Moms, there are so many great reasons to encourage your whole family to ride their bike this summer: it’s fun, great exercise and good for the environment. Safe Kids offers these tips to insure your family stays as safe as possible while bike riding.
Wear a Helmet. It is the single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes.
Find the Right Helmet Fit. Make sure your child has the right size helmet and wears it every time when riding, skating or scooting. Your children’s helmet should meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s standards. Make sure the helmet fits and your child knows how to put it on correctly. A helmet should sit on top of the head in a level position, and should not rock forward, backward or side to side. The helmet straps must always be buckled, but not too tightly.
[Pro tip: When it’s time to purchase a new helmet, let your children pick out their own; they’ll be more likely to wear them for every ride.]
Keep an Eye Out. Actively supervise children or ride with your children until you’re comfortable that they are ready to ride on their own.
Model and Teach Good Behavior. Kids learn from watching you, so it’s extra important for parents to model proper behavior. Wear a helmet, even if you didn’t when you were a kid. Teach your child to stay alert watching for cars and trucks and to make eye contact with drivers. You should also teach the appropriate hand signals and how to follow traffic signals (ie stopping at all stop signs and stoplights).
For more information regarding bike safety or other child-safety related questions contact Catawba Valley Medical Center Child Health & Safety Specialist and Safe Kids Catawba County Coordinator, Kayla Hefner, at 828.485.2300 (x6204) or kshefner@catawbavalleymc.org.
