Top This! (The Foray into the World of Protective Headgear)
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Yesterday on Facebook one of my friends posted a picture of her new bicycle and child carrying trailer thing. Then she posted a picture of her little one screaming in his bike helmet.
Last night on Facebook another friend posted a picture of the little bike her son picked out for his birthday, and then she posted a picture of the *matching* bike helmet.
Because I have a superiority complex and am highly snarky lately I thought, “Well, you’re no big deal. Abby’s getting a bike for her birthday too.” Then I clicked over to the online version of the store we’re getting it from and perused the bike helmets.
Some helmets claim to be lighter and more comfortable. Others are decorated to spark interest (and less screaming) when strapped to the heads of small children. Some are sleek for adult riders into racing or not holding up traffic when they’re pedalling against an impressive headwind. Others…well…
Do you remember back into your childhood (I grew up in the ’70′s) when the only people who wore helmets were ball players and, um, “special” kids?
Yeah.
So this week my mission is to locate a decent, reasonably priced bike helmet that:
- Will protect Abigail’s adorable little head from any you-shouldn’t-have-bought-me-a-bike brain damage.
- Will not be big, fat, and/or too round and make her look like a preschool mushroom.
- Will not be too sleek and protective looking and make her look like a toddlerbot.
- Will be adorably decorated so she’s excited about wearing it to push herself around on her new bike (she isn’t into the whole pedal thing yet).
- Will DEFINITELY not make her look like she’s wearing a helmet because she’s in danger of slipping in a puddle of her own spittle and cracking her head open on the pavement.
And from what I’ve seen so far? It’s not going to be an easy task.
[If you'd like to make your own R2D2 helmet, go here.]
Elisa writes a personal blog (ElisaAshley.com) in return for Ho-ho's and Banana Colada Fuze, ghostwrites for her daughter Abigail at The Abby Gales (www.abbyrory.blogspot.com) and also played the part of Ginger on Whisk-ers In Kitchens (www.whiskersinkitchens.wordpress.com). She resides in Alabama with her invisible friends and an unending supply of sunscreen and nail polish.
Tags: babies, bicycle riding, bike helmets, elisa, Elisa Ashley, kids, preschoolers, safety, toddlers
Are you kidding me. Go with the R2D2 helmet and be done. It’s DA BOMB!! I never wore a helmet as a kid, either. We’ve become so much more safety conscious, some times too much. Still, I make my kids wear helmets. They’re crazy on their bikes!
lol. Thanks for reading, Janene. I’ve included a link for the helmet instructions.
Whenever I see someone without a helmet on I think, “Survival of the fittest hard at work!”