Helmet Safety Tips for Kids: They’re Not Just for Biking

School is back in session, and as children return to their daily schedules in the classroom, when they return home the main thing on their mind is play time. Whether it’s biking, skateboarding, or rollerblading, we love it when our kids want to be outside, away from screens, and active.

While homework can wait until after dinner, your child’s safety can’t. Helmet safety is essential for children participating in a variety of outdoor activities, and if you care about their protection, you’ll want to follow these helmet safety tips.

Without proper helmet safety, your child is at risk for injury

Children love to play, and while biking, skateboarding, and rollerblading, are all fun ways for kids to be active, the potential for injury is impossible to ignore. Bandages, gauze, and wraps will help treat scrapes, cuts, brush burns, and sprains, but statistics show that one fall from their bike without a helmet could cause your child to suffer a serious head injury that requires immediate emergency medical assistance. In 2010, there were approximately 515,000 bicycle-related injuries that required emergency department care, yet only 48% of children ages 5 to 14 wear helmets while bike riding. The risk for injury is apparent, and it only increases when your child doesn’t take the proper helmet safety precautions. Keep your child safe from injury and make sure they wear a helmet.

Tips for buying a helmet for your child

When shopping for your child’s helmet, keep these helmet buying tips in mind:

• Brightly colored helmets make your child more visible to cars
• All bike helmets are required to meet standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Check for a CPSC sticker on the inside of your child’s helmet. Make sure the helmet you buy contains this sticker to ensure its made to high safety standards. 
• Buy a helmet that fits your child properly. You don’t want your child’s helmet to fall off while riding, but you also don’t want it to fit so tightly that it causes them discomfort. Buy a helmet that has adjustable straps for a more comfortable fit. Any bicycle store will be able to assist you in finding a helmet that fits your child perfectly.

Helmet safety rules and regulations

Surprisingly, there are currently only 21 states and the District of Columbia that require young riders by law to wear helmets. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has all the information you need to understand the helmet safety laws for your state. Even if your state doesn’t have rules and regulations set in place, a helmet provides significant protection against injury for your child.

You can treat your child’s scraped knee with the proper first aid supplies, but an injury to the head is often much more serious. When your child wears a helmet, they reduce their risk for concussion and other serious head injuries.