Do your young kids wear helmets when ice skating?

[bobica]

DD is 3- 4 in March. we've taken her ice skating a few times where we held onto both hands or under her arms skating with her. she'll be starting a begin-to-skate class this afternoon & i'm wondering if helmets would be appropriate? i'm admittedly a nervous nellie about head injuries (i'm a speech therapist & have worked within the TBI population in the past).

helmets were not mentioned on the policy or sign up information. so i'm wondering what you all do? are helmets a good idea or am i just being, well, me?

[Finch]

At the public rink here, about half the kids wore helmets. Ds has never attempted it. The kid can't even ride a tricycle, first things first.

ANYWAY, as I was talking to ds's OT this morning about rescheduling therapy, she said to please put a helmet on him if we take him sledding, she's had to too many kids as patients who have sled head injuries. :

So yeah, make her wear a helmet.

[usolyfan]

I ran a school-age daycare program and saw one of my kids's heads meet the blade of another skater. From that point on we required helmets and wrist guards. When they fall they brace themselves with their wrists and it is extremely easy for them to hurt their wrists as well.

[chinaKat]

I don't know why but this thread is giving me a mental image of a bunch of teeny toddlers playing full contact ice hockey and checking each other into the boards.

[emmasmommy]

Kids here in the land of hockey (rural Alberta Canada) definately wear helmets when skating. 4yo dd wears a hockey helmet (minus the face mask). I think helmets are required here for lessons, but I'm not sure, since we don't do lessons, she just goes with my dad.

[sleet76]

I would have my DD (will be 4 in May) wear a helmet if she were to go ice skating. I was just looking into our local skating options today. Very timely post for me.

[BusyMommy]

Yes

and yes for sledding, too. We saw a girl get killed on a very popular sledding hill last winter b/c she wasn't wearing a helmet.

[Qestia]

I appreciate we want to do all we can for our children, and DS is not even 2 so it hasn't come up yet, I'm just wondering where this is all leading... are my grandchildren going to wear helmets and wristguards when they're learning to walk? I mean, maybe they should. DS prob could have used one when he was learning to sit, he'd fall over all the time and smack his head on our hardwood floors. But where will it end?

[Canadianmommax3]

my sons who are 9 and 11 where helmets when skating.

[roxyrox]

We don't wear helmets here whilst ice skating. I have only seen people playing ice hockey wearing helmets but for figure/fun skating I don't think a helnet is neccesary.

[pjs]

Yes. All the kids in ds's ice skating class (4&5 year olds) do too, some wear bike helmets, but most have hockey helmets.

[BusyMommy]

Originally Posted by Qestia

I appreciate we want to do all we can for our children, and DS is not even 2 so it hasn't come up yet, I'm just wondering where this is all leading... are my grandchildren going to wear helmets and wristguards when they're learning to walk? I mean, maybe they should. DS prob could have used one when he was learning to sit, he'd fall over all the time and smack his head on our hardwood floors. But where will it end?

I understand your frustration but having witnessed many accidents and seen many kids hauled off hills and ice in a stretcher, I prefer to protect my kids' brains w/their "brain buckets."

Too, I used to be ambivalent about bike helmets until I cracked mine in half after flying over my handlebars onto a granite patch. I believe in them now 100%.

Consider velocity. Your grandson probl. wasn't moving too quickly on your floors. Those owies can be fixed w/a kiss.

[Finch]

Learning to walk is not a sport. That's the difference. There used to be no seatbelts or carseats either.

[Sammsma]

Yep, both of my girls(8 & 3.5) wear helmets when skating.

[honeybee]

Anything that propels you faster than you can run on your own speed should require a helmet. So, that includes biking, skating (ice or roller), skateboarding, riding scooters, etc. That would not include learning to walk or run.

We've taken ds1 skating a couple of times, and pretty much every kid was wearing a helmet of some kind or another.

[Trac]

DS has been taking lessons since he was three, and helmets are required and facemasks as well because kids fall forward too. Alot. I've also noticed, with the little guys, that they all tend to stick pretty close together, and when one falls, they all go down...and there's blades pointing every direction. Yikes!

[oceanbaby]

We've taken ds skating three times and I think one kid was wearing a helmet. I grew up in Canada and did figure skating, and never wore a helmet. For hockey I would absolutely require a helmet, however.

I did wonder about a helmet as I was skating around with ds on the ice, and I figured that we'd look into it if he did lessons where I'm not in there holding him up. Like a pp poster I generally feel like we're just getting too crazy with things lately, but you can't argue against safety I guess. But wow, how much safer could they be in the car if they were in the car seat AND wore a helmet? (I admit that I get secretly really happy when we ride our bike to the playground and ds keeps his helmet on while he climbs all over the structures.)

I just can't get into a helmet while sledding. I've been skiing and sledding for years and have never worn a helmet, nor have I ever seen anyone but the most radical snowboarders wearing helmets. Sledding is risky - you could be wearing a helmet but still break your neck. I guess you guys will really think I'm a horrible mother when I admit that my dad sits with my kids in the wagon and goes careening down a steep path at one of the local parks.:

I have a great aunt who lost a child who died after falling off their chair onto the floor. There is just some risk in life.

[Diane B]

Originally Posted by Qestia

I appreciate we want to do all we can for our children, and DS is not even 2 so it hasn't come up yet, I'm just wondering where this is all leading... are my grandchildren going to wear helmets and wristguards when they're learning to walk? I mean, maybe they should. DS prob could have used one when he was learning to sit, he'd fall over all the time and smack his head on our hardwood floors. But where will it end?

My understanding is that until children are about 2 years old or so, their skulls are not fully fused together so that a fall that would cause a concussion in an older child or an adult will not be as dangerous for them. Also, they are falling a lot shorter distance because they are not very tall. Finally, they are not moving at a fast rate of speed like a child skating or sledding or bike riding.

Can you tell my daughter wears a helmet?

[mom2Avi]

Originally Posted by bobica

helmets were not mentioned on the policy or sign up information. so i'm wondering what you all do? are helmets a good idea or am i just being, well, me?

As someone who teaches ice skating classes, I would highly suggest you put your daughter in a helmet. Many rinks do not mention using a helmet due to liability risks - if they REQUIRE children to be in a helmet and a injury is sustained due to the helmet use then the parents can sue the rink. The only type of helmet that is "ice approved" is a hockey helmet with full cage so your safest bet is a hockey helmet, although many kids ( mine included) use a bike helmet. Part of the class will be learning to fall properly so that they don't hit their heads, but until that is mastered a helmet is a really good idea.

[allgirls]

my 3.5 year old started skating lessons a few weeks ago(and she's really good and can glide already..we can smell olympic hockey gold already here ) and the helmet was mandatory but even if it weren't we would have bought it for her...I have seen a LOT of injuries on skates that would have been prevented by a helmet.

and the helmet we got was too small and she fell forward and bruised her forehead..it was a skating helmet she got for Christmas but wasn't deep enough...so I left the arena that day and drove immediately to Canadian Tire and bought her a hockey helmet(and a stick and a puck too )

Get the helmet.