Protect Your Child: Teach Them Bicycle Safety

There are few things more liberating than the freedom and fun of riding a bike. Learning to ride a bike is a milestone in most children's lives, but like most things that offer such a tremendous reward, there is also a risk. Parents should spend time teaching their child the basics of bicycle safety and treat it as a required step in learning to ride a bike.

Sixty percent of all bike related fatalities that involve young bike riders are head injuries. Children may resist wearing a helmet but parents must stand firm on this. One way to make this less of a fight, is to allow them to pick out the helmet themselves. A loving reminder that wearing a helmet is as much for you as for them, a guarantee they'll be around for a long time, doesn't hurt either. Finally, stand firm. No helmet means no bike. End of story.

For kids ten and under, most cycling accidents are caused by some lapse in judgment or loss of concentration. Kids injure themselves running into stationary objects like parked cars or mailboxes. They collide into each other or ride off the curb. Stress that being alert is even more important than wearing their helmet and riding safely matters. Let them know you are proud of their ability to make good decisions and ask them to be a leader when they are riding with friends.

As you grant new freedom for your child to roam on their bicycle, take the time to walk them through the new areas they'll be allowed to ride. Point out danger spots; parked cars that obscure vision, busy traffic areas, steep hills and ask them to explain how they will handle each situation.

For the majority of grown ups, knowing and responding to traffic signs and regulations will be 2nd nature, however we often fail to remember that children have yet to take driver's ed courses. Show your children the right direction to ride (with traffic), what to do at intersections as well as the significance of the traffic signs in their own neighborhood.

While riding with your child in a car, quiz them on the various traffic signs and talk about what they would do if they were on their bike instead of in the car. Point out examples of drivers who are not paying enough attention and use this to call attention to the importance of staying alert.

Riding a bike starts with one basic skill - balance. Numerous specialists suggest a good strategy which doesn't make use of training wheels. This particular technique has been the approach within Europe for quite some time where a lot of kids master riding a bike using a balance bike that has sprockets, pedals or chains and works under the child's "foot" power.

Whenever instructing your own child to ride a bike, stress balance, not pedals. In the event that you do not have a balance bike, take away the pedals, drop the height of the seat as low as it can go and allow your chilld to try out their sense of balance by pushing the bike with their feet.

As they begin to master their balance, move them to the top of a small hill and have them drift down, dragging their feet along as they go. This will accelerate the learning process and save your back as you won't be the one pushing the bike around the neighborhood.

Always make sure that your child's bicycle is in good, working condition. Pay close attention the brakes, both front and back. These can degrade quickly when used frequently and kids have a way of improvising stops when they do. This may lead to a rapid deterioration of sneakers as they become the primary braking mechanism.

Look at the tire pressure and rotation. Make certain all the spokes are undamaged and the gears and gear shifters are working. Examine the seat, handlebars and tires to make sure nothing is loose.

It's always best to lead by example. If you have bike gathering dust and rust. Pump up those tires, give it a good maintenance check and get out and ride. You'd be surprised how much kids want to be like mom and dad. So get out and ride!