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+1 for letting them choose their own helmet. My eldest loves his helmet now he's got one with stars on it, and puts it on his self.
I was always inconsistent in making my two wear a helmet in the trailer (depends on where we were going). But as a general rule I think Daern above has it right. There are some things that kids just have to obey now and question later. The key is "do as I say now and we can explain later" vs "do as I say because I am an adult". Simple concept to me, but astonished how many parents either go authoritarian OR just cave in to kids.
Both my two are now much older (20 and 17) and they turned out OK.
I probably should have mentioned earlier that mine never wore helmets in the (two wheeled) trailer as they always seemed very uncomfortable with them on, but I only ever used this on flat, easy trails as, frankly, anything else was a biblical ballache, so I don't think it really mattered. A couple of weeks ago I saw a family out at the top of the Northern Whinlatter Red with a trailer wondering how much further they could take it - in the end, they turned back and rode to the car park on fire roads. Good call, I reckon!
It's a strange thing, but we only ever used the bike trailer a handful of times and the trailgator once (after which I sold it on eBay in disgust - hateful thing) by which time the kids just wanted to ride themselves. This opened up a whole lot of more interesting riding and I just became extremely good at the one-handed-push technique, which I'm sure that more than a few here will be experts at!
It's amazing how far kids can ride themselves if you do a bit of planning. One of the rides we did when the kids were very young was the Tissington Trail in Derbyshire. We rode it one way, so it was basically 12 miles of continuous, gentle downhill after which time I turned round and cycled back up it to fetch the car. It was a great day out!
Anyone got any recommendations for a small helmet to fit a 14 month old? We have a decathlon one but it's far too big for him at the moment and I'm not keen to take him in the bike seat without a helmet (happy to take him in the trailer without one, but he seems to enjoy being in the bike seat more).
PS. I have never rolled a bike trailer or a car and the baby doesn't wear a helmet in either. Do I win?
leave it in the house so they can play with it. we did this before introducing them to the balance bikes
Last year I had a bit of resistance from little miss breadcrumb. Then I found if I put my helmet on first she was very keen to wear hers. Now she'll grab a lid and head towards the bike.
"how to get a toddler to wear a helmet"
PMSL at that.
Easy, tell said toddler to wear helmet, or no ridey in trailer.
Know many toddlers?
Toddler goes 'ok, no ridey in trailer'. Then sods off to do something else, leaving everyone else unable to go on a bike ride. Toddler then has successfully held the family hostage.
Anyone got any recommendations for a small helmet to fit a 14 month old?
One from the Specialized range, they start at 46cm. We also had a Bell one that seemed to be smaller still but their website is crap so I cannot find the size range.
Toddler then has successfully held the family hostage.
Wrong, you then take away any other 'entitlements' the toddler has.
You don't pander to the whims of a toddler. If said toddler wants to go in the trailer & YOU (the owner of the toddler) says it has/needs to wear a helmet then it wears one. If It still refuses & decides it doesn't want to go in the trailer because of this then it gets other stuff taken away for spoiling your day out/ride whatever.
No wonder this world is full of snowflakes & kids get away with murder. 🙄
Ah, thoroughly enjoying the armchair parenting here. You go get 'em, guys!
Ah, thoroughly enjoying the armchair parenting here. You go get ’em, guys!
Or lack thereof. Iv'e got two who are now 34 & 31, & believe it or not...they both used to be toddlers!
Or lack thereof. Iv’e got two who are now 34 & 31, & believe it or not…they both used to be toddlers!
I don't believe it for a minute! 😉
Actually, you do raise one point which is that in 30 years I suspect you may have forgotten just how recalcitrant a toddler can be and, when you have two and both decide, with equal vehemence, that they want to do different things it can be tricky to balance the rights and wrongs. Mine are also a bit older now (9 and 11) but still young enough to remember those rotten days where it feels like they are going to defy every single thing you want them to do almost, it seems at the time, like they are doing it just to intentionally annoy you.
Give the guy some slack. I'm sure that if you wound the clock back 30 years, you'd probably remember a few times yourself where things didn't quite go to plan and you ended up just giving in to them so you could have a few minutes' peace and quiet. This doesn't mean that the world will end up full of snowflakes - it just means that we're all just human after all 🙂
I’m sure that if you wound the clock back 30 years,
Well, it took a while. He never would get washed (the youngest that is, the eldest was always Mr Immaculate)
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But he's ok now.
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OK now AND wearing a helmet. Bet you couldn't tow him though these days!
Take away it's pudding.
Love the pics - thanks for sharing! 🙂
If you are riding with the possibilty of a trailer tipping with a child in it, you are going too fast?
I have never seen a child with a properly fitted helmet other than my own nephew. and it was me that corrected it and not his mother!
I never put a helmet on ours in the trailer. Even if you did somehow roll it, they have a seatbelt and a steel cage.
This, plus my primary concern is when they nod off and their head dangles over the straps - helmet just seems like it's going to cause more problems than it solves unless you have a very particular type of crash.
For the record, the kids both wear helmets when on a bike seat or bike, I wear one for sport cycling but I don't always wear one e.g. when popping to the shops, in the same way I don't wear one when I walk or climb up a ladder.
Be careful as whilst you want your kids to be safe, you don't want to teach them that something that's likely to increase their health, happiness and lifespan is dangerous.
Be careful as whilst you want your kids to be safe, you don’t want to teach them that something that’s likely to increase their health, happiness and lifespan is dangerous.
I look at it from the point of view of habit forming. I go outside, I put trousers on, that's just what I do. I go biking, I put helmet on. Even if I don't need it, this habit forming means I've always got one on so it's there if I do. Therefore wearing a helmet isn't taking grave safety precautions, it's just part of clothing.
Even if I am going to the shops, I could easily be taken out by a badly driven car. Plenty of those on the roads, doesn't make a difference if I am going to the shops or somewhere else. Tarmac and A-pillars are just as hard in Asda car park as they are on the Tourmalet.
I know how to get a toddler to eat sprouts.
Tell him it’s bogies.
@legolam - We got a cheap helmet for our 17mo from halfords it seems small and fits well.
Ours hated it when first it was put on. We just all wore our helmets round the house for about half an hour and the anger diminished as she got used to it. Unfortunately now she loves it so we ahve to hide it because if se sees it she just screams 'hat' until it gets put on, no matter what she's doing!
Even if I am going to the shops, I could easily be taken out by a badly driven car. Plenty of those on the roads, doesn’t make a difference if I am going to the shops or somewhere else. Tarmac and A-pillars are just as hard in Asda car park as they are on the Tourmalet.
Yet you haven't been quite so keen on forming the habit of "I go walking, I put a helmet on", despite the fact that evidence suggests that the risk of head injury from that badly driven car is the same on foot as it is on a bicycle.
This is why I don't teach my kids that "bicycle means helmet", I encourage them to think about what they're doing, even though that means early on I have to give them some answers to those decisions (eg if they're mucking around in the street with other kids there *is* a no-choice rule, because they do egg each other on and one of the other kids in particular is prone to colliding with them). For riding to school/nursery the rule is different: no dicking about, rather than no helmet: the risk is no different to walking provided they're pootling along well within their capabilities.
They seem to be able to cope with these more nuanced decisions pretty well: At age 4 my daughter is starting to mi e from her 14" bike to the (still just slightly too large) 20" one. Without me saying anything she decided that, because she's less stable on it and it's not as easy to get on and off, she would use her helmet, and she proactively told me it was because she was likely to fall off.
The strict rules have their place (temporarily), but for me the "bike therefore helmet" rule is not it. YMMV.
Well said Bez.