Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
How to Get Your Kid to Wear a Bicycle Helmet (Part B)
More Examples
The following example is my favorite.
If we can find older kids and young adults who our children think are “cool,” we can go a long way toward getting our kids in helmets. Sometimes the encouragement works better when it comes from someone other than us – someone who is not the parent or the un-cool old person.
- A ten-year old boy does not want to wear a bike helmet because his friends do not wear them; he thinks it would make him look like a geek. His mother takes him shopping for a helmet; he shows little interest. She chats with a young salesman while her son is browsing out of hearing distance. The young salesman, good-looking, athletic, starts talking to the boy about riding bikes, asking what kind he has and where he rides it. Then he asks what kind of helmet the boy wears. When the boy hesitates, the salesman says, “Come on over here, I’ll show you the kind I use.” The boy feels flattered and is interested in looking at helmets.
Finally, here is a story you can share with your younger kids and ‘tweens. It gives an example of a boy who firmly but simply stands up to his friend.
- Two boys decide to ride their bikes to the store. One says he has to go upstairs to get his helmet first. The other says not to bother, they’re not riding far. The first says he doesn’t want to get his brains splattered on the street and goes to get his helmet.
Further Information Regarding Bicycle Helmets
For further information, visit the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute’s website. They have articles that explore why kids don’t like helmets – including interviews with kids themselves, explain how to choose and maintain helmets, and talk about bicycle helmet laws across the United States.
Learn more about bicycle safety, including tips that can help prevent your child from suffering an injury by reading the rest of Chapter 7 in Tom Kiley’s child injury accident book “When A Kiss Isn’t Enough To Make It All Better.”
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