belt in) a car, keeping in mind that most accidents occur within three miles of your home," he said.
Helmets come in all shapes, colors and sizes, from bumblebee-painted infant styles that cover most of the back of the head to sleek youth styles with cool graphics. For older kids, there are bike helmets and multisport models, and both work well.
When purchasing a bike helmet, look for the size and measurement chart on the box. A helmet that's too small will slide back, away from the face, and one that's too big will move from side to side. A helmet should fit snugly, with no more than two to three fingers' width between the chin and chin strap.
- Be a role model. Younger children are strongly influenced by the examples of their parents and older siblings. Establish a household rule that applies to everyone: If you ride a bicycle, you wear a helmet.
- Help organize a one-time helmet purchase at your child's school. The excitement of every child getting a helmet makes it uncool not to wear one. Parent groups can negotiate for a discount rate from a helmet manufacturer, making sure no child is denied protection because of cost.
- Take your children and several friends to pick out helmets together. Allowing a child to choose his or her own style will help ensure the helmet is worn.
- Take a stand when peer pressure is working against helmet use. Be firm with your children. Make it clear that if they don't wear a helmet, they can't ride a bike.
Tips from the National Safe Kids Campaign
Reprinted with permission. © 2005: South Florida Sun-Sentinel. All rights reserved throughout the world.