(Mobile phone shot, biking outside on a mild December day.)
As my hubby was studying brain injuries in children for his RN schooling, he came across some statistics that I think every parent should be aware of:- The 3rd leading cause of brain damage in childhood is from bicycle injuries sustained while not wearing a bike helmet.
- The majority of deaths from brain trauma caused by bicycle injuries occur between the ages of 5-19.
BIKE HELMETS!
Bike helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 85% and reduce the risk of brain injury by 88%.
It's such an easy thing to do. We have two hooks for the boy's bike helmets that are at their level in the garage. They know bike helmets are mandatory, so that's the first thing they do before even grabbing their bikes. They also have to wear their helmets on their scooter too.
Now I know some people may say, "Oh well, we never wore bike helmets when we were kids and we turned out fine." Well, thank goodness you did, but does that mean there weren't kids who were injured back then? No, it doesn't.
Please, if there's one thing you do as spring approaches, take the time to buy bike helmets for the entire family, ADULTS INCLUDED!
(Ok, I'll get off my soap box now :-)
18 comments:
Yup! My nearly 50ish son a couple years ago took a spill that really tore him up & that was WITH the helmet ... he said he'd had been in terrible trouble if no helmet & after looking at him ... yes, he would have been.
The boys look adorable on their bikes, sweetie. Bet they can hardly wait for spring to be out all the time on them.
Have missed you. Will be down for the next couple of days ...
Have a wonderful week ~
TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon
it is a wonder those of us that rode bikes w/o as kids survived...
It's very important, and I always made my kids wear them too. Their helmets hung from their handlebars so there was no way they could forget to wear them.
Good Morning Sweetie...
What a gorgeous share. I love seeing Cubbie and Sprout. My how they are growing. Love their shiny helmets as well, and yes helmets are a must.
I have a dear friend, her son was driving a quad. Yes he had his helmet on, he lost control and hit a tree head on. He would of been DOA if he had not had his helmet on. It split the helmet right down the front, and yes he did have brain trauma, but he is walking again and here today to talk of it.) Yes, helmets are a must, and I am so thrilled to see you enforce it with your two little ones now, they will continue it all their lives.
Your frosty morning photos were just beautiful. We have no frost here in the desert. In the 70s today and supposed to be in the
80's by Friday. We always seem to skip Spring here in the desert.
Have a glorious week sweetie. I am so thankful to see you share this helmet information. We need to be more mindful of our babies do we not? Many hugs and much love, Sherry
I'm totally with ya, sister. Right out of high school (99 1/2 years ago)a friend of my husband's had a bicyle accident that did horrible things to his brain. It took him years to catch up with life.
I'm glad he lived.
T
This is something I need to remember--not for the kids, because they wear theirs. But I need one. Thanks.
This is so important. One fall can change a life.
Luckily helmets seem to be a much more common thing than when we were kids. When we were little I don't remember anyone wearing helmets- but now it is the rare to see someone not wearing one.
Ya know I totally agree with you! I also have a problem when people use that argument for car seats. Helloooo... Just because you didn't get into a crash where a carseat would have saved your life as a child does not mean your child won't be in one. Why not just err on the side of caution rather than take the risk!
I agree! A must :)
I admit, my kids dont wear helmets. They are not asked to go into the road. They ride in our driveway and yard only. But after trading this, I will buy them some helmets. Crazy statistics.
We have helmets but the kiddos only use them if we go biking in the neighborhood. Most of the time when they are tooling around in the driveway they don't wear them. However I understand the need.
I'm getting a bike for the spring... and a helmet. :)
TOTALLY agree! Glad you posted this! My daughter is the head injury queen...and if it weren't for her helmet, she'd be seriously injured, for sure! Great post!
BTW...your mobile phone takes great pics!
The day you wrote this, my kiddos had skating lessons...We make them wear their bike helmets for skating lessons and my stomach sank when he wiped out, landed on his back, with his head smashing against the ice. He paused, sat up, brushed himself off and got up. Clearly, this wouldn't have been the case if he didn't have that helmet on...We were soo thankful he did!
I was hit by a car while riding my bike as a kid...no helmet. Yes I am fine. But it was one of my 3 concussions I've had in my lifetime (Yikes, I know). I think I may be extremely hard headed.
I remember how badly it hurt and need to be better about making my kids wear helmets in our driveway...I'm too lax (they HAVE to wear them when out on the street). Thanks for the reminder.
Yes I have come round to that idea too. I met someone who cycled over a coke can in the gutter. It wrapped itself round her wheel and pitched her off the bike. It took her years to recover from the brain trauma. Scary.
such a great post! yes, bike helmets are a must around here!!
If my kids are on trikes they have on helmets. not something i play with after losing my brother for not wearing a helmet
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