Helmet or No Helmet on a Tricycle? My Husband and I Differ on This Issue.

Visit www.usa.safekids.org and search under "bike helmet." I just found this there:

"Properly fitted bike helmets could reduce the risk of bike-related brain injuries by 88 percent; however, only one out of five cyclists ages 5 to 14 usually wears a helmet. Each year in the United States, more than 100 children die from bicycle-related injuries, and more than a quarter million are treated in emergency rooms. Nearly half (47 percent) have traumatic brain injuries.

"A bike helmet is essential safety gear. Helmets could prevent an estimated 75 percent of bike-related fatalities and up to 45,000 head injuries to children each year. In many jurisdictions, children under 16 are required by law to wear a helmet at all times while riding a bicycle."

The distance of a fall won't matter. If the child's head hits concrete or anything else hard, even the ground, the damage can be done in even a short fall.

You say you're "a little mad" and you have a right to be. If your husband is already this concerned about how "cool" and "tough" his son appears to other kids at this young age, what disagreements will the two of you be having in a few years' time? Will your husband get him a motorized scooter and insist a helmet's not cool for that either, or for a big-boy bike? Will coolness override basic safety in other discussions on lifestyle and choices as your son grows up? And is your husband really showing you respect when he dismisses your legitimate concerns in the name of appearances and the opinions of -- who? Your son's fellow four-year-olds at the playground?

If he's really adamant about this I'd find a friendly cop to talk to him about the local law and maybe some real-life examples of kids being hurt. Or find other dads who encourage helmet-wearing to talk with him.

And it's an adult example, but my coworker's life was saved by his bike helmet. He fell, not far, but his head hit a metal pole--hard. The doctor said he probably would have died if not for the helmet.

1 mom found this helpful

Kids can make sharp turns, run into something, or they can be on an incline - and fall from any tricycle. And you can just put it this way- nothing bad can happen from wearing a helmet, but something COULD happen if you don't! I don't know your husband, nor am I trying to insult him in any way, but would he have been okay with a helmet if you had a daughter instead? If he would have allowed it, then there's no reason whatsoever that your son shouldn't wear it... Don't boys generally take more physical risks anyway? (actually, I dunno, my girls can be MONSTERS!! :) )

1 mom found this helpful

I agree he should wear the helmet. My girls aren't allowed to ride without one. It's good to get them in the habit at a young age so they do it automatically when they get older. Accidents can happen any where...wear the helmet!

I bought a helmet for my 2 year old to wear when he is on his tricycle. I would put the helmet on him. Better safe then sorry. He's only 4 he can't be tough or uncool yet my goodness! :) Good Luck!

I would definitely use the helmet. Plus it will get him used to wearing it for when he does ride a bike. Better safe than sorry, trust your instinct one this one. Good luck.

He should wear a helmet every time, even on tricycles and scooters. You are correct in thinking that he needs the protection, even though he's not going fast. Honestly, better safe than sorry, right? Besides, you should start making him wear it now, so that the habit becomes ingrained from the start. If you impose new safety rules later, he may rebel at them. Start at this age, and it becomes bone deep.

if you husband doesn't believe you then show him some articles about it. It is very dangerous for anyone to ride a bike without a helmet. Even as adults we need helmets. I sometimes see kids and parents riding together but the parents don't have helmets --if they fall they can get hurt just like a kid.

ask any hospital emergency room about kids having injuries with bikes. good luck

My motto Safety first. so get him a really cool toddler helmet and get him used to wearing it. My daughter is 2 and rides her trike like a bat out of h*((...so I am glad I started her early with the helmet thing. at first she balked . now she knows it's part of the routine! helmet=bike!
hope that helps...if that don't help google child head injuries/bikes and helmets. that will change your mind.
T.

I realize that I am late on this, but here's my 2 cents worth. My children have always worn helmets, since they started on trikes. They have lost use of the bike for NOT wearing it. If you teach them young, then you may avoid a few hopsital trips later.

I think it is best to set the precedent now that when you get on a bike you put on a helmet, period. Accidents can and do happen and what does it hurt to be too safe? If he develops the habit of helmet use now it will keep you from having to insist on one later. Dad is way off base on this one and at that age coolness just isn't an issue for kids.

i myself think he will be fine especially if daddy is walking next to him but if you want something to help you look up the law in va. i think it says that any thing you ride on with wheels they want you to wear a helmet. i know that those under like 12 have to wear one on a bike.

I won't repeat all the moms who reminded you of the helmet laws and the benefit of teaching him the habit of putting on a helmet if it has wheels. You know they are right, just get your husband to read them. I will reiterate that Traumatic Brain Injury has LONG LASTING effects and can come from a simple fall of a few feet. The scary part is that there does not need to be any blood or visible sign that anything serious has happened. Your son's head isn't finished growing so his skull isn't as thick as your husband's. Remind your husband of that.

Oh, and my 4 yr old CAN and does tip over those spiffy new tricycles, too. Whenever my girls used to give me grief over helmets (or sunscreen or hats...) I just tell them it's the "Price of doin' business" If they want to do it, the argument ends. :o)

Good luck with your battle.

S.

Hi S.!

I started my son wearing a helmet when he began to ride his tricycle. It gets kids into the habit so when they "graduate" to the big kid bike and you get a lot less grief from them at that point. Plus the safety aspect, especially on an old tricylce that may tip over easier, makes this a no-brainer. I've seen so many kids in my neighborhood riding bikes, scooters, etc. without helmets and my son, who is now 6, always comments on how dangerous that is. I'm so proud that he recognizes that and am so glad we started him off wearing a helmet when he was young. I'd rather my husband be mad than be sitting with my child in an emergency room with a skull fracture. Hopefully you can bring your husband around to your way of thinkig. Good luck!

K.

You really need to override your husband's decision on this one. You can even call your pediatrician and have him explain to your husband how important it is to wear a helmet, even on a tricycle. Please don't let him be the one to decide on this one. Your son is your most precious thing on this planet and he is your only one and I'm guessing you will not have any more children so you need to do all you can to protect him. Whilst you can't protect him from everything out in the world, you can protect him from serious head injury because your husband thinks it's not cool to wear a helmet when riding a tricycle. Stand strong and firm! You can do it!

S.,

I agree with the others who have said start him when he is young so when he is a little older he'll want to wear the helmet. Also keep in mind that many don't wear helmets because they don't know that there is a law that requires a helmet when riding a bicycle. I was at a fair once where they were promoting the use of helmets and the police there told us that almost 60% of the population don't wear helmets and those who don't get more seriously hurt than those who wear one. So start him young. Being that your tricycle has been through several generations, it also wouldn't hurt to have him wear elbow pads and knee pads. If my sister had been wearing those, she wouldn't have fractured her arm from falling so much when learning to ride a bike.

I think that your son sees the tricycle as a bike and if he doesn't wear a helmet now, he wont understand why he has to wear one when he rides a big bike.

Our pediatrician made the rule very simple- "If it has wheels, the child needs a helmet." This means tricycles, roller skates, scooters, etc. Those little brains are way to valuable to risk bruising!

Check out this website and show this to your husband http://www.sha.state.md.us/exploremd/bicyclists/oppe/bike... if he doesn't want your son wearing a helmet. From what I understand a tricycle falls under the same category as a bicycle so it is mandatory. But I am also pro helmet. My son always wears a helmet on his bike, when skating outside and on his scooter. If he chooses to skate board then he'll wear a helmet then too. I would stand your ground on this one. Helmets save lives. Good luck.

My husband and I had a similar situation when our son (almost 3 yo) started riding his trike...He didn't think it was necessary, but I did. So we make him wear the helmet every time and now he's so used to it that when we say "Do you want to ride your bike?" He says "Where my hat?!"

One note...make sure that the helmet fits properly and he wears it correctly. It should be snug enough on his head that if he shakes his head (like shaking "no") it shouldn't slip and he should wear it flat on his head, only a few inches above his eyebrows. I see so many kids who wear the helmet way back on their heads so their whole forehead is exposed which makes it pretty ineffective for protection of the face or they where it with the strap undone so it could easily just fly off.

I agree with you. I even have want my kids to wear one when they're on their powerwheels. Go buy him a really cool one with Hot Wheels or Flames, or some such, then hubby won't have too big of a problem.
M.

My feelings are no helmet= no tricycle, period. You need to develop those habits now no matter how fast or extreme the vehicle he is using is.

Like all the other mothers say...just get him to start learning now to wear a helmet. They can still turn too sharply going down a small incline, flip to the side and crash their head onto the concrete.

We live in a condo and so our daughter only rides her trike on the sidewalk right outside of our place (no cars or traffic are around and so she's safe from that - you'd understand if you saw where our place is). She is still trying to learn to pedal to get going on it but she is always asking for a helmet (she's 3) and we have that on the top of our list of things to get her as soon as we can spare the extra money. So, she at least knows the importance of wearing one and she's only 3! So, start it now while they are young so they can get used to the idea of wearing one all the time.

I say put a helmet on that boy! Biking injuries and deaths aren't from going to fast its from recieving a bad blow to the head. My parents made me wear a helmet when I would ride my bike, and you need to inform your husband of that and if it gets to the point that you have to go on youtube or some other website to show him the damages that can be done by a hit to the head while riding a bike or a tricycle. I don't think this is a silly issue but I also think you should stick to your guns and not let your husband win this argument. A child's safety should never be a arguing matter. Best of Luck.

I always have my little boy wear a helmet when he rides his trike. While it is lower to the ground, he has still fallen off it a couple of times. It's always better to be safe than sorry!

You MUST have your son wear a helmet anytime he is on a riding toy for a variety of reasons. While unlikely that he would be severely hurt falling from the tricycle, it is important to protect his head in the event of an impact with a car or other object. In addition, the earlier you start enforcing this rule, the easier it is to get him to comply when the toys are a lot scarier than a tricycle-bike, skateboard, scooter, etc. I worked for a major insurance company for many years & helmets really do help save lives and lessen injuries. I'm the "mean mom" who even makes visiting kids wear helmets when they're skateboarding or riding at my house-we keep extras for that purpose. There are so many things we can't protect our children from...why not insist on it when there's something small we can do to help protect them!!! Best of luck to you!

How fast the bike is going is not the issue. I used to work in a bike shop. As much as 3gs of force can injure the skull from a fall off a bike. They can hit their head by trying to get off the bike and falling to the ground. Stand your ground.

I always used one, then randomly one day, I couldn't find it and my son got on his trike while I was inside looking (the neighbor was watching him), well the police were driving around the neighborhood (for the neighborhood watch) and stopped to tell us it was against the law for them to ride a bike without a helmet, we looked at them because these were the new trikes and I couldn't imagine them falling, we mostly used it so he knew from the very beginning he had to wear a helmet when he rode a bike. So, you can use either of those, if there is a helmet law, it applies to trikes and you can be ticketed for not making him wear one. Also you want him to learn now that any time on a bike is a helmet time, so when he's older you're not introducing it to him (trust me, in a year or so he'll fight it and say why, I never wore one before). Good luck!!

He should wear a helmet if he falls anything could happen.
Stick to your guns on this one if your little one gets hurt from falling off that bike would you forgive yourself for not having him wear a helmet.
KRW

for me...no helmet...no riding...period. Bikes...trikes...horses...vespa's...

My ex had to deal with it (one of the MANY reasons he is now the ex).

just saying...lol
C./michele

I agree with you. Get a helmet. When your little guy sees all the other kids on bikes with helmets, he'll probably want one, too. I think you'd be surprised how many kids on trikes still wear helmets. On this one, you're going to have to put your foot down.

This is one of the only things that I can say that has not been said. Look in the DMV book.....HELMETS are law. It is illegal for riding without a helmet. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

At this age it is as much about teaching our children good habits as it is about safety. If you start him off now wearing his helmet, he'll think that is "normal" and will always wear his helmet. If you only sometimes make him wear it then you send mixed messages and he'll learn that it is situational. What happens when he makes the wrong "situational" decision later when he is older and ends up w/ a traumatic brain injury?

My analogy is seatbelts. I grew up before mandatory seatbelt laws and it took many, many years for that to become my habit. My daughter (also 4) freaks out if she sees me w/o my seatbelt b/c her "normal" is always wear your seatbelt.

My answer... absolutely yes.

I think if you teach your child from the beginning that everything with wheels requires a helmet, then there is no ambiguity later on and it is already a habit. I agree, there is little reason for a helmet on a (modern) tricycle, but what about scooters? Part of me says no need, however our neighbor's child was messing around on one and broke her arm... good thing it wasn't her head. It's hard to know the right answer, so why make the kid guess? It may be a bit over protective (and hard to accept since we never had any helmets) but better safe than sorry.

Good luck. I hope you are able to work this out nicely with your husband.

Liz

Wear the helmet!!!! Start now so your kid gets used to wearing it every time he gets on a bike. Then you won't have to struggle to get him to wear it when he moves up to a big boy bike.

Hi, I think the kids should wear helmets to develop the habit of always wearing a helmet. My daughter rode little tricycles at daycare on their paths without them, but on the rode or sidewalk I would insist - part of the helmet thing is tha the oculd be hit by a car crossing the street, etc. Also, he is certainly old enough for a bike - does he have one? My daughter had a small bike at age 3 and is now learning without training wheels at age 5. Get him a bike and avoid the argument. BTW, he should have a helmet on his scooter, motorized toy cars, and skateboard too, regardless if it has a motor or not.

get the helmet habit started now. My daughter's preschool wouldn't allow them near the tricycles without helmets on.

We have my daughter wear a helmet every time she is on her tricycle. A tricycle is a bicycle and wearing bicycle helmets is the law in MD. Also, once the kids are used to wearing the helmet it won't be a fight when they get older. Our rule is no helmet, no riding.
I also worked in a pediatric brain injury rehab hospital so there is no doubt in my mind that kids (and adults too for that matter) need to wear helmets. I've seen the tragic results of not wearing appropriate head protection.
Good luck!