Should my daughter wear a helmet when roller blading?

[Panter]

Genuine question as to what you would do.

My daughter is Nine and is getting quite good on her skates, indoors anyway.

I don't want her venturing onto tarmac without a helmet and I can see it causing rows with my Wife.

Seems to me that as she's learning, she will fall a lot but on the other hand, countless millions of other kids fall constantly without a helmet with no ill effects.

Am I worrying about nothing? what would you do?

 

[alecstilleyedye]

don't know about a helmet, but i'd advise she wears wrist protectors. my daughter has just had the cast off her arm after breaking it just above the wrist whilst roller blading…

 

[marzjennings]

Genuine question as to what you would do.

My daughter is Nine and is getting quite good on her skates, indoors anyway.

I don't want her venturing onto tarmac without a helmet and I can see it causing rows with my Wife.

Seems to me that as she's learning, she will fall a lot but on the other hand, countless millions of other kids fall constantly without a helmet with no ill effects.

Am I worrying about nothing? what would you do?

I'm sort of 50/50 on a helmet for blading, but 100% on recommending getting some wrist guards.

 

[Noodley]

Genuine question as to what you would do.

Am I worrying about nothing? what would you do?

Get her to wear a helmet. And pads/protectors.

 

[Chuffy]

don't know about a helmet, but i'd advise she wears wrist protectors. my daughter has just had the cast off her arm after breaking it just above the wrist whilst roller blading…

Wrist protectors for sure, but I wouldn't bother with the helmet unless she decides to. Would you make her wear one if she was running?

 

[on the road]

Why don't you make her wear a helmet when she's walking?

 

[Noodley]

Listen she's 9, she learned to walk and run in a protective environment so she should be afforded protection to learn a new skill with as little pain as possible.

Get off your ****ing high horses!

 

[MacB]

Only you can make that call but I do think it's often made due to concern about what others will think, especially if something does happen.

I have 3 sons and none of them have worn protective gear unless a requirement for an activity. I have had quite a few trips to A&E, particularly with the middle boy. Strangely only one of these injuries involved an activity which some wear protective gear for, in that instance protective gear would have made no difference to the injury. On a personal level I have split my head open 5 times in my life, all as a child. All 5 times it happened during an activity that, even now, no-one would wear protective gear for.

It does make me wonder if there is any correlation between activity and your natural instincts to protect certain parts of your body.

 

[Chuffy]

Listen she's 9, she learned to walk and run in a protective environment so she should be afforded protection to learn a new skill with as little pain as possible.

Get off your ****ing high horses!

<looks up at Noodley, somewhere in the clouds>
Can you see your house from up there Noodles?

 

[Noodley]

<looks up at Noodley, somewhere in the clouds>
Can you see your house from up there Noodles?

Looks down at the brown stuff on my shoes.......yes.

Seriously 'we' adults can make choices re helmets, but we adults also have a responsibility to children to let them adventure safely. My children have worn helmets for cycling, skating, and horse riding when learning (horses is a 'must' I think) as I feel I have a responsibility to teach them the dangers without them getting injured too much....but my elder daughter has told me if she had been hurt when she fell that she would have given up. And she was speaking about cycling as she said it was 'not normal yet*" for her.

*yet being the main thing IMO

 

[Mr Pig]

The way kids fall when running is completely different to the way the fall when wheels fly out from under them, and inherently less likely. It's the going backwards that gets them, elbows and the back of the head bouncing off the concrete.

The kid across the road took a large chunk of skin off his face on our drive thanks to a skate board. I've not seen any of them hurt themselves running.

 

[BearPear]

I think that the impact points for a tumble from skates (in-line or roller blades) are the wrists & knees, possibly elbows. It is a reflex to put your hands out which can break wrists, and other tumbles usually get your "sticky-out" bits, ie elbows & knees.

I have bladed with both my kids and didn't feel that a helmet was a necessary accessory. But, as the others have said, it is your decision to make - she's your child, not ours!

 

[PaulB]

No.

 

[GrasB]

Yes, get her a helmet & also appropriate pads/supports.

When she gets older let her make her own decisions on what she does or doesn't want to wear but right now she probably can't understand the risks so you make the decisions. If you're deciding what safety gear for your self you know how you act & can there for make a good risk assessment. For someone else you don't actually know what they're thinking so always assume they're clumsy, unobservant & act stupidly even if the she isn't like this.

 

[Panter]

Thanks all

I'm pretty much leaning towards the pressure suit and full face helmet end of the spectrum, hence my request for a more balanced view

No, she doesn't have to wear a helmet when walking or running. She's pretty much picked up the basics of those two actvities over the last 8 Years. Coupled with the fact that the bottom of her trainers is coated with grippy rubber, and not low friction wheels, I feel the risk is somewhat lower

Ok, helmet and pads it is then
Good call on the wrist protectors, she has some somewhere so I'll dig them out.