I can confidently say I’m not helicopter parent, hovering over my daughter’s every move nor do I wrap her in cotton wool and I get hacked off with Health and Safety Regulations on a daily basis. However, there is something I’m a huge stickler about and that is helmets, and not just for bikes. Broken limbs will heal over time but I’m not willing to risk a head injury.
Last week someone asked me why my daughter wore a helmet when she rode her scooter. Have you ever seen the speed at which they can get up to? Have you ever seen how irregular the pavements are here in the UK and the low clearance of the scooters? Have you ever seen a child come off of one of these at full speed? I have and it wasn’t pretty. It’s a no brainer really (no pun intended).
It makes me wonder why more people don’t put helmets on their kids when using scooters. I’m always gobsmacked when we go out at the number of kids I see without helmets because it hugely outnumbers the children with helmets.
If my daughter refuses to put her helmet on its simple, she doesn’t get to go on her bike or scooter, end of discussion. To set a good example I always wear a helmet when cycling as well.
Helmets became compulsory safety equipment for bicyclists and scooter riders in 1990 in Australia and research suggests that helmets can reduce head injuries by up to 90 percent (courtesy of the Better Health Channel).
Do you think we should have a similar law here in the UK? Would this help reduce the amount of money the NHS spends on this type of injury?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.