With thousands of children affected by cycling accidents and injuries each year, before beginning a cycling fitness program with children, careful consideration should be made in safety equipment use, including cycling helmets, as well as road hazard conditions. Teaching children the basic guidelines of safe cycling will ensure the entire family enjoys the experience of the bicycle.
First, and foremost, every child should be taught the importance of a helmet. When riding a bicycle, the helmet should be considered a part of the bicycle equipment. By making this "two-piece" connection early in life, children will grow up to believe the helmet and the bicycle are one unit. Unfortunately, for some children, the thought of wearing a helmet is not considered cool. However, with a decorative helmet, the child has the opportunity to custom design the helmet to define their own personality. By allowing for individualization of the helmet, the child is encouraged to wear the helmet and may, in fact, entice their peers to do the same.
In addition to customizing the design on the exterior of the helmet, the child should be taught how to appropriately wear a helmet when cycling. The helmet should never obstruct the view of the cycler and should sit snug onto the head, just above the eyebrows, and never easily tilt back and forth. Straps must be part of the cycling helmet component and children should be trained in how to appropriately secure the cycling helmet. Parental inspection of the helmet should be done weekly.
In cycling, helmet safety is a defensive approach. As a first line of safety, in an offensive manner, children should be taught to ride with the flow of traffic, use bells and hand turn signals and to remember it is important to be heard when riding a bicycle. When approaching intersections, while cycling, the child should be taught to slow the speed and look in all directions before proceeding. Commonly, cycling accidents occur when cyclers ride in close proximity to parked cars. Drivers will often open doors of parked cars without inspecting the clearance, leaving cyclers in danger of striking the car door. Teach children to ride as far to the left as possible so as to avoid this collision, while remaining out of the line of flowing traffic.
As with all fitness and sports activities, safety is most important. Keeping children safe, in any sport, begins with educating the child in the basic rules and various hazards involved. When participating in a cycling activity with a child, providing a bicycle, helmet, horn and headlight will provide additional measures to ensure the child is seen and heard while cycling. Additionally, teaching the child basic street sense hazards may reduce the risk of danger while cycling through various terrains. For more information regarding bicycle helmets and safety, vist www. bellsports.com.
About the Author: Safe Cycling for ChildrenA Guide to Ensure Safety for Children when Cycling
By Chrissy & Company Published Oct 03, 2006Click to contact me
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Safe Cycling for Children
Trailer cycles and tandems
They allow the child some independence as they will be pedalling with you, but can be used before a child has gained the experience and confidence to cycle on their own bike.
Tandems are great for family cycling, and a standard tandem can be adapted for use by a child by fitting "kiddiebars" to extend the handlebars, a small saddle and adding some "Kiddie cranks" or the simpler "crank adaptors". "Kiddie cranks" are a small set of cranks and pedals which fit onto the tandems rear seat tube and are linked by a chain to a freewheel sprocket at the bottom bracket which allows the child to pedal. "Crank adaptors" simply fit onto existing cranks to shorten the length needed to reach to pedal.
A good bike shop should stock these and be able to help you fit them. You can also buy tandems which are specially sized to fit children. By adding a child trailer to your tandem you will be able to carry all ages for family excursions, or on the school run.
Tag-along bikes are excellent inventions that allow you to combine your own bike with an attachment for your child. Being detachable they are perfect for train travel in the UK where tandems can be difficult for train companies to accommodate.
As with child trailers you will need to be aware that your bike is longer than normal and will manoeuvre differently. Having a flag at the end of the bike will alert others that your cycle is longer than normal. Indeed anything that will increase your visibility is a good thing.
OLYMPIC CYCLIST TEACHES KIDS ABOUT CYCLING AND TEAMWORK
Colorado Cyclist Erin Mirabella Debuts Children's Book About Bike Racing
Boulder, CO, May, 2007 - VeloPress is pleased to announce the publication of Olympic cyclist Erin Mirabella's first children's book, Gracie Goat's Big Bike Race. The book is now available at VeloGear.com and will be available in bookstores throughout North America in June 2007.
Inspired by Mirabella's own Olympic experiences, Gracie Goat's Big Bike Race addresses teamwork and facing one's fears with a creative and lighthearted touch that children ages 5 and up will love. Award-winning artist Lisa Horstman brings the story to life with vivid illustrations of all the adventures and triumphs of Gracie and her friends. The book also features a fitness tip on hydration that kids can put to use in play and sport.
Gracie Goat's Big Bike Race goes beyond the challenges of learning to ride a bike to explain the sport of cycling and the teamwork that a bike race demands. It is the first book in the Barnsville Sports Squad series, which focuses on different Olympic sports and champions good sportsmanship through situations that children can easily understand. Each book in the series will introduce kids to a different sport and tie in a fitness fact promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Author Erin Mirabella represented the United States in cycling at the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympic Games. Illustrator Lisa Horstman has created six picturebooks, four of which she also wrote. She is the 1994 winner of the Dr. Seuss Picturebook Award.
VeloPress is an endurance sports publisher focusing on the sports of cycling and triathlon, with training books that help both serious athletes and beginners build skills and fitness. VeloPress also publishes historical and biographical books that take a closer look at the celebrated athletes and personalities in our sports. VeloPress authors are trusted experts in training, gear, maintenance, nutrition, and the history of our sports. VeloPress is the book publishing division of Inside Communications, Inc., publisher of VeloNews and Inside Triathlon magazines.
Should You Take Your Baby Along?
Summary: Babies must be at least one year old before you try them in a bike trailer or seat. After reading this page you might think twice about waiting at least another year.
We get many inquires from parents with babies aged about 6 weeks to 14 months about when it is safe to put a helmet on the child and take them for a bike ride. The question often reaches us as an inquiry on where to find an extremely small helmet.
Nobody we have met in the injury prevention field recommends taking an infant of less than 12 months in a bicycle child seat, trailer, sidecar or any other carrier. Nobody. And we do not either.New York state law prohibits it.
That statement explains why you will not find a child helmet on the market sized for a tiny tot. You certainly do not want to ride with a bare-headed child, and in some places it is illegal. In fact, several states have laws against taking children under one year of age on a bicycle, even with a helmet.
Parents love their babies and love their bicycles, so it is natural to want to put the two together. That thought occurs to every bicycling parent, generally before the child is born. We see messages on the Internet indicating that some parents do put their children in baby seats of one design or another and take them along on trailers starting as young as five weeks. Others use a baby backpack. At slightly older ages, people use front or rear-mounted child seats. A few (mostly in the UK) use sidecars. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. A disclaimer: our purpose here is to cover the risks, so you know what you are getting into. We are hearing more these days about undiagnosed brain injuries, with symptoms too subtle for doctors to detect, but very real to families. And that comes to mind whenever someone asks us about babies and biking. We worry about your six-week-old entering the first grade six years from now with a small but detectable mental handicap.
That is alarmist; this is an alarmist page.
For an official US Government view, we have excerpts from the Consumer Product Safety Commission's age-related guidelines for ride-on toys.
Bike Trailers are perhaps the safest way to take a very young child along. They are lower to the ground, so when you crash the baby will fall a shorter distance, even when you turn the trailer over. One study reported in a medical journal article indicated after examining data based on very small numbers of crashes that trailers were safer. (You can purchase the article for $9 using the link above if your browser accepts cookies.)
But an alert reader of this page notes:
As a trained researcher, I found your conclusion that the AMA article "Tykes and Bikes" found that trailers are safer than carriers somewhat misleading. Carriers are indeed involved in substantially more accidents, but there was no weight given to the relative popularity of trailers and carriers, hence no conclusion can be made about relative safety (i.e. carriers may be far more popular). Safety also is a matter of severity of injury, and the article found that trailers have a much higher incidence (33% vs. 5%) of severe injuries (i.e. those requiring hospitalization). This is probably because trailer accidents are more likely to involve cars (33% vs. 9%), although it may also be because children in trailers are less likely to be wearing helmets. In any case, the article concluded that the same number of hospitalizations were required regardless of method of transportation. If carriers are used much more than trailers, then one could conclude that carriers actually are safer in terms of major injuries. Of course, as you say the sample size is too small (and biased) to draw any firm conclusions.
We would recommend that you do two things before using a trailer: if you can find one that accommodates your weight and size, ride in a trailer yourself for at least 10 miles. Then ask your pediatrician if the child is ready.
Most parents have no idea how rough a ride it can be in a trailer. How hard can you jiggle your baby's brain without provoking "shaken baby syndrome?" Trailer owners report good experience, but how will you know if your child is suffering harm back there? You expect them to cry, but can a baby whose brain is being bruised or neck is being overstressed communicate that quickly enough? While asleep? We often pass trailers whose occupants are crying. Wet diaper, or shaken brain?
Another reader points out that lowering trailer tire pressure can reduce the small vibrations to the infant. Check the manufacturer's instructions for the lower end of the recommended tire pressure range. You could of course fit lower pressure tires if necessary as long as they are recommended for the trailer's rims and don't affect stability.
Trailer arrangements can be better if you wedge the child's head in on both sides with padding so it cannot bobble around. But seated upright or reclining in a trailer the baby also needs a pillow behind them to provide clearance for their helmet in the back. Without the pillow their chin is forced down toward the chest by the back of the helmet. Even if you use a child carrier that keeps the baby perfectly stable, the child will be subjected to a rougher ride than you probably realize.
Trailers with low-mounted hitches are generally more stable, but unless they are shielded the wheels can snag on obstacles as you pass, and some trailers can turn over with surprising ease if one wheel rides up on something like a curb, or if you just have to take a turn too sharply too fast. We have seen that, and it's really ugly. Any trailer can be turned over by hitting a bump too fast with one wheel--ask the manufacturer--the better ones test that on new designs to make sure they meet the requirements of the ASTM standard described below. You might also want to ask if the trailer is constructed to protect the child in a rollover, which some users report is a common occurrence. Does the trailer have protection for the child's bottom when a rock or obstacle passes between the two wheels? Will you always remember to avoid that and never be distracted enough by traffic or fail to see the obstacle in twilight? Steve Grant asked six trailer users with three different brands how often they had tipped their trailer over. Half had tipped--one with cargo, not kids--half had not.
An interview with one mom revealed that her Chariot Cheetah had tipped over three times. Two were due to turning too sharp, to the right, at very low speed. The rear tire caught the tow bar with sufficient force to tip the trailer. The third tip was due to going over a large rock with one of the trailer wheels. No harm done in any of the events. It is interesting that none of the turnovers was due to cornering too fast.
ASTM has published a trailer standard that will cover some of those points. If you buy a new trailer, be sure it meets the ASTM F-1975-99 bicycle trailer standard and is labeled that way. The standard addresses rollover tendancies with a static test and a dynamic one where one wheel of the trailer is towed over an obstacle. A well-designed trailer and hitch will at least minimize the tendancy to crash from those causes. It may not keep your rear wheel from rubbing on the boom on a tight turn and taking the bicycle down, but at least the trailer will be ok!
A reader who has a stable trailer and strongly disagrees with the above cautions on tipping and rough ride contributed this: "Unknown to riders sitting high above the ground, bike wheels throw up a surprising amount of dirt and grit, even on apparently dry pavement. On gravel, this becomes a veritable shower. Adding moisture makes it even worse. We've been amazed at the amount of crud plastered on the front and even the top of our trailer, despite having full fenders on the towing bicycle. All this debris will fly into the face of an infant in a [forward facing] trailer unless the front covers are in place. Infants may lack the communication skill to report this bombardment, and recognition of the problem may not come before the first eye injury. In addition, breathing swirling street dust cannot be healthy." We would only add dog manure to the list of materials that can be thrown up. Like potholes, you routinely avoid that on a bicycle but may not be able to judge well where the two wheels behind you will roll.
Your mileage will vary. Your trailer's design may be optimal, your riding style careful, the surfaces of the streets or trails may be very smooth, and your child may have been born with a vibration-resistant brain like a woodpecker. Nobody can judge any of that but you. Nobody has measured the risks scientifically, either. At least you now have an idea of the possible pitfalls.
Child CarriersChild carriers are child seats mounted in front or in back of the adult rider. The front mounted ones let you look at the child while riding, and let you fall on the child when you crash. They balance better than the rear-mounted carriers, but many parents find that front-mounted seats also obstruct their riding.
At about the age of one year the neck development of some babies approaches the point where they can tolerate the weight of a helmet while awake. But a baby seated upright in a child carrier seat will go to sleep frequently. When that happens, the parent must stop and wait for the child to finish napping. Most parents don't have that much patience. It is common to see parents still riding, with the child's head lolling around with every bump and wobble of the bike. Ask your pediatrician: that is not healthy for the child! Again, the best advice we can give is take child and helmet to a pediatrician. They often give surprisingly good advice, and can take into account the stage of development your own child has reached.
Parents sometimes have no idea how many jolts and shocks are delivered to the child's body in a normal, slow, careful bike ride. Rear-mounted child carriers are located directly over the rear axle of the bicycle. When you hit a one inch bump, the tire indents a little but essentially the wheel suddenly rises one inch, and the axle rises one inch, and the baby rises one inch. The bicycle saddle you are sitting on, on the other hand, is located well forward of the rear axle, so it rises much less than an inch. (If the abstract principles are not clear, think of a very long bicycle with a ten foot distance between the rear wheel and the saddle as the rear wheel rises one inch. The saddle will rise very little. Or better yet, you can measure the effect using a real bicycle.) In motion that makes the shock to a child carrier much sharper than it is at the saddle. In addition, the saddle you sit on is normally padded and partially suspended on rails that have some spring to them. And the rider normally compensates for bumps automatically without it even registering by placing more weight on the pedals. Babies in child carriers can't do that. They take every jolt and jiggle.
Before you ride with a baby seat, check out this medical journal article. It can prepare you to avoid the most common hazards. It has ten basic rules for using child seats. More than a third of the injuries to children in baby carriers occur when the bicycle falls over while standing still. Typically the bicycle is leaning against something, and the parent has put the child in the carrier, then turns to put on their own helmet, put the groceries in the panniers, unlock the chain, make an adjustment, put on sunglasses or something else normal. One wiggle and your child can be crashing to the pavement. On the road or trail, the same wiggle can send you careening into another rider coming the other way, or something even more solid like a car. With a child carrier your baby's weight is located entirely above the center of gravity of the bicycle, and the rear-mounted ones put the weight far back where it exerts extra destabilizing leverage. In fact the ASTM child carrier standard requires the manufacturer to put a label on the carrier that says it will affect the stability of the bicycle. Be sure your carrier meets that ASTM child carrier standard, since it requires a shield to prevent the child from getting fingers and toes in the spokes of the rear wheel, and requires testing for fatigue resistance of the materials. You may also want to look at this page by Ottawa's Citizens for Safe Cycling. They present seven problems with child carriers and conclude that "child-mounted seat carriers are potentially very hazardous." And finally, this medical journal article has some sobering injury lists.
SidecarsWe don't know much about sidecars, which seem to be a British specialty. They are more often seen here on motorcycles. They have been around on bicycles in the UK for a long time. Some have elaborate protection from the elements. They make your bicycle a tricycle, changing its handling characteristics and affect cornering in strange ways. They require a whole new set of handling skills. Consult a Brit if you are really interested, or check out these responses from two experienced users.
Some More Cautions
The final question is what will happen when you crash. Certainly with your precious cargo you will be as careful as a bicycle rider can possibly be, and that will reduce the risk considerably, won't it? You will ride slowly, be extra alert for cars, be ready to swerve to avoid other riders, watch for bad pavement, compensate for side winds, watch out for overhanging tree limbs, avoid turns on patches of wet leaves, gravel, sand or ice, be careful in wet spots, test your brakes carefully before every ride, inflate your tires before every ride to the correct pressure and inspect them for nicks or sidewall bulges, inspect your bike periodically for cracks in the frame or any component, avoid rocks or other obstacles, watch out for dogs, warn roller bladers before passing them, deal with bees or other stinging insects, and ... did we miss some? Of course we did! There are 5,280 ways to fall in every mile, and if you ride long enough with your baby you will too.
The normal risks of cycling, which are manageable under normal circumstances by normal careful riding and wearing a helmet, are considerably worse with the extra distraction and destabilizing weight of a child and child carrier, or even with a trailer. Nobody offers safety training for users of trailers or child seats, so you just gear up and ride. It is not enough to put a helmet on the child and blithely go riding. Even if the brain survives your crash, it seems unfair to subject a tiny body to that kind of trauma when the child might well have chosen not to ride if they had the intellect to consider the possible consequences. So the answer to the question "at what age is a child ready to be taken cycling" is "at the age when you are ready for the child to crash if that should happen." And at the age when you are ready to explain injuries to the baby's grandparents or your neighbors, who will all think after a crash that you were crazy to take your baby on a bicycle.
If you are a hard core cyclist, nothing in the stuff above will likely deter you. We may be just way too cautious, but that's your judgment to make. We wanted you to know the down side, since you already know the up side to any family activity. We do hope you will wait until your child is at least one year old or robust enough to handle the bumps.
A Bicycle Helmet
What you need to know about Kids Helmets
Does my child really need one?The simple answer is yes. Laws now require helmets in many areas. That is because medical research shows that a bicycle helmet can prevent 85% of cyclists' head injuries. More than 600 bicycle riders are killed in the U.S. every year, almost all in collisions with cars, and 75% of them die of head injuries. Eighty-five percent of them are not wearing helmets. Many thousands more suffer less severe but still debilitating injuries that are far worse than the physical pain of scraped skin or even broken bones. Your child can suffer permanent personality changes and learning disabilities from a brain injury, and both of you will be aware of what they have lost. Common long-term effects include concentration difficulties, aggressiveness, headaches and balance problems. Imagine your anguish if this happens to your child.
What does a bike helmet cost?
Helmets sell in bike shops or by mail order from $20 up, or in discount stores for $10 or even less. A good shop helps with fitting, and fit is important for safety. A discount helmet can be equally protective if you take the time to fit it carefully on your child. Helmets are cheap for their benefit, so don't wait for a sale.
Will I have to buy one every year?
No. Heads grow less than legs and feet. Many child helmets come with two or even three sets of foam fitting pads. You can start with thick pads and use the thinner pads as your child's head grows. The fitting pads do not affect the impact protection of the helmet. That is provided by the firmer crushable polystyrene foam (picnic cooler foam).
Will my child actually use it?
Yes, if other children wear one, their parents use one, the teacher at school has told them how much good helmets do, and the child has picked out the one they really want. No, if the helmet makes your child feel like a geek, nobody else uses one and it does not fit well. Perhaps yes if you have the will to enforce the rule. Most situations fall somewhere in between, and you know your child best. Seventh grade seems to be the most resisting age for helmets, when the feeling of invincibility is strong and the rage for fashion is undeniable. The key motivator of helmet use for kids is fashion, not safety. Try to make use of that.
Does My Toddler Need a Helmet?
A child of any age needs head protection when riding, but a toddler's neck may not support the weight of a helmet. For this and other reasons, nobody in the injury prevention community recommends riding with a child under one year old. If in doubt, take child and helmet to a pediatrician for advice. Child helmets need ventilation in hot weather, since the foam holds heat in. Toddler heads vary in shape, so pay careful attention to fit. The helmet should sit level on the child's head, and fit securely with the strap fastened.
What about standards?
Helmets for sale in the U.S. must meet the US Consumer Product Safety Commission standard and state that on a sticker inside. Outside the US you should be careful to look for a standards sticker that you recognize like the CEN standards in Europe or the AUS standard in Australia. Fit is not tested by any of the standards, so try the helmet on your child's head.
Which one should I buy?
There are many good helmets on the market. Consumer Reports had an article in July, 2002 rating nine kids' helmets, with the Specialized Air Wave Mega as a Best Buy. You can purchase the report on their Web site or read it at your library. But in fact you can choose based on how well a helmet fits your child and the one your child likes. And the price, of course!
How to BuyPick up a helmet with a smooth shell in a bright color. Check for a pinch-proof buckle. Put it on your child, adjust the straps and pads or the inner one-size-fits-all ring, and then make sure it will not come off.
When to Replace a Helmet?
Replace any helmet if your child crashes in it. Impact crushes some of the foam. The helmet is less protective although the damage may not be readily visible. Helmets soften impact, so the child may not even be aware that their head hit until you examine the helmet for damage. Replace the buckle if it cracks or if any piece of it breaks off. Nobody prompts you to replace your child's helmet, so give it some thought.
Bike Helmets for Other Sports?
The ASTM standard for biking and inline skating is identical, so a bike helmet is fine for normal inline skating. There is no standard for tricycle or scooter helmets, but bicycle helmets should work well for them. Aggressive extreme trick skating and skateboard helmets have a different ASTM standard, for multiple hits but lesser impacts. Most bike helmets are not made for that, although a few of them are. Some are certified to Snell's N-94 multi-purpose standard, listed on Snell's Web site at www.smf.org. Skate helmets may not meet bike helmet requirements unless they have a CPSC sticker inside. Helmets for equestrian sports also have a unique design to resist a hoof.
Warning: No Helmets on Playgrounds!In 1999 the first US death involving a bike helmet catching on playground equipment occurred. There have been other near misses. Be sure to teach your children to remove their helmets before using playground equipment or climbing trees!
The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
BHSI is the helmet advocacy program of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. Our volunteers provide helmet information and work on the ASTM national helmet standard committee. In 1983 we published in Bicycling Magazine the first bicycle helmet article including actual lab test results (based on testing done for us by the Snell Foundation). We are funded by small consumer donations of about $11,000 a year. We do not accept funding from manufacturers or anyone involved in helmet sales.
Copyright 2006 by the Bicycle Helmet Safety InstituteA program of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association
Teaching Children How to Bicycle Safely
There is an enormous effort being undertaken to exaggerate the dangers of bicycling on many websites which concentrate on children and safety. These sites offer little or no useful safety instruction but concentrate on fearmongering, making bicycling seem to be the most dangerous thing your child could be doing. False and misleading statistics are just par for the course. Anyone who remembers bicycling as a child should know better. You didn't go out and bash your head in or get run over by a car; you had lots of fun instead. One result of this fearmongering is that children seldom walk or bicycle to school nowadays, which is leading to more deaths in traffic accidents. Today, the greatest risk to children's health is not injury but lack of exercise. Nowadays, it is common for children to be overweight, and some even have high blood pressure and heart disease.
Nonetheless, some children do get killed or seriously injured while bicycling every year, and the cause is usually that they don't understand how to behave on a bicycle when automobiles are around. Most of these injuries and fatalities are easily preventable if the child understands how the traffic laws work. Children do have a higher risk of collision with motor vehicles than adults, and based on the kinds of accidents they have, we can say that they either didn't receive proper safety instruction or that they didn't follow it. Safety information appropriate to the age of the child plus some time and attention can go a long ways towards preventing sudden surprises and perhaps injury or worse.
The traffic laws apply to everything and everyone that travels on the road, shoulder, and sidewalks. These laws are designed to prevent collisions and injury. They work because they allow each person to predict what the other person or vehicle is going to do. For instance, will that pedestrian stop at the curb or will she step out onto the street in front of you? The answer should depend on whether she has the right-of-way or not, and both you and the pedestrian should understand under which conditions you have the right-of-way and under which conditions she possesses it. We actually have two sets of similar traffic laws, one applying to vehicles (which includes motorized vehicles, bicycles, horses with riders, and horses with wagons) and one applying to pedestrians. Pedestrian laws are different from vehicle laws because pedestrians move slowly and can stop and turn without moving forward while a vehicle can't. Two pedestrian rules, in particular, cause a lot of deaths among bike riders when bike riders mistakenly use these rules. The one pedestrian rule says that you should travel on the sidewalk, use the crosswalk at all times, and not walk in the street. However, bike riders traveling on sidewalks, sidepaths, and crosswalks are not visible to motorists, and they are traveling faster than pedestrians and unable to stop as quickly, thus they face a greater degree of risk from turning motorists than if they were traveling in the roadway. The second pedestrian rule says that, if you have to travel in the roadway, to walk facing traffic, so you can step out of the way. However, riding a bicycle in the wrong direction greatly increases the chance of a collision with an automobile. A study of traffic accidents demonstrate that most of the collisions involving bicycles occurred because the bike rider did not follow the traffic laws for vehicles.
There is a theory floating around now that it's impossible to teach children how to ride safely because their forebrains are not sufficiently developed. While it is true that children are prone to let good advice go in one ear and out the other, they are quite capable of understanding subjects much more complex and much less important to them than the traffic code. The forebrain theory does not explain why we see the exact same errors performed by adults who evidently do know how to drive a car safely. Somehow both adults and children tend to feel that whenever they are on bicycles then the traffic laws don't apply to them or that the pedestrian rules apply, but the truth is that it is much more important for a bike rider to obey the vehicle laws as the bike rider is the person most likely to be injured in a crash. The fact that a bicycle is smaller and slower than an automobile makes it all the more important for the operator to observe the law.
Although you would never guess so by visiting one of the many "child safety" websites, the specific advice given to children must vary according to their age and maturity. The youngest children are incapable of remembering advice and simply must be watched at all times. When children get to be kindergarten age, it is possible to teach them to remain on the sidewalk or in the yard with their play vehicles, so they won't get hurt by cars. When they reach the age when they can balance a bicycle, they are usually capable of learning enough instruction to safely ride on a residential street or lightly traveled country road (of course, you should secretly observe the child to make sure your rules are being obeyed). When they reach eleven years of age or so, they want to explore, and they are likely to want to ride their bicycles some distance. Bicycling provides a great opportunity for them to build up their young bodies, but these can be the most dangerous years as well unless they are taught how to behave on a bike. Finally, in their upper teens when old enough to drive a car, they are going to expect to be allowed to travel on busy roads. To do this safely, they will have to know as much about driving a bicycle as they will have to know in order to drive a car. With each age group, it is essential to give safety instructions appropriate for that age.
One mistake that schools and parents often make is to assume that it's not necessary to teach the traffic laws until the child is old enough to drive a car. Unfortunately, some children die in traffic on bicycles before then because they haven't learned the laws, and many children become bad drivers even after they are old enough to drive because they assume they know the law when they don't. In particular, people don't know the laws pertaining to pedestrian and bicycle travel, which they should have learned as children. To give an example of childish understanding carried into adulthood, I have been told on several occasions that a motor vehicle has the right-of-way over a bicycle because it is bigger and/or faster. Nowhere in the traffic code is there any mention of the bigger, faster vehicle having the right-of-way! If this were true, someone driving a car would have to surrender the right-of-way to anyone driving a truck. However, we do have a law -- which some people ignore -- which says that the slower vehicle must keep to the right to allow the faster vehicle to pass, and this law applies both to bicycles and to all other vehicles. But this is not a surrender of the right-of-way; no one has the right to pass unless it can be done safely.
While they are young, children must be taught that motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians follow certain rules called the traffic laws that make each other's behavior predictable. Children must be taught that they can get killed if they run across the street in front of a car (I remember the paddling I got!) or if they fail to stop for a stop sign when riding their bikes. They need to learn that if they obey the traffic laws on their bikes that they will be usually be safe, and they need to know that breaking the traffic laws can get them hurt. In addition, they also have to be warned to watch out for unsafe motorists. When they see or hear someone coming towards them who is speeding or swerving, they should immediately get off of the road.
One method I highly recommend with all ages of children is for you to spend a little time riding a bike with them. This will allow you to see what they are doing and how they are doing it, so you won't sound like a fool when you offer them advice. And at the same time, it will give you an opportunity to demonstrate what you are teaching them. One advantage of showing children how to behave is that it is sometimes easier than explaining, and it is probably more effective as well. Young children, especially, are proud to do the same thing as their daddy or mommy. Finally, riding with them give them an opportunity to demonstrate and to practice any new skills that you have taught them. However, teaching children how to ride obligates you to be on your best behavior, so you don't unintentionally teach them bad tricks!
Nonetheless, an adult can supply a lot of traffic information while driving a car. With a child in the passenger's seat, ask questions about what you are doing, such as asking at a stop sign or red light, "Why did I stop here?" Or, when yielding to another car, ask, "Why did I wait for that other car, and how did the driver know that I was going to wait?"
Another place to supply information is while taking a walk. Ask a young child why all the cars on one side of the street are moving in one direction and why all the cars on the opposite side of the street are moving in the opposite direction. Ask why the cars are stopping at a traffic light and why it is safe to cross the street there.
The way in which children are instructed is as important as what they are taught. Children are very likely to be resentful when they are preached at, patronized, humiliated, or forced to listen, and they are likely to discard good advice given in the wrong manner.
It's important for both you and the child to recognize that your rules will change with the circumstances and as they grow older and to develop guidelines that incorporate this understanding. To give an example, almost everyone acknowledges that it is safest for the youngest children to ride on the sidewalk and for adults to ride in the street. But where do we draw the line? The answer is that we can't. Children differ in their maturity, and streets differ also.
It's also very important that a child have a larger understanding that just "Follow these rules!" Unless the child understands why the rule is important, it is meaningless, and thus the child might get hurt in a situation where the usual rule does not apply or where a greater danger exists. For instance, at most intersections, if there is no traffic light or stop sign, it is safe to proceed because you have the right-of-way. However, we all know that on a few occasions these stop signs are missing, and certainly there is no stop sign at the end of a driveway, so a child must be taught to recognize the need to stop there too (not stopping at the end of the driveway before entering the street is the most common cause of children's getting hit by cars).
Here is what I would teach the children of the different age groups. Keep in mind that these ages are only approximate. These are not complete instructions.
Cycling tips for Children Ages Two to Four
At this age, children cannot be depended upon to follow safety instructions as they lack sufficient experience; you have to watch them at all times. However, children are good listeners and excellent learners during this period of their lives, so it probably makes sense to point out traffic lights and signs and to explain how traffic works.
Cycling tips for Children Ages Five and Six
Children at this age can learn to stay on the sidewalk and to cross streets only when the traffic light is green. I began walking to school on city streets when I was five, and once I learned, I never once crossed a street in the wrong place or against the light. They can also be trusted to play on the sidewalks.
Cycling tips for Children Ages Six to Eleven
Children in this age group are old enough to learn to ride bicycles, and they should be taught to ride on the streets in residential areas. They should also be taught to always ride on the right side of the road, to pay attention to any approaching cars, to stop for traffic signs and lights, and to stop and look whenever entering a street from a minor road or driveway. With this age group, it's probably safest to teach them also to pull to the side of the road and to stop whenever a car is approaching from the rear, unless they are riding with you. It's also wise to warn them that some drivers speed or don't pay attention and that it makes sense to get off of the road whenever they see a reckless motorist. These children should not be allowed to ride their bikes at dusk, in the dark, or in the rain. Tell them, "If you can't get home from a friend's house because it turned dark or rainy, call me, and I will come and get you."
By the way, in obeying the traffic laws while riding their bikes, they will not only be safer from cars, but they will also be less likely to have collisions with each other. I moved to Alabama when I was ten, where I discovered that the other kids did not know the traffic laws. I taught them how to ride safely, and we have very few accidents of any kind as a result.
Cycling tips for Children Ages Eleven to Fifteen
During these years, children change from being kids to being young adults. This is the most dangerous time for children, as they now have the desire to explore on their bicycles and yet are seldom given instruction. At some time during these years, they are going to want to leave their own neighborhoods to ride on roads with more traffic. If you refuse to let them ride out of their neighborhood, they will abandon cycling and lose valuable health benefits. You shouldn't give them too much freedom too quickly, but during these years, you should allow them gradually more discretion. By this time, the children should have a good understanding of the traffic code, and if at all possible, you should ride with them to let them demonstrate the laws to you. If you can't ride with them, see if they can ride with other adults or with a cycling club.
As their traffic sense should be good by now, they should be allowed to remain on the road when traffic is approaching from the rear, but they should be taught to watch for unsafe driving, reckless driving, and inattentive motorists.
If children in this age group are allowed to ride at dusk and after dark (when I was this age, we frequently rode after dark in my quiet neighborhood), their bikes should be equipped with lights front and rear and with reflectors. They should be given special cautions about reckless night drivers as well.
Cycling tips for Children Ages Fifteen and Up
Now, they are old enough to be driving cars, either on their own or with an adult in the car. They are also old enough to expect to be able to ride a bicycle on any roads they consider safe. By this time, they should have both a good understanding of the traffic laws and practical experience in cycling with traffic.
If at this age, they are not allowed to travel on their bicycles as freely as they can in a car, they will give up bicycling. That's what I did; I was tired of being a child. Provided they know the traffic laws and have the proper equipment (including safe and suitable lights for travel after dark), they should be allowed this freedom. Certainly, these years are the hardest on a parent, as we know that their judgment is not as good as that of an adult, and they don't. These are the rebellious years as well, so most safety instruction should have been provided while they were younger. Still, they are old enough now to learn information on their own and to study books on cycling and/or the driver's manual for your state.
Conclusion
I have had the experience of helping my friends (when I was I child), my son, and my nephews to learn to ride safely. My son broke his collar bone in a cycling accident and had one other bad fall, but otherwise everyone got through childhood without injury. Especially, there were no collisions with motor vehicles. It's important for children to exercise and to develop their heart and lungs and bones, and cycling is an excellent exercise to help them do so. So encourage them to bicycle, but also ensure that they know how to ride safely, especially around cars.
About the Author: From Ken Kifer's Bike Pages: http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/traffic/children.htm
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Fitness For Kids - Some Examples Of Basic Kids Fitness Routines
These days, more and more parents are becoming concerned about the fitness of their kids. This is not surprising given the problems of childhood obesity and the increasing weight and lack of fitness that we are seeing in children. Child obesity and diabetes levels are rising dramatically. There is also the issue that many parents feel, which is that schools are paying less attention and devoting less time to physical education than they used to and that children's activity levels are reduced as a result. All of this comes at a time when there is more television and video game distractions than ever that are tearing children away from the more physical activities that they would have once engaged in.
To combat these trends, there are a number of activities and routines that parents can encourage their children to take part in, and can use to increase the activity levels and fitness of their children. The most important thing to remember with kids is that you will want to make the fitness routine fun. Trying to use guilt or shame to get over weight kids to be more active is likely to back fire and bring their confidence levels down even lower. The other point to remember is that the kids need not even realise that they are being encouraged to exercise more and you can simply slip the activities into their lives without them even noticing. One easy way is to get the kids walking more. You may live close enough to their school to walk, or even cycle. This is a very easy way to sneak a little activity into their lives without them even noticing. You can also walk to other places like shops. Another very good idea for younger children is to buy a dog. While this will not be possible for everyone, it is an excellent excuse to have to take a walk every day and it also makes the task a little bit more fun and less mundane. You can also plan fun activities for the weekend like roller blading, swimming, cycling, hill walking or ice skating. These activities are great fun and can be used to basically bribe kids into excercising. It is also a good idea to let the kids bring their friends to these activities as once they are involved in something with their friends, and they get a routine, they are much more likely to encourage each other and keep it up for longer.
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