Parents who ride bikes often want to pass this skill on to their toddlers. The earlier they can teach their kids to learn, the better. But teaching kids how to ride a bike isn’t always smooth sailing, especially when it comes to teaching them about safety.
Toddlers refusing to wear helmets is the first of the many hurdles of teaching your kid how to ride. It’s also one of the most important things they have to learn before they start, but how will you and your kid move forward to the fun stuff if safety is not taught? The answer lies in learning the inner workings of your toddler’s mind and how to navigate them, so you don’t have to force them to wear a toddler helmet. They will happily do so.
Why Your Toddler Doesn’t Want to Wear A Helmet
You just bought your little one the best toddler bike you can afford. He saw it, and he was excited. You think this will be a lot of fun for your kid, but you also think that safety should remain a top priority. So you whip out the toddler boy bike helmet from amazon and have your child try it on.
Alas, he doesn’t like it.
Now, you’re stuck there with a bike that you don’t want your kid to ride, not unless he learns how to wear his kid boy bike helmet. But before you get your toddler to wear a helmet, you must know the underlying reasons why. Here are two main reasons kids stay a mile away from their helmets.
- It’s making them uncomfortable.
The helmet may be causing a lot of discomfort for your kid. It’s understandable, considering they’ve never used one. For them, wearing a helmet is like putting on extra weight or having some strange contraption that squeezes on top of their heads. The natural reaction is to remove it as soon as it’s worn.
As a parent, you can check if the kid’s bike helmet is too heavy and too tight around your kid’s head. Try to make adjustments from the chin strap and see how they respond. If they still don’t feel like wearing one, be patient and set it aside for the meantime. Don’t force your kid.
- They don’t understand why it should be used.
Toddlers are too young to understand safety standards. On top of that, they are also at the stage of their life where they’re exploring things. They use their intuitions as tools to learn and experience the world around them. If you can’t reason with your kid, it’s best to try a different approach so your child can learn how to wear a bicycle helmet despite not fully understanding why it should be worn.
Why Your Toddler Must Wear A Bike Helmet
As the bike and the baby toddler bike helmet remain idle for a while, you grow a bit impatient. You want to skip the head protection and go cycling with your kid with their balance bike. You tell yourself bike riding will be relatively safe because it’s only going to be in front of your house anyway.
As tempting as this is for you as a parent, don’t do it. Here are a few things that will remind you why you must stay firm when it comes to your toddler wearing a bike helmet.
- It keeps their head safe.
Accidents and falls can happen anytime, and when it does, one of the most commonly injured parts of the body is the head. Your kid’s risk for head injury or a concussion increases while they go for a bike ride with or without your supervision. The effects of injuries on the head can lead to brain, body, and behavioral function impairments. These things can be prevented by wearing a helmet.
- It’s the law.
Wearing a helmet is so important that countries, including the U.S., have bike safety laws in place that mandate bike riders to wear helmets. That includes kids! So if you’re going out for a spin with your little buddy without a helmet, you will be fined a couple of dollars for breaking the law.
- It’s part of the training.
Training them to wear a helmet is a way of adjusting their behavior when it comes to safety. Before you let your kid hop on a bike with training wheels, make sure they’ve already developed the habit of wearing a helmet. They may not understand the training now, but they’ll thank you for keeping them safe while riding a bike when they grow up.
How to Train Your Toddler to Wear A Helmet
Now that you want to train your kid to keep their head safe, how do you do it? We’ve got a few suggestions on how you can slowly ease your toddler into wearing that helmet soon.
- Set an example.
One of the methods some parents found that works for their kid is by wearing one themselves. This should be easy if you’re already a bike enthusiast. Have your kid watch you as you park your bike in the garage. Leave the helmet in your head as you approach your kid and play with him for a while. You can even go as far as wearing your helmet indoors and having your partner wear one, too.
The idea behind this method is to expose your kid to seeing you wearing a helmet. An exposure that’s enough to pique his curiosity and effectively set a helmet-wearing example.
- Leave the helmet around the house.
Once curiosity is piqued, it would be time to let your kid explore it. Leave his helmet around the house, preferably somewhere he can reach it. Now, just be patient. If you’re setting your example right, it’s only a matter of time before your little one picks up the head protection.
- Have your toddler pick out a helmet.
If the helmet you got for your kid isn’t working or if you haven’t bought one yet, have your child pick one. Not only is this a great bonding experience for both of you, but they also get to choose the helmet that feels and looks right. This encourages them to wear it because they are invested in the selection.
- Create a reward system.
Nothing cements a good behaviour than a reward system. So next time you see your kid take the initiative of wearing a helmet, you can reward them. This will signal them that wearing a helmet is a good thing because they get some good stuff whenever they do it.
The reward can be as simple as their favorite ice cream or letting them play with their toys a little longer. The important aspect of your reward system is to ensure your child knows that the reward you give is associated with putting a helmet on during your biking sessions.
- Impose a no helmet, no biking rule.
To really hone in on the helmet-wearing training, impose a rule— no helmet, no biking. Parents are authority figures to a toddler’s eyes. That means you can set the rules, and those rules must be followed, or there will be consequences. Be sure that this rule comes across your child in a manner that is gentle and reasonable.
For example, if there are instances where they don’t want to wear a helmet, talk to them at eye level and gently explain that if they don’t want to wear the helmet today, they can stay in until they’re ready to wear it, then they can go out and ride the bike.
Your Toddler’s Safety Is in Your Hands
You now have the knowledge and methods to get your child to wear a toddler boy bike helmet. But, as any caring parent, it is important to apply what you learned in a manner that makes it fun for your child. Remember, teaching your kid how to ride a bike until they can do it on their own is one of the best gifts you can give them during their formative years. And you want to approach training them in a way that makes them like it.
So we hope you use these methods to make it fun for your child to wear a helmet. If you do, you’re off to an amazing start.
