Not really interested in a debate about the pros/cons of helmet wearing, but no doubt it will end up that way. So….

My eldest (7 1/2) will not keep a helmet on, always complains that it hurts, is uncomfortable etc etc. Been through a few different styles of helmet (that seem to fit ok), and the end result is always the same. I’m treading a fine line between me and the mrs – I’d be happy for him not to wear one as I’d rather he enjoyed riding his bike. The mrs very much would like him to wear one as he’s a clumsy git that probably falls off at least once a ride, and will probably bang his nut sooner or later. We’ve tried various things, mostly carrot rather than stick and we just can’t get him to keep it on.

So STW, any top tips? He’s a bit young for a skills course 😉

No pudding?

Rule in our house, no helmet, no ride.
Goes for everyone, even on short rides

Rule in our house, no helmet, no ride.

Same here, our three boys love riding their bikes, so it’s easy to enforce. I got them Fox junior lids, like these. They think they’re cool, so that helps alot too.

Simples isn’t it, wear it or you don’t go on your bike

Do you always wear a helmet? (Or wear one round them).

Rule in our house, no helmet, no ride.

With my three, only rule was go off-road and you wear your helmet – and tbh I didn’t need to enforce it, as they wouldn’t ride off-road without. When they were just in the neighbourhood etc, let them decide themselves.

Also for me, going down the shops/station etc – no cycling gear and no helmet.

We also have a no bunnet no ridey rule. They all want to ride (usually), but bribery is not beneath us.
It is just The Law in the OAB household – and we have only had one who has ever had an issue.
Any ideas about his motivation? Mates at school? Do you *always* wear a helmet? Do they go to a club where *everyone* wears a helmet? etc?

I always wear a helmet, for me it’s just part of riding my bike. He’s very particular about pretty much everything, it has to be just so or it’s not happening. He will continue to ride without the helmet, won’t ride with it. It’s very likely that the helmet may not be 100% comfortable (is there such a lid!) and that is enough to make him not wear it. He is the least “sporty” out of our kids, so I really want to encourage him to be as active as possible

Having watched my son fall off (at least once a ride) I reckon it’s best if he doesn’t wear a helmet. The most common way I see him fall is to fall forward with his hands out and face plant into the ground. His face and chest hit the ground more or less at the same time spreading the impact. Wearing a helmet all the force goes straight to the top of his head where the helmet hits the ground.

Saying that my son is only three but he likes ripping around the pump track and finding hills to fly down. I’ll keep an eye on how he’s riding and give him a helmet if I think it will do any good.

Another reason I don’t think a helmet is worth it is because he simply doesn’t look after it. When he takes it off it’s either dropped or thrown away. I’m not sure if a series of small impacts will damage a helmet in the same way a single large impact will but I don’t see why not.

So, unless you child is falling in such a way that a helmet might do some good and unless he’s old enough to take care of it then there isn’t much point.

If you think that riding his bike is such a dangerous activity in comparison to all the other activities he does (climbing, jumping off things, running around, etc) that protective equipment is vital then it’s probably best if you stop him from riding altogether.

at a young age the rule was no helmet no ride

by that age it was based on what we rode

Is it just a kid being arsey? no offence they all do it- are they often like this or just over helmets?
Youngest used to constantly moan the strap dug in despite them being so slack the helmet was largely ornamental

A tough one.
I allowed ours to choose their own helmets – and one was fussy – in order to get the colour/style/fit they were happy with. One cost a fair old bit….

Is the discomfort from the helmet itself, or the strap?
Might a helmet liner help? Or a fleecy balaclava (in colder weather)?

If you think that riding his bike is such a dangerous activity

I don’t, however the Mrs is a physio who does a lot of neuro rehab and so has a slightly different POV.

There’s also the issue of trying to get him to do what we’re asking him to do without it putting him off riding the bloody thing.

Oddly, I’ve just remembered that he was happy with a helmet during a recent visit to a climbing wall, so maybe he’s just trying to tell us he doesn’t like bikes!

In that case the only option is to have him adopted 😉

The problem is not the child, the problem is you and your missus.

Agree between you both what the rules for riding are, apply them together, reinforcing cheerfully what the rules are, apply them consistently, do not undermine each other.

In that case the only option is to have him adopted

I’ve considered it 😉

Esme – he just says “it hurts”, but nothing more revealing than that. I’ve asked him what he wants the helmet to be like, to which he said like his brothers, but more padded. I bought him a piss-pot style which has plenty of padding and fits ok but no dice.

I think I’ll have to take him (again!) to the LBS and try a few (more!) on.

The problem is not the child, the problem is you and your missus.

How so? He’s not aware that we have differing opinions, he’s been asked to wear a helmet but keeps taking it off. We are consistent with the message from both of us, we’re just struggling to enforce it without being too draconian (though that will be the next step).

BruceWee – Member

You are TJ and I claim my £5

I don’t, however the Mrs is a physio who does a lot of neuro rehab and so has a slightly different POV.

Risk benefit time. We are going through this at the moment, with eldest_oab riding Dumyat alone and chasing strava times. Do I say no, or do I encourage riding, even if it is risky? As they get bigger and start flying down and hucking off things, you will have to watch them risk it all…is no riding better than risk of banging head??

There’s also the issue of trying to get him to do what we’re asking him to do without it putting him off riding the bloody thing.

This is the nub of it. He is clearly an opinionated one.
Our middle one needs ‘lining up’ for things – he is told the day or week before a big day out, visit to friends for tea etc. He is told that we will be doing x or y out of the ordinary, he is told that he *will* be doing a or b and *will* enjoy it. All very subtle, and generally it works, however any of our friends will testify to the tantrums, violence and stubbornness when it doesn’t..

My lad is 2 and its a no helmet no ride rule, this slightly backfired yesterday when I was told “dad bike cellar” while he tapped his head resulting in me having to wear a helmet while cleaning the bike otherwise he was going to (try) put it away for me.

I specifically chose a good quality, well fitting helmet that suited him instead of the cheapest thing I could find as I remember being put off wearing one when the only real choice was a Tuff-Top

When he’s older we’ll have a chat about about it being his choice to wear one but ultimately he still should do as I say and not as I do.

I don’t, however the Mrs is a physio who does a lot of neuro rehab and so has a slightly different POV.

I understand the sentiment but I think it’s one of those things where the idea that helmets are ‘vital’ if you’re going to ride a bike has taken firm root.

So far this year I’ve seen my son fall backwards of a slackline and smack his head off the ground and seen him lose balance while jumping on the bed and swan dive head first onto the floor. The impacts I’ve seen when he falls off his bike were nothing like as scary as the other ones I’ve seen which made me take a step back and evaluate just how dangerous bikes are for children.

I did find myself thinking about making him wear a helmet when he was on the back of my bike purely because I’ve seen people drop their bikes with kids in child seats. I then decided that if I was considering protective equipment I was better off re-evaluating the activity altogether so I got a trailer instead.

Why not try a £1 balaclava before another new helmet?

They may appreciate this clip

Our son has a Nutcase helmet, cost around £50, was the best fit, easily adjustable dial, no peak looks more cool!

Always remember to wear a helmet so that you too can ride down the road not looking where you’re going.

Or just look where you’re going.

Esme – he’d rip that off and burn it in front of me, no matter how comfortable it was 🙂

matt – they sound very similar! Mine is a little more selective in the things that tick him off, but we do have to let him know exactly what’s going on. I have considered he might be slightly on the autistic spectrum, but it’s more likely he’s just an awkward bugger 😉 (like me!)

no helmet, no ride

This. No exceptions. There is enough choice now to ensure a good fitting. Met Crackerjack with flames was always a favorite.

Mine are older now. Helmet use on the ride to school is still low among peers, but Teen2 persists.

I have a collection of helmets I’ve put to proper use. That focuses the mind (and shows they’ve protected it too!). I will accept that it is a big jump from a 7yo JRA to an OTB in a road race.

How so? He’s not aware that we have differing opinions

50p says different. 😆

It’s just reinforcement, sounds like you’re doing the right things though, be positive, keep consistant and keep the message the same between the pair of you, sometimes most of the time with kids there’s no magic bullet solution

TiRed – I’ve just replaced my helmet after breaking it in a fall, I showed him that and it seemed to impress him. Still didn’t want to wear his though!

My plan is to allow him to choose a new one, then strictly enforce the “no helmet, no ride” mantra. Might try a bit of peer pressure too, as in “no helmet, no ride for any of us”. Then adoption…..

I understand the sentiment but I think it’s one of those things where the idea that helmets are ‘vital’ if you’re going to ride a bike has taken firm root.

This is the very annoying part about it. You force your kids to wear a helmet when cycling but you are leaving a massive gap when you let them do anything else without one – seems strange logic to me and wonder what the thinking is?

They clearly don’t want to ride the bike if having to wear a helmet is enough to stop them. That’s fine isn’t it, not everyone likes cycling.

Luckily I didn’t have fascist parents but if I did I would imagine I would have ridden around the corner and then taken the helmet off and hidden it in a bush to be picked back up on way home. Kids eh….

Luckily I didn’t have fascist parents

Up yours hippy.

Tell him its illegal not to to reinforce no helmet/no ride (not advocating laying it on too thick)

plenty of adults already think its law for cyclists to wear one, so a little white lie..

LOL. No helmet, no ride at our house too. I even have a no buoyancy aid, no getting in the canoe rule, even if is is just on the lawn in the garden. (We are over a mile from the nearest floatable water) Just trying to establish safety habits…

Mine after about six didn’t wear helmets, my son found them very uncomfortable ( he has an autistic spectrum disorder). A no helmet no ride policy would have ment no riding, end of. Mrs taxi and myself thought the benefits of cycling outwheighed the risk of not wearing a helmet.

I think I’ll have to take him (again!) to the LBS and try a few (more!) on.

my youngest eventually went for some affair that was painted a little like Darth maul – not that stupid one that has rubber spikes- and he was happy to wear that
Still moans about the straps even though i can fit two of my fingers into his and he cannot get his into mine!

Perseverance basically

WE simply have a no helmet no ride rule. Our boys are 4 1/2 and nearly 2. The youngest has tantrumed a few times but having seen me put his bike away, he’s always ended up getting his helmet by himeself a few minutes afterwards.

Of course, adults need to do the same. The older one complained yesterday as I was riding up and down the drive (bled my brakes, checking they worked) that I didn’t have a helmet.

We’ve missed a family outing when the 4 year old refused to wear a helmet but rules is rules!

I was about 6 when I cracked my first helmet on the edge of a curb.

Reading this has made me very glad I grew up in the 70’s.

(apart from the racism and sexism although that seems to be coming back now)

I grew up in the 70’s, but that doesn’t mean I’m any less glad that some things are safer now than they were then. Just because we made it out alive doesn’t mean everyone else did 😉

Natural selection?

Our eldest is 7 now and obeys the rules like a proper nerd, but does notice her lid-less peers, she’s well enough versed in the tale of Daddy’s scary concussion and memory gap, not to question helmet use, for now at least.
Plus she’s clumsy and highly strung (like her mother) so already tends to overegg her “personal risk assessments”…

The real question is what she’ll does when riding without me, especially in a few years, and if it’s really such a terrible thing for her not to wear a lid all the time she’s on a bike when she, say 12? And just pootling to the shops… Peer pressure will probably be the deciding factor eventually…

For now it’s a simple message, “no lid no ride”, and reinforcement by parental example… Not much more you can do TBH.

My 2p worth. If he is saying it hurts then believe him and get him one that doesn’t.

Ill fitting helmets can be very uncomfy.