Anonymous wrote:I would. But I biked all over the place with no helmet at that age.

We ALL did!
All of these nervous nelly's forget that there was NO helmet law when we were kids & we biked a lot further & for many more hours a day than our kids do.
We didn't have video games, the internet or cell phones to keep us occupied, we left in the morning. we roamed in packs, our parents had no idea where we were all day & we din't come home until the street lights came on. Can you imagine if our parents raised us this way, we'd be too sheltered to exist in the real world.

Just tell him to keep to the sidewalks & if he has to cross an intersection, use the crosswalk & walk his bike across if you're that worried..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. But I biked all over the place with no helmet at that age.

You're lucky. Look who wasn't?

http://www.today.com/parents/mom-son-warn-dangers-bike-riding-without-helmet-t92631

Takes about 4 seconds to google plenty of bad accidents.

This is a mystifying accident.

He obviously fell and hit his head to have such a bad brain injury... so why didn't he say his head hurt after the accident? He didn't even have any bumps or bruises on his head.... so it's more like he hit his head slightly, but the brain inside sloshed around and got injured. Which could have happened even while wearing a helmet -- not sure that a helmet protects against this kind of injury.

I'm the concussion poster from above. A slight hit won't cause a skull fracture - his hair likely hid any bumps or bruises (looking at where the surgery was). Bruises can also take a while to show up or get worse. His brain didn't just "slosh" around inside, it hit with enough force to cause a hematoma (brain bleed) which can take hours to days to actually show symptoms (if it's a low bleed). Kids are pretty darn good at looking not sick or injured before suddenly tanking. A helmet helps to cushion the blow and distribute the impact to decrease the likelihood of serious injury. My guess is that he probably would have had a concussion similar to mine with a helmet on.

I live near a middle school and 90% of the students riding their bike by my house are NOT wearing a helmet. They either are holding the helmet or the helmet is hanging from the handle bars. So just because your middle schooler leaves your house with his/her helmet on does not mean they don't take it off shortly thereafter. From what I see, the vast majority remove the helmet.

No helmet, no biking. Head injuries are not fixable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. But I biked all over the place with no helmet at that age.

You're lucky. Look who wasn't?

http://www.today.com/parents/mom-son-warn-dangers-bike-riding-without-helmet-t92631

Takes about 4 seconds to google plenty of bad accidents.

This is a mystifying accident.

He obviously fell and hit his head to have such a bad brain injury... so why didn't he say his head hurt after the accident? He didn't even have any bumps or bruises on his head.... so it's more like he hit his head slightly, but the brain inside sloshed around and got injured. Which could have happened even while wearing a helmet -- not sure that a helmet protects against this kind of injury.

It depends. Do you think it was intentional? If so, then no. Do you think if you allow it once, it will make your son think it is ok always? If so, then no.

If it was truly a mistake and your son usually follows rules, I would allow it if the ride was mainly on bike trails. Yes, it is a risk. But risk exists in everything we do. I would though ask him to be extra careful.

Was biking around the neighborhood with my little sister - almost didn't put my helmet on (1996...helmet law was still new and required for kids 15 and under, which I was). I have a very vague memory of coming down the street right in front of our house and the next thing I heard was my sister scream for my dad as I was laying face-up in the street. I have no idea what happened, it was a route we biked all the time - maybe I hit a bump?
I do know I hit the ground hard enough to split the back of the helmet (not like a little crack, but the left and right halves were slightly offset from each other) and had a concussion. Also lost the majority of my memory from that day. I couldn't tell my parents what we had done that morning and had some trouble remembering things later that day after the concussion. I can't even imagine what kind of injury I would have had without a helmet on. So yes, a helmet is required every time DC is on a bike or scooter.

Yes, absolutely.

No
And the ride after school would be TWICE. Not once.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He biked to school without a helmet?

I bet your biked your entire childhood without a helmet - yet, here you are posting away on DCUM.

Yes but we didn't wear seat belts either.

Y'all are lunchin'. Only nerds wear helmets.

Y'all are luncheon'. Only nerds wear helmets.

In our house the consequence of biking without a safety helmet, which everyone in the family must wear, and breaking the law is a locked-up bike - not another helmetless ride. And if DH found out about the "forgotten" helmet the bike would be locked up for even longer.

A lot of people here are really bad at risk assessment and/or math. A really small risk (head injury while riding a bicycle) doubled (by not wearing a helmet) is still really small. Plus, as some have mentioned, most of us grew up never wearing helmets. Head injuries are bad, of course, but this particular case (riding without a helmet once) is pretty low on the list of risks that are worth worrying about.

In our neighborhood most kids are without helmets by 6th grade and those whose parents make them wear them leave them unbuckled. I notice the kids seem to come to their senses by high school when most can be seen wearing them again. Somehow they park bikes at school and don't get caught. We live in No VA.