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.