How to Properly Fit a Bike Helmet for a Child
No matter what age it is your child starts riding his or her bike, they’ll need a properly fitted helmet to make their experiences safer and more fun. Some cities in certain states and entire states have already enacted laws that make it mandatory for kids to wear bicycle helmets. Examples include: Homewood, Alabama; Anchorage, Alaska; Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Farmington Hills, Michigan; Billings, Montana; New Jersy, New York, Akron, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Salem, Virginia; Seattle, Washington; West Virginia, and Port Washington, Wisconsin.
To find out if your area has a mandatory helmet law for kids, visit the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute’s site at http://www.helmets.org/mandator.htm.
A quality, proper-fitting bike helmet will help protect your kid’s head in case he or she falls or has an accident. Not only that, but helmets are also available in bright, neon colors. These neon colors can help motorists spot your child, especially if he or she rides their bicycle on a street.
A helmet that doesn’t fit right, or is not made a certain way won’t protect your child from injuries. Therefore, you’ll need to know how to choose the right size and design for your kid’s personal safety needs.
Be sure that you take your child with you when you properly fit a helmet for him or her. Let them choose the design of the helmet, but you must determine the proper size and fit. (If they like the way their new bike helmet looks, they’ll be more apt to wear it like they’re supposed to.)
Look for children’s bike helmets that have been approved for use by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). (Look for a “CPSC” sticker on the back of the helmet.) This endorsement means that these head protectors are the safest you can find for your child. It means the helmets were actually tested by the CPSC and they meets its high standards.
Now that you have an idea of what type of bike helmet you’re looking for, choose a few of your favorites. Have your son or daughter stand up straight facing you. Then, place the first helmet on their head. Make sure it’s straight. The bike helmet should be snug, but not tight. The protector should be level and cover the forehead of your kid. And, the straps on the sides of the helmet should cover the ears. If the helmet passes the test so far, and seems to properly fit, then tell your child to secure the straps underneath their chin. Don’t do this step for them! The chin straps should be fairly easy to hook together. If not, then look for another type of helmet.
Otherwise, once the chin straps have been fastened, check to make sure they aren’t too tight or too loose. They should feel comfortable. If the bike helmet is a proper fit for your son or daughter, you shouldn’t be able to lift the bike helmet up off their head.
Since they are manufactured in several sizes, before you find the proper fit, your child will probably have to try on several different bike helmets.
After it passes the “Lift Test”, tell your kid to shake his or her head back and forth. The helmet should remain in place.
And finally, you might need to adjust the pads inside the bike helmet to help it feel more comfortable on your kid’s head.
