Labor Day marks a very special time of the year for our household for several reasons. For most, it’s the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of a more normal routine with the kids. You throw in the addition of football and the hope of some cooler weather and things really start to take shape. For us personally, it also is the beginning of ‘Birthday Week’ for both the kids and it marks the first time I can take a breather from what is commonly known as busy season at work so as you can see, this rather mundane holiday has been quite the demarcation point in our lives for quite some time now.
As a family day, we decided to dust off the old bikes, load up and head to our favorite biking area – the Burns Park Soccer complex and the adjoining trails that accompany it. We went with another friend of ours and her son who happens to be of the same age as Matthew so we would have a nice little pack of people to ride with. When we got there and started to unload, there was mention of bicycle helmets for the kids. Sonya had packed two for our kids, but the other boy did not have one. At this point I began to think to myself “When exactly did bicycle helmets become the norm?” I probably rode for 13 years growing up without one, along with every other kid that I ever knew who had a bike, and we all never missed them a bit. Are they an important advancement in safety or just another example of how we go overboard and take things to extremes in this day and age? Well, there is much to say on both regards.
Yes, there is no logical reason not to wear one. They protect your brain – enough said. During our trek, we saw countless people wearing them and they certainly aren’t doing it to make any type of fashion statement. I am certain that there are many people out there that are singing the praises of their bicycle helmets stemming from a crash they had that could have been much worse if not for their little odd shaped hard hat. It is clearly a must have for any serious biker.
But what about the non serious biker? Of course, they could get hurt too. In fact, these folks have a higher chance of crashing then the experience rider simply based on their experience level. But let’s examine this a little bit more. The speed biker who cruises at speeds of 20 miles per hour or more need them without question. Even the smallest of rocks could send them flying with no notice. But surely there is a speed level and terrain type that would render this safety precaution unnecessary, isn’t there? If not, we would throw a helmet on our kid’s domes every time they go out for a walk. “Gotta go to the supermarket? Don’t forget your helmet.” For instance, a 5 year old on flat ground is biking at the break neck speed of about 8 or 9 MPH which is about the same as a crisp run for an adult. Yes, a spill in these circumstances would cause a nice little boo boo, but would it be enough to crack a skull? There are probably some extreme rare cases of serious injury, but the odds of getting up and dusting yourself off is quite high. Of course, if you add in hills, then the discussion changes dramatically, because it doesn’t take much of an incline to get some decent speed up, but on the flat ground, you generally don’t have much to worry about. I can’t even remember all the times in my youth that I laid that baby down. I only went over the handlebars once though….obviously I didn’t try that trick again.
Please don’t interpret this as an argument not to wear these things. I doubt anybody will ever regret strapping a helmet on their pride and joys. They are safer with them than without them, plain and simple. But at the same time, there are risks in this world around every single turn and if you try to prevent each and every one of them, they will eventually consume you and run your life. Everybody has to make their own parenting choices with regard to many, many things, but I have decided to not engulf my kids in bubble wrap and let them experience a few hard knocks of their own. Young or old, it is still the best way to learn – screw up and adjust. Hopefully the ‘screw up’ in question doesn’t land you in the emergency room.
