Helmets - Louisville,KY

Huge vote here for NOT a bike helmet.

Skate Helmet.

Why?

1) Bike helmets are designed to protect from forward directional force injuries. AKA for adults, moving forward at a high rate of speed, going over their handlebars. NOT for side impact, nor rear. They have limited coverage, and the sudden sharp edges of bike helmets in a non fwd directional force injury usually "catch", and cause severe cervical spine damage. GREAT for adults going over handle bars. LOUSY for kids going forward, sideways, backwards, etc. Especially at low speeds (still with enough impact to create traumatic brain injury, but the slow speed changes the impact absorption), and more traglically, it's slow speeds where the sharp edges often catch, and create cspine injury where none would have existed even bare headed.

2) Skate helmets have roughly twice the surface area of bike helmets. The protect frontal, temporal, and occipital skull. They are designed for multidirectional impact at high and low speeds. They are rounded in order to move the cervical spine in a fluid motion (if at all, the shape often deflect blows completely) to prevent damage to the cspine/cns, disarticulation/internal decap, and soft tissue damage.

Added NON-health benefits to skate helmets :)

- They look cool, so kids are more likely to wear them.

- They have different thicknesses of interior pads, so the same helmet can be worn longer (thicker pads changed out for thinner pads) with no loss of protection... so you save money in the long run. Skate helmets are more expensive... but they're just worth it.

- They're multi-sport: Skating, Rollerskating, Razoring, Biking, Skiing, Snowboarding, climbing, horseback riding, kayaking. Again, it's a money saving thing.

Take your child to either an REI store or any bike store and they can size him for you and show you how to fit the helmet correctly. Good luck!

All of these suggestions are great. I would also add to make sure it is ANSI or SNELL approved, and this is one thing you never want to buy used. If it is ever in a crash, replace it as damage can be hidden. If you get one with pads, it can last longer as the pads can be adjusted as the head gets bigger. Let the experts fit him, but remember to wear it so it covers the forehead, not back like a bonnet. Make sure he feels comfortable enough that he will always wear it.

I highly recommend going to a local bike shop and having them fit him for a helmet. It's so much better knowing you're getting one that fits correctly.

We went to the Safety Store inside our local children's hospital and they did it for us for free. I just had to buy the helmet (obviously). She spent almost 15 minutes on one kid. It was awesome. Also, the fire station and the police department will sometimes do this as well. But, I really like the idea of a bike store or REI. Walmart won't help much.

Go to a bike store. They will help fit the helmets and adjust the straps to fit your kid's head. Our boys have gigantic heads, too, and it was great to have the expert help.

We order the bike helmets and multi-sport helmets through school and get an exc ellent bulk discount. Multi-sport size small/medium is 53 to 59cm, size medium/large is 59-64cm.