Biking and Your Child's Safety

Staying Safe on Their Bikes

By Julia Rosien

Carol Breau remembers the day Richie died -- the day her own son said goodbye to his best friend. Richie rode his bike like any other kid his age. "He fell backwards off the bike and hit his head on the pavement, causing severe brain damage," she says. Richie was 12 years old when he died, more than 20 years ago. "We didn't take bike safety as seriously as we do today," says Breau.

Proper Bike Gear
"Although most children now have helmets, few have the correct size or wear them properly," says David Chiles of Cyclepath in Ontario, Canada. "If you crash on a bike, everything can be repaired except a brain injury. The most important thing is [to protect] the brain."

Chiles suggests that you buy a helmet a bit loose and build it up with the pads provided. Helmets come in a small variety of sizes that can be customized to the shape and size of the head. If the helmet is not worn properly, it will not be effective. Once it has been sized properly, the helmet should balance like an egg on the head with room for two fingers between the brow and the front of the helmet. It should be level, not tipped forward or backward and the straps snug when in a standing position. When the child leans his head back (as in a riding position) the tilt of the head will relax the straps.

Constable Carol Mckay in Ontario, Canada warns that if your child's helmet meets with a fixed object then it should be replaced. If it is dropped down a flight of stairs or thrown on concrete, hairline fractures could develop, causing it to be ineffective in an accident.