Help Getting Daughter to wear Helmet

[nic840]

I had the same problem with my now 2.5 year old. When she was around your daughter's age we went to the local LBS and let her pick out her own helmet. It made a difference because it was her own and not a handme down from her sister. She felt some pride and ownership in it...

All the other suggestions are on point. There is no option to not wearing it...wear it or stay home. You and your son head out on a ride while she stays with Dad or a neighbor. It will make a point. Its amazing how fast they will come around as long as you are consistant.

I am sure you have tried the snacks, books, etc....
You might try making a list of things she has to find on a ride... bird, red car, leaf, Truck, Flag, garbage can, etc.... I used to make lists and draw the pictures next to the word so she knew what she was looking for. Works for scavenger hunts too. Hope it all works out! She will be riding two wheels in no time!
My youngest (2.5) just got on the 12in. w/ training wheels...no stopping her now! Have fun!

[lattelover]

WOW! I was shocked when I saw so many responses, thanks for the ones with suggestions...

Ayway, I agree, for themost part, with many suggestions. nic840 - I LOVE the idea of the scavenger hunt! (when she's a little older). Our family bike outings are about being together and having fun, not torturing our kids. She'll wear it when she's ready, and until then it's trial and error. We don't ride without them though. A helmet saved my hubbys life TWICE. I like the idea of many short trips, like across the street to the ice cream shop!

We've decorated the heck out of it with Dora stickers, and my son and I spent the good part of three days this week wearing and "playing" dress up with our helmets in the house. She even brought hers over to me the other day and wanted me to put it on her! I even got it buckled!!! Then she wanted it off. Fine by me, baby steps...

We're going riding this weekend with another family who has a young girl in a burley, so I'm hoping when she sees her with her helmet on, she'll get the idea. It could be that this one just isn't comfortable on her, so I'm going to the bike shop and looking around for a different style/fit. In the end, it's just a matter of getting used to it. That and picking the right time of day to go for a ride!

Thanks again for the feedback... I'll let you know how our Sunday ride goes. We got a new(er) Burley, so I'm hoping she's more comfortable in it. That could go a loooong way!

Cyndie

[lovelylibrarian]

I hope your daughter adjusts to the helmet soon, latte. I wish my parents had started me biking so young.

Sorry to have highjacked your thread earlier. I did get some great feedback too though.

Keep us posted.

[lattelover]

Thanks lovely, no problem. I hope you get him to come around soon. The first time my hubby was hit by a car was when he was 12 out biking with his dad! The guy didn't even stop. Can you imagine?! The second time was right after we were married, and a van turned left in front of him. There's nothing you can do to prevent other people from making a really bad decision. My hubby went thru the side window, thankfully had the sense to turn slightly and take the impact with his shoulder rather than his head. But you should have seen his helmet! He went on to get his PhD, so I'm guessing the helmet did the trick. Of course, he still can't remember his parent's birthdays...but I'll just chalk that one up to being a GUY.

I personally love the idea of the bike store employee cracking him over the head... Good luck!

[lattelover]

Well, things did NOT go as well as I would have liked today... sigh...

We drove out to Vernonia, where there is a great bike path that goes for 10 or so miles. We met another family, and all the kids were excited to go. Lauren started in with the screaming the minute the helmet went on. I tried everything... "look honey, all the kids and mommies and daddies have helmets on if they want to ride their bikes..." I had her favorite snack, books, etc. Nothing made her happy while that helmet was on her head. Every once in a while I could get her distracted, but that would last for 30 seconds and she was right back to screaming. I finally turned around and headed back to the car (she could have cared less), but she fell asleep before we got back, so I just rode around the lake until the rest of the crew made it back.

Looks like we need to do some really short rides to the ice cream shop across the street before attempting another big family ride...

I'm also going to get her a new helmet. Hopefully one that fits a little better than brother's hand-me-down. Dora stickers didn't even make it tolerable for her.

It's so frustrating! It's hard enough finding time to exercise when you have little ones in the house. Then when you figure out a great way to do it all together, but something like this stands in the way... sigh.

Oh well... she'll come around. Until then, I guess we are just going to have to take turns riding with kid #1.

Thanks again for all the ideas. I will definately file them away for later use...

Cyndie

[Grog]

I'm also going to get her a new helmet. Hopefully one that fits a little better than brother's hand-me-down. Dora stickers didn't even make it tolerable for her.

Can you get her to choose it for herself (among a few that you'd pre-select for her)?

[janeho]

Sorry it didn't go well for you yesterday - we had a similar situation with our son when he was in the trailer. The things that worked for us were - he picked his own helmet, we refused to move if he took it off and we kept the rides short and to child friendly destinations. Now he's 5 and his sister 7 they are the ones who are the "helmet police" checking everyone has one on before we set off.
We didn't really bother with helmets particularly on short quiet road rides until we had the kids when we felt that if we wanted them to wear a helmet we had to set an example. It is fortunate for me that we did - a few years ago I was only cycling the kids to their pre school a mile or so away. I had the trailer on the back and hit a patch of black ice. I came off and my head hit the road very hard. My helmet cracked badly, but my head was perfectly fine. Thankfully the trailer stayed upright and the kids were OK.

[nic840]

She will come around...as you know it just takes time!
I also wanted to let you know that my older daughter didn't like the burley because it bowed her back a little and made it uncomfortable for her. I ended up putting a little moshi (one with the little bippy filling) in the small of her back and it made all the difference.

Oh and when looking at helmets look for ones with a flat back. Fits better in the trailer and doesn't push their head forward.
My little one has a Trek helmet that fits great in the trailer. Pretty soon you will be pulling the trail-a-bike with the trailer hooked to it! I get stares all the time! I added two flags, on the the trail bike and one on the trailer so everyone sees me!
Good luck and let us know the progress! -Nic

[Zen]

Pretty soon you will be pulling the trail-a-bike with the trailer hooked to it! I get stares all the time! I added two flags, on the the trail bike and one on the trailer so everyone sees me!

Reminds me of the Geico commercial with the Pips
Take the train to Happy Town!

[mamaof5]

If you can stand just wearing yours around the house all day long maybe she will get curious and want to wear hers too. ?

[mimitabby]

oh wow, I just had a great idea!!

this does not involve bikes.
you have other kids, right?
get their favorite snack, gum drops, cashews, whatever.
and play a game.
Whoever puts on a baseball cap gets a treat.
kids all put caps on, get treats.
whoever puts a scarf on.. gets a treat
kids all put scarves on, get treats.
Whoever puts on a bike helmet, even for a second,
gets a treat!

then focus on having her wear it for more than a second.
if i can train my cat to open and close doors, you can do the same with your kid!
good luck!

[lattelover]

These are all fantastic. ;-) Thanks for taking the time to think through my problem with me. She likes wearing her helmet in the house...my son and I have spend MANY hours parading ours around for her. ;-) (ah, the things we do) I think the comment about her just not being comfortable in the burley is right on target. I need to work on getting something in there to keep her sitting up straighter. She seems hunched forward. And then the helmet pushes her head forward, although the one we have now does have a flat back.

Until then, we will do many quick trips across the street to the ice cream shop.

My hubby and son went out this weekend together, and she was SUPER pissed that she didn't get to go... One of these days, she'll figure it out...

Thanks again!
Cyndie

[ehirsch83]

Just wanted to drop a note and say thanks! I am not a parent but I do work in a local LBS and every few days I get parents in shopping for helmets for their little kids. Usually, the youngins don't want the helmet anywhere near there head. After reading this thread I know had been able to give the parents some ideas on how to make it easier to get the children to wear their helmets. Thank you for all the great ideas and tips!

[malkin]

I like mimi's game!
You could extend it by issuing treats in short intervals, like every 5 or 10seconds, or just take a little bit longer every time you present the treat.
Be sure to up the ante for some of the easy things to wear--or else the propaganda factor might just be too blatant.

You could also have the kids put weird stuff on their heads too--like a bucket or a pillow or a pot, just to see how funny they can be and how different the world sounds.

I also want to encourage you to let her try new helmets at the store. Maybe the old one just hurts or is the wrong shape or something.