This weekend we bought Rosie a new helmet. Between bike riding and skateboarding, I’ve been pretty adamant about Rosie keeping her brain protected. She hasn’t had a bike here very long, but I’ve been paranoid every time she went out riding without a helmet. In Michigan and Georgia, I always saw kids wearing helmets, and in California it was about half of the time. Since we’ve been back in Utah, I have not seen one kid in our neighborhood wearing a helmet!

I wanted to have Rosie be an example to her peers, showing it was cool to wear a helmet. I let her choose any helmet she wanted (and of course, she chose the $30 one) Today Rosie came into the house sobbing. Some of the neighbor kids were taunting and teasing her about wearing a helmet. It made me so sad.

I have read multiple operative reports of patients with brain injuries, often caused by bike crashes. So many traumatic brain injuries could have been avoided if these people had worn a helmet. I’m curious now…how many of you wear a helmet, or require your kids to wear a helmet when riding a bike?