#WearAHelmet: Supporting Bike Riders Wearing Helmets

As summer approaches, children are headed outside to play. For many children, this means dusting off their bikes, scooters, roller blades, skateboards, and/or hoverboards to cruise around the neighborhood. Along with these toys, children should be grabbing their helmet every time they ride.

May is Helmet Safety Awareness Month. And it’s only a few weeks until the official start of summer, so now is a perfect time to ensure your child has a well-fitted helmet and to remind your child of the importance of wearing a helmet.

Below is a list of ways to get your child to wear a helmet, not only because it’s safe but also because they want to:

1. Allow your child to pick out their helmet themselves. Just as you and I are more likely to wear a piece of clothing if we picked it out ourselves, our children are the same. Allowing them the freedom to choose which helmet they want to wear increases the chances of them wearing the helmet.
2. Make the helmet fun! Is your child really into unicorns or dinosaurs? Get a helmet with a unicorn horn or dinosaur spikes! Do they love things that glitter or want to put stickers on everything? Decorate away! There are all sorts of colors and styles available. Just make sure it has a CPSC sticker on the box, which means it meets federal safety standards.
3. Set an example. If you are riding a bike (or other types of wheels) too, show your child the importance of helmet wearing by wearing a helmet yourself. You are their role model, and they are more likely to do something if they see their caregiver demonstrating it. If you do not ride a bike yourself, you can set an example by encouraging your child’s friends to wear helmets.
4. Make sure the helmet fits well. A well-fitted helmet is more comfortable and more likely to be worn than a poorly fitted helmet. If you normally wear medium sized shirts, you are not going to wear a small sized shirt because it would feel uncomfortable. The same goes for helmets. You want the helmet to be snug, but not tight. A bike helmet is not like a winter coat – it needs to fit your child this season. Follow this link to learn more about fitting helmets.

If you feel passionately about this topic and want to advocate for a safer environment for our children, join Trainees for Child Injury Prevention (T4CIP) today (May 25, 2022) by following the hashtag #WearAHelmet on social media. Feel free to share pictures of your children wearing well-fitted helmets along with the hashtag to show your support!