Good morning and welcome to September 12, here in the baby blog. It’s a balmy 68 degrees this morning with the relative humidity stuck somewhere around the icky and the sticky. Today I want to talk about toddler bikes and bike safety. Many parents assume that they don’t have to worry about bike safety until their little one grows up enough to graduate to a two wheeler, but bike safety begins as soon as your child starts mastering a trike or a bike outside.
Our daughter was between 2 and 3 when she received her first tricycle. She rode it around in the house, but our driveway was all gravel so there was very little outdoor time spent on it unless I took her to the park. My nephew was just at 2 when he got his tricycle and he did have plenty of concrete around and sidewalks near where he was living so he could ride outside all the time.
Helmets Protect Their Head at Any Age
When your toddler is riding a tricycle they can still fall off, no matter how stable the three wheels make the bike. Just from a practical standpoint, they can still run off curbs, ride into grass, which is unstable versus the concrete or simply lose balance, control or both and fall. Just because your toddler is riding in your driveway or along the sidewalk or in the park doesn’t mean they are safe to ride without a helmet.
You can buy helmets that are specifically designed to protect the user’s head when they are riding a bike. They offer sturdy protection to the crown, the forehead and the back of the head and the brim sticks out far enough to help reduce impact to the face.
You can buy helmets that are designed to grow with your child, offering a lot of padding to begin with and that you remove in stages as their head grows. Not only are you protecting your toddler from accidents, but you are also teaching them great habits for wearing a helmet as they get older and make the transition from three wheels to two.
Check out the helmets at your local bike store and look for one that has met the American National Standards Institute or the Snell Memorial Foundation safety standards in order to make sure that the helmet you are purchasing for your toddler is specifically designed for bike riding and meets the safety standards set forth for bike riding.
Does your toddler ride a trike?
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