I am trying to decide on what I am going to do. I have a 7.5 year old and a 2.5 year old. Anytime they are outside riding their bikes or scooters I make them wear a helmet. The sad part of this is that they are the only ones out of their friends that own one. I normally make a child “staying with me (sleeping over) wear my sons if he is not using it but the neighborhood kids ranging in age from 5-10 do not own any.
I am buying an extra for my house for when kids stay with us and am contemplating putting an add on Craigslist and seeing if I can get some extras for the neighborhood kids to wear IF they want to.
If you were the kids parents would you be upset over this? I am kinda nervous with them all riding and me being responsible for all of them when they are at my house.
And just out of curiosity how important are helmets. I seem to think they are a very useful necessary device but am curious how others feel.
Thank you. And I am also the mother that owns an extra booster seat for the car for my daughters friends that I make them use if they are too small/young for the seatbelt alone.
I guess I should say that I by no means have a lot of money but was able to get 3 scooters (though 1 was broken) for $10.00. So it is not like I am spending a fortune.
I just wanted to add that some of the kids bring their own scooters/bikes here but I also bought 2 extra scooters off craigslist today for the kids to use when here.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I always make sure that my kids have their lids screwed on tight before playing. Prevention is key.
I used to insist my daughter wore a helmet ..till one day she fell off the bike..it slid back and she had the straps stuck on her throat strangling her and she couldnt speak or breath and I couldnt get the damn thing off without scissors
You shouldent be buying all this stuff for OTHER peoples kids.
I feel like helmets are important,but I dont make my 14 year old daughter wear them when she rides her bike or her friends,let alone
buy them one! I dont make my 5 year old son wear a helmet since
he’s still on his training wheels,but when he starts riding a “big boy bike” I will make him wear his helmet until he gets good at it.Same
with my 1 year old when he gets old enough.
Its the parents responsibility to provide helmets,not yours.
helmets are very important. i would make any child my child had over wear a helmet when riding a scooter or bike, or roller blading. i would rather have an offended parent [i dont know why they would be offended] than a parent sueing me for their child being hurt from falling off of one of our bikes and hurting their head.
and fantabulous is right, make sure that the helmet FITS the child and they have it on properly. they make these perfect fit helmets now that should prevent an injury like that from happening. by the way, fanny, thank goodness you were there to help her! unfortunatly, sometimes things that are meant to keep us safe can acutally hurt us. like seatbelts breaking ribs.
I make my girls wear their helmets and if any kids come over and bring bikes I make sure they have a helmet on. Because if something happens while she is riding a bike at my house without a helmet I would feel terrible.
Same with if a friend of mine wants her kid to ride with us I make sure they are in a car seat weather its a car seat or a booster seat. Until they are 8 they will ride in a car seat in my vechile.
Yes, I do. It is my responsibility to protect any child who is in my house. Also, so many people are trigger happy when it comes to lawsuits. I don’t want to take the chance.
My husband put an amazing ice rink in our backyard this winter, so obviously every kid who knew about it wanted to skate. The rule was that kids could only skate if they wore a helmet. I had one extra for my son to share, but other than that, they had to supply their own. Personally, I can’t imagine why a parent would buy their child a bike/scooter/skates and not a helmet.
As for Fanny’s example, that’s not a reason to neglect to put a helmet on a child. The helmet clearly didn’t fit her child properly. A helmet should not slip when a child is wearing it.
i always make my kids wear a helmet while riding their bikes. if another child at my house wont wear one they dont get to ride bikes. people die from not using helmets, i cant be to blame for someone elses child. and we are nearly the only ones i know that consistently use helmets while riding. dorkiness does not trump safe
Helmets are so stupid. If the kid falls off his bike he’ll be going maybe 15mph. He’s not doing any tricks or anything, you really shouldn’t put him through that embarrassment by making him wear a helmet.
-Billy
I think you should talk to the parents of the children that are coming over to your house. If the children are at your house they are your responsibility and I understand why you would be concerned. Let the parents know that it makes you uncomfortable that the children don’t wear helmets while they are in your care. It is their business whether or not their children wear helmets when they are at their own homes, but they should follow your safety rules while at your house. You have a right to be concerned because if the children are hurt on your property the parents would probably have a right to sue. I say kindly bring this up to the parents and just say that you would appreciate it if their children wore helmets when playing at your house from now on. Also, if the parents believe their children are skilled enough to ride without a helmet maybe point out that one of the most important reason to wear a helmet is to prevent injury if the child were to be hit by a car. If they ride in the street at all that is a big danger and a helmet could protect them from serious head trauma. Anyway, say what you are comfortable saying and good luck to you
i dont have a child im only fourteen but i would say all my friend DONT have helmets and really i think its stupid i say make their friends wear helmets until they leave your sight atleast because at your house without parents theyre in your care i allways wear a helmet since i got run over by one of my teacher aids while riding my bike so it is allways good to be safe =D
Always insist with all younger children, below 10 years old especially, it is too easy for them to get hurt and the injuries can be deadly, when a child gets older & can understand how to prevent injuries then ajustments can be made, It is also very good to teach or show children how to fall without hurting themselves, like tumbling & rolling as you land, I had to do that with my son, he started hallways & trees very young and it made him very happy,so I didn’t want to have to stop him instead, I showed him how to properly land. We all should remember that it is very easy for kids to get hurt, WE are the ones to show them & teach them how not to.