Anyone with direct experience of teenagers wearing helmets?

"Do what you want but putting your child at MORE risk and all the whilst forcing them to do what they don't want to do (the crux of the OPs questions which I've answered twice already )ends up a disaster."

Er, wow.

Perhaps I wasn't clear with "they haven't been promoted" by which I meant that I haven't promoted them as such. As for whether my kids take more risks, thanks for the psychology lesson but if you know better than I what my kids are doing could I kindly ask you to stop watching my kids?

They have learnt to ride with me and their mum, on the roads, one setting the line at the front, hand signals, shoulder checks etc. and one slightly wide at the back to protect from idiot motorists. Now, when they are solo with their mates then maybe they set up a ramp, hit the bmx track, take their helmet off, who knows. I don't imagine they are stupid enough to ignore all they have learnt and suddenly think the lid is magic. If however, and the chances are small, they are riding, have a fall and the lid helps protect them then surely it's a win, no?

My daughters are aged 11 and 13 and have worn a helmet since they could ride, aged 3. They view it as completely normal and find it odd when others don't wear them. My 11 year old frequently wears her helmet in the car home from bike races - either because she's forgotten to take it off, or she doesn't think much of my driving. 

They are currently more sold than ever on the value of helmets after they had a coming together on a gentle social ride two weekends ago. Youngest daughter fell off sideways and hit the road head first - no injuries beyond a grazed hip, but the helmet was totalled. 

"not a helmet debate" lol. You could have seen that coming. Many threads with completely different subject content have gone the same way.

I only started wearing a helmet at about 22. Before that always rode everywhere. As others have said kids cycling I'm 60s 70s and i0s generally didn't have, strangely it was not a generation that failed to reach maturity. The risks of cycling are greatly over stated.

I grew up in the 1960s and started cycling at age 8 along with all my mates. We never wore helmets, they didn't exist as I recall until the 80s. We had every kind of crash, wipeout, fall, slide, etc and never hit our heads. Legs and arms were covered in bumps and bruises and scabs. The parents waved us goodbye in the morning and called us home in the evening. We learned our limits by ourselves.

So, let your kids decide. It's important for them. Just teach them that the main danger is cars, not riding a bike.

I think it's a cool thing, a style thing, a teenagers who want to rebel thing, an indoctrination thing etc etc etc. I have 3 teens, one won't wear a helmet (compulsory over here, one who does out of habit, and one who 'forgets' on short rides. I wear one habitually, and hopefully lead by example, but I don't stress about it. Like an airbag, when correctly applied it will probably save them from some injuries, and in some instances it will be as good as useless. And They're  fully signed up members of school of hard knocks. However there are far greater risks in their world that I worry about rather than taking a ding if they fall off their bike. They've engaged in plenty of risky activity... some I've only found out about when snooping their facebook page. :-O

For myself, I don't see why she is bothered about other people doing what they want, they are teenagers, they are not her children.  What they are not doing is hurting anyone else.  Be bothered about drivers on phones, drink drivers, speeding motorists.

"it's the assessment of risk by parents/those in power and how they try to foist their fears and what they think is the best solution that is the part the problem with cycling and other things in life."

No it's not. I grew up (possibly) in the 80's and enjoyed BMX tracks, riding to school and various ramps jumping over my mates in the street. As a 'cyclist' I wear a lid when I'm on a 'proper' ride but not the couple of miles commuting to work, nope there is no logic.

However, like rnick, when buying the kids bikes I purchased them a helmet and it is all part of the process when the bikes leave the shed for my 2 youngest. My eldest being 14 has tended to leave it behind on the school run but when doing 10 miles plus with me we both put the helmets on.

I wouldn't suggest they take more risks in any way shape or form - the lids haven't been promoted as a magic solution to all cycling ills. However, they were taught to ride and simply picked up the helmets. If you're suggesting this is a stupid idea then I'll add it to my list and see how they feel about drinking red bulls and taking up vaping...

@RNICK, my son was in an RTC when he was 5 (chasing after his older sister). in hospital with a neck brace and we thought he'd had a serious injury but turned out just scrapes along his back from where he was dragged. did I keep him indoors until he was old enough to go out on his own, no.

When he was 8 or 9 he had a crash on his bike, he smacked his forhead nicking a vein, it bled quite a bit but his friends brought him home and we delt with it. There was no thought of buying a helmet at that juncture, he never asked, i never suggested because I already knew how things work.

However that was the last time he crashed on a bike and as I said he was doing well over 25mph from the age of 10 on a bumpy back road thereafter and cycled on road with traffic for the next 7 years even being able to deal with a couple of incidents that more experienced riders might well have come down from.

it's the assessment of risk by parents/those in power and how they try to foist their fears and what they think is the best solution that is the part the problem with cycling and other things in life.

However teens especially who want to do what they want rarely accept this, just as we did when we were that age. Manipulating and forcing them whether that be teens/pre teens or younger into wearing/doing something is more likely to put them off from that thing altogether, and as we've seen in the case of cycle helmets it has zero impact on cycle safety never mind that there are greater risks to teens/children in other walks of life in any case.

Anecdotal stories are just that, it's not particularly nice when it happens but the facts are that not only over-reacting won't make matters better (but actually statistically worse) you'll also likely push a child/teen into just being reluctant or jacking it in altogether, again we know this already.

My two are 15 and 13. We have discussed the arguments for & against on cycle helmets so seem to be better informed - both about this and road risk awareness in general - than 99% of teenagers (and their parents). They can decide whether to wear a helmet, just as they can choose where & how to ride to their destination.

Apart from short rides like nipping round to a friend's house in the estate or an errand to the convenience store both will always wear a helmet while riding.

Talking of BMX, that reminds me - I was riding rubbish bikes over ramps and whatever without a helmet in the 80s, because you couldn't really get a cycling helmet at the time. When BMX then took off, my mate Bill had a BMX full-face helmet and he was the coolest kid on the block.

I'm all in favour of kids learning by doing, and sometimes the best way to learn is to fail and, sometimes, you get hurt which is a learning experience in itself. But there is also the concept of avoidable injury.

I was a teen a while back, I think that counts as relevant experience. My mother always tried to enforce mandatory helmet wearing. I ignored/avoided it as often as I could. We had those awful tuff-top helmets which was part of the reason I didn't want to wear one. Around 13/14 I got a nicer helmet an then I was a bit keener. I can distinctly remember crashing and banging my head on two occasions. One time with helmet on, the other without the helmet. Neither affected my desire to go helmetless in my later teens when my mother must have seen​ it was hopeless and relaxed the enforcement somewhat.

I think part of the solution to encouraging them lies in allowing them to choose the helmet they really want (it'll be expensive and obviously they will loose it at some point) and allowing them to do cycling in a way that looks cool. If they want to look pro then that involves a helmet, but it has to be "the" helmet.

Likewise you may get better results providing the right helmet for the activities, the bmx look doesn't involve a road helmet for example.

Finally, I know kids don't always give good answers but why not ask them what would help them wear a helmet, give them time to think about it, and try to let them make the choice. Once compulsion was involved I really wasn't keen on complying...

I live near a couple of schools and there are quite a few kids on bikes in the mornings - although probably about 95% boys, very few girls on them.

They seem to be a mix of helmet on head, done up, helmet on head not done up, helmet hanging on handlebars and no helmet whatsoever.

I doubt cost of a helmet is an issue when you can get one for that age group for £15-20 upwards and you could probably haggle one thrown in with a new bike purchase - many shops seems to give you 10% of the cost of the bike in accessories these days

My daughter rode her own bike to pre-school for the first time this morning - wearing a helmet. I think it's a sensible thing to wear, especially as she hasn't quite figured out her brakes yet - I've been glad of mine on at least 3 occasions.

It's funny that most teenagers are aware that cyclists 'should' wear a helmet though... I am still amazed that my students pull me up for not wearing a helmet when cycling. They are mistaken, of course, but someone had fed them that (incorrect) information and it ha stuck. I do debate the issue with them but they certainly see cycling as a dangerous activity.

Youngest son used to race BMX so helmet was obligatory and he soon realised after a few crashes why the appropriate PPE was required because even with helmets, gloves, padded trousers and long sleeved top there was still ample opportunity for painful injury.

Last weekend I landed heavily on my head during a cycle race and was able to ride on rather than spend an afternoon in A&E because I was lucky and part of that luck was in wearing a helmet that did what it was supposed to.

I do not wear a helmet for casual use or for my short urban commute neither do I insist that my son wears one when he goes to see his friends. He will wear one of his own volition if they are planning on going to do something stupid. I encourage stupid, it is a great teacher of consequences.

I am a firm believer in the school of hard knocks. Though one obviously has no wish for children to come to serious harm, there is nothing you can tell them about playing with fire that is a millionth as effective as actually getting their fingers burned. They need to fall out of trees, learn that knives will cut you, that falling off a bicycle at even low speed can really hurt when they are small enough to bounce and heal quickly. You can then teach them how to mitigate risk and how to deal with minor injury, but they have to learn the pain for themselves. When they are older you can tell the kids that never got gravel rash by falling off a bicycle, they are the muppets who hire holiday scooters and ride round in shorts and flip flops. Who get in a car and drive without awareness of the consequences of crashing and who seem generally unaware of their personal responsibility for their own safety. It is no kindness to wrap them in cotton wool as children.

Thanks for the lecture, not needed. I've had one child hospitalised following a no fault off. Something in region of 20 hospital appointments to repair the physical damage to a limb, the final long term outcome may be "life changing" . Indoctrinated not really...just controlling risks, not a big deal - get over it. They're racing in a local crit in a few weeks...and yes they're wearing a hat.

I've a teen and pre teen, both riding for years. They reach for a helmet as a matter of habbit, no parental input required. Both have experienced offs and seen how the helmet helped protect their head.
We're still waiting for clothes to be picked up, homework done so the regular teen s**t fest is all in place.

I gave my son the option aged 10 when cycling to school (steep downhill so he was well over 25mph every morning), he wore it once then dispensed with it for the next 7 years whilst cycling to school, it was his choice and knowing what I know I was totally fine with that.

You must allow children to find their own boundaries, IMHO by forcing a helmet onto children you are in fact making them think they can do more dangerous stuff as they are affected by risk homeostosis more than adults.

I am in the same situation again taking gt nephews for bike rides, if they want to wear one I would be fine with that, as it happens they don't and the subject matter never comes up. Maybe as I'm a non wearer they simply follow my lead but children would not automatically reach for a helmet unless they are indoctrined/instructed to. in any case.

With regards to what the women saw it's easier to control the small ones than it is the older ones, the older ones if forced are more likely to just not bother at all and this again is found in the stats in australia where teenage girls gave up cycling in one state at an incredible 94% compared to pre helmet laws. The overall affect on child cycling when forced to wear helmets was and still is being felt.

Whatever the reasons trying to force kids to do something that is either uncomfortable, uncool, doesn't have a good explanation to do so or is too much hassle is always going to be a bone of contention.

I have two teenage nephews. One wears a helmet and the other doesn't. The reason for this, in my eyes, is not completely down to sophisticated hair styles, but what they are doing and how the bike fits in. The nephew who wears the helmet uses his bike to go on cycle rides; the nephew who doesn't, rides his bike to see his mates. In the first instance the bike is instrumental, whilst in the second case it is incidental.