July 6, 2022

INSPIRED in Health and Safety: Bike Helmets

With summertime comes outdoor activities like bicycles and skateboards. Any wheeled activity should include a safety helmet. Start your child’s routine of wearing a helmet early, when they are young. The best encouragement for children to wear a helmet is when they see their parents setting a good example by wearing one when they ride. If children notice that other children are not wearing a helmet, you can explain that other children or parents may not understand the importance of wearing a helmet for safety. Here is a link from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration about helmets and bike safety.

A summary :

• The helmet should sit level on your head, one or two finger-widths above your eyebrows, and cover your forehead.
• The strap dividers should sit just below your ear lobes.
• The chin strap should always be buckled and snug enough to only squeeze two fingers between your chin and the strap.

 

In the photo below, you can see the proper fitting of a helmet on the left, low near the eyebrows, protecting the forehead (frontal lobe of the brain) and the nose. Like wearing a seatbelt in a car, wearing a helmet is a small action you can take to reduce the chance of serious injury in an accident. It’s low-risk and high-reward, and well-worth the sacrifice of being a little hot or sporting some helmet hair post-ride.

 

– Nurse Kandy, LeafSpring School at Three Chopt