Stubborn Teenager won't wear helmet!

steve-d

I don't wear a helmet. Tell him if he's willing to risk the consequences then you've done your job in warning/advising him. He's morv than capable of making such a decision.

Self Responsibility is the bigger lesson as opposed to whether to require motorcyclists and bike rider to wear protective clothing, What if the legislature required cyclists to wear a Snell approved full face MC helmet? How many in bike clubs and other "doers of good deeds" would start to advocate for it. I can just hear it now "Its for our own good!" Let me decide.

F 'Em

steve

Sham

get footage of pro cyclists falling off duringa race. this should be most effective if the poor dude in the video is runover by the peloton or really cracks his head open. gruesome. and as his Mommy, you need to take Charge! i'm 17 and always wear my helmet.
maybe "trick" him with a really awesome helmet, that he picks out.
Or take privilages away...I suggest, CDs, stereo, cd player. I know I would always give in when my music is on the line.
if you have any adlt friends at or near or en route to the school, emply them in checking that he wears his helmet.

Hoya1500

Don't worry about making him read that.
Have him take a look at this (Warning - a little gross):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ok/DSC00008.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ok/DSC00052.jpg

Thats what happened to me when i fell off my bike! No helmet! I had three staples put in the top of my head and spent the night in a the ER. The hospital bill ran close to $1100 (thank goodness for insurance because CT Scans are expensive!). Needless to say, i've learned a very important lesson.

__________________
-Jeff

"Hoya Blue through and through"

Trek 1500
Peugeot Fixed Gear Conversion
Specialized E5 Limited (Frameset) ToBeBuilt

headlemk

Thanks, this just might do the trick.

TooSore

Why don't you sneak up behind him and deliver a swinging overhead blow to the back of his head with a good heavy duty cycle lock?

"There - I told you that a helmet is a good idea" can be your shouted advice as you are loaded into the white van and taken away.

Good luck.

headlemk

fatboy61

Drag him down to the local hospital/hospice/centre for brain-damaged gumbies. I agree, helmets are not a particularly "cool" look, but neither is drool coming out of the corner of your mouth, being spoon-fed egg custard for the rest of your life or having someone wipe your bum for you for the next 50 years.
I could show him my old Bell with 2" crack where my left temple is, courtesy of a double somersault and twist at speed, in heavy traffic, but I'm not really in the neighbourhood.
Also bear in mind that bicycle safety does not begin and end with strapping a foam pudding-basin onto your head.

fatboy61

..... oh yeah, and that photo of Fabio Casatelli in the 95 tour with his brains leaking all down the tarmac... show him that.

riptide

Make sure the life insurance is paid up and that you are the beneficiary, and
let him know that.

riptide

Tell him the Life Insurance is paid up, that you are the beneficiary.

Peka

Ask him to take part in an experiment (don't explain the experiment in advance):


1) With his back facing you, punch him in the head (how hard you punch is up to you)
2) Repeat, this time with a helmet on (his head)

Ask him which one hurt more.

Now ask him to take part in another experiment (this time, explain the experiment before you start):

1) Get him to ride into the front of a car. Make sure his head hits the windscreen
2) Repeat, this time with a helmet on (his head)

Ask him which one hurt more, if he makes it to step 2.

Now, he will be able to make an informed decision

riptide

Tell him the life insurance is paid up and you are the beneficiary.

Fatherzen

I don't know if you can get your kid to read this or pay attention to it, but I have been riding a bicycle to work for several years now here in Norfolk, VA. I always wear a helmet. I am currently on my third. The reason that I am on my third helmet is that if I am in an accident where my head strikes the ground I buy a new helmet because the helmet from the accident is not fully reliable after striking the ground hard.

A few years ago I was hit by a car. I was riding across the Naval Base on my way home from work with a trailer full of groceries, and a young young lady made a left turn out of the oncoming traffic lane and hit me broadside. I was Knocked to the ground and my head struck the ground pretty hard. I was not baddly hurt and there was only a couple hundred dollars damage to my bike and gear. I bought a new helmet to replace the one that protected me even though I couldn't see any damage.

In November of 2005 I was in annother accident. I was riding in to work in the morning, heading towards the Naval Base. I was on a road that passes under an Interstate Highway, approaching where an offramp merges with the road, when the accident occurred.

I do not know what happened, because I have no memories of the accident or the first month I spent in hospitals. I am told that I wasn't having much fun, but I have no memories because of the damage to my brain.

I had a cut in the back of my head from where a part of the damaged helmet was pressed up against my head hard enough to bruise/cut my head. I also had one or two "orbital" fractures. That is the part of the skull around the eye. There was some rather severe damage to my brain from the impact and I was taken to a local hospital to have treatment and to be placed on a respirator. The respirator was because I had seven broken ribs and a punctured lung.

As I said, I don't know what caused the accident. The local police didn't really put a lot of effort into investigating the accident because the police car responded to the wrong location, couldn't find the accident, and decided that since the accident location was near an Interstate offramp, that must mean that it was on the Interstate, and so it belonged to the State Police. One person at the accident site told the ambulance personnel that I was going 25 miles per hour and hit a curb. I don't think that is right, but I will never know because the police did not investigate.

I am currently on "Limitted Duty" and am hoping to get the Doctor's to return me to full duty by July. The one thing that I know is that if I had not been wearing a helmet, I would not ever be returning to full duty, and would in all probability be dead.

I do not know if my story will get your child to start wearing a helmet, but I do know that my wife and children saw my condition and I know that my children are not going to ever ride without one.

Ike90

I don't want to start a debate on the point, but in truth, the hard evidence supporting the effectiveness of bicycle helmets is sketchy at best. For the record, I always wear mine, but I never did when I was a kid. Heck, there was no such thing when I was a kid.

Personally, I don't think either trying to "force" the kid to wear a helmet, or frighten him into it will be effective.

The easiest way to get the kid to wear a helmet is to buy him a "cool" helmet that he'll want to wear.

For a 14 year old, I suggest a skate helmet. As long as its CPSC certified, it's fine for use while riding.

Get him something like this, that fits his taste/color preferences. and I'll bet he wears it more often than not.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg...rts_1882_153401