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Mrs. Kelly
I want to get a bike seat for my baby so she can ride with me. What is the minimum age she can be to ride/wear a helmet? Anyone know?
Answer
Obviously a child can't be on a bike until they can safely wear a helmet.
http://www.helmets.org/little1s.htm
Nobody we have met in the injury prevention field recommends taking an infant of less than 12 months in a bicycle child seat, trailer, sidecar or any other carrier. Nobody. And we do not either.
New York state law prohibits it. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission thinks it is dangerous to take a child under one year on a bicycle, and here is their rationale:
Maurice Keenan, MD, from the American Academy of Pediatrics [21], requested that a minimum age of 1 year be reflected on the label for helmets intended for children under age 5. This would better convey the message that infants (children under age 1) should not be passengers on a bicycle under any circumstance.
The Commission agrees with the commenter that children under 1 year of age should not be on bicycles. Children are just learning to sit unsupported at about 9 months of age. Until this age, infants have not developed sufficient bone mass and muscle tone to enable them to sit unsupported with their backs straight. Pediatricians advise against having infants sitting in a slumped or curled position for prolonged periods. This position may even be exacerbated by the added weight of a bicycle helmet on the infantâs head. Because pediatricians recommend against having children under age 1 as passengers on bicycles, the Commission does not want the certification label to imply that children under age 1 can ride safely.
Source: 16 CFR Part 1203 Safety Standard for Bicycle Helmets; Final Rule, page 11726
That explains why you will not find a child helmet on the market sized for a tiny tot. You certainly do not want to ride with a bare-headed child, and in some places it is illegal. In fact, several states have laws against taking children under one year of age on a bicycle, even with a helmet.
Parents love their babies and love their bicycles, so it is natural to want to put the two together. That thought occurs to every bicycling parent, generally before the child is born. We see messages on the Internet indicating that some parents do put their children in baby seats of one design or another and take them along on trailers starting as young as five weeks. Others use a baby backpack. At slightly older ages, people use front or rear-mounted child seats. A few (mostly in the UK) use sidecars. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. A disclaimer: our purpose here is to cover the risks, so you know what you are getting into. We are hearing more these days about undiagnosed brain injuries, with symptoms too subtle for doctors to detect, but very real to families. And that comes to mind whenever someone asks us about babies and biking. We worry about your six-week-old entering the first grade six years from now with a small but detectable mental handicap. That is alarmist; this is an alarmist page.
http://www.ibike.org/education/infant.htm
Infants: Child Seats Vs. Trailers Vs. Backpacks Vs. Third-wheel Cycles
The primary determinant of when an infant can join his or her parents on bike rides is the strength of the the child's neck. Because of the jostling and the additional weight of a helmet (8-10 oz.), this is a few months after a baby can first hold their head up. Note: Some jurisdictions have laws requiring passengers on bicycles to be at least one year old.
Usually by age 12 months parents can start checking with the child's physician to see if they have the neck development to safely go for a bike ride. Most toddlers' neck and shoulder muscles can tolerate the weight of a helmet and absorb shock from bumps in the road at 1 years old.
We know of no comprehensive study on the best method to carry an infant on a bike and there are risks associated with all of them.. Here are some factors to consider:
Obviously a child can't be on a bike until they can safely wear a helmet.
http://www.helmets.org/little1s.htm
Nobody we have met in the injury prevention field recommends taking an infant of less than 12 months in a bicycle child seat, trailer, sidecar or any other carrier. Nobody. And we do not either.
New York state law prohibits it. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission thinks it is dangerous to take a child under one year on a bicycle, and here is their rationale:
Maurice Keenan, MD, from the American Academy of Pediatrics [21], requested that a minimum age of 1 year be reflected on the label for helmets intended for children under age 5. This would better convey the message that infants (children under age 1) should not be passengers on a bicycle under any circumstance.
The Commission agrees with the commenter that children under 1 year of age should not be on bicycles. Children are just learning to sit unsupported at about 9 months of age. Until this age, infants have not developed sufficient bone mass and muscle tone to enable them to sit unsupported with their backs straight. Pediatricians advise against having infants sitting in a slumped or curled position for prolonged periods. This position may even be exacerbated by the added weight of a bicycle helmet on the infantâs head. Because pediatricians recommend against having children under age 1 as passengers on bicycles, the Commission does not want the certification label to imply that children under age 1 can ride safely.
Source: 16 CFR Part 1203 Safety Standard for Bicycle Helmets; Final Rule, page 11726
That explains why you will not find a child helmet on the market sized for a tiny tot. You certainly do not want to ride with a bare-headed child, and in some places it is illegal. In fact, several states have laws against taking children under one year of age on a bicycle, even with a helmet.
Parents love their babies and love their bicycles, so it is natural to want to put the two together. That thought occurs to every bicycling parent, generally before the child is born. We see messages on the Internet indicating that some parents do put their children in baby seats of one design or another and take them along on trailers starting as young as five weeks. Others use a baby backpack. At slightly older ages, people use front or rear-mounted child seats. A few (mostly in the UK) use sidecars. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. A disclaimer: our purpose here is to cover the risks, so you know what you are getting into. We are hearing more these days about undiagnosed brain injuries, with symptoms too subtle for doctors to detect, but very real to families. And that comes to mind whenever someone asks us about babies and biking. We worry about your six-week-old entering the first grade six years from now with a small but detectable mental handicap. That is alarmist; this is an alarmist page.
http://www.ibike.org/education/infant.htm
Infants: Child Seats Vs. Trailers Vs. Backpacks Vs. Third-wheel Cycles
The primary determinant of when an infant can join his or her parents on bike rides is the strength of the the child's neck. Because of the jostling and the additional weight of a helmet (8-10 oz.), this is a few months after a baby can first hold their head up. Note: Some jurisdictions have laws requiring passengers on bicycles to be at least one year old.
Usually by age 12 months parents can start checking with the child's physician to see if they have the neck development to safely go for a bike ride. Most toddlers' neck and shoulder muscles can tolerate the weight of a helmet and absorb shock from bumps in the road at 1 years old.
We know of no comprehensive study on the best method to carry an infant on a bike and there are risks associated with all of them.. Here are some factors to consider:
What Is Your Opinion On Pacifiers (dummys)?
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(they are called dummys in the UK, im not just being rude!) (",)
Answer
they are okay for an infant---but when I see an otherwise normal five year old girl with one I want to rip it out of her mouth!
They help some infants sooth themselves---the problem is when adults choose to use them as corks instead of dealing with the kid OR when they refuse to help the child learn other ways to be calm. Then you wind up with preschoolers and older toddlers with speech and teeth problems and social issues.
Folks say that the kids will give them up eventually---but I know a 5 yr old girl and a 4yr old whose parents (2 diff families) let the girls hang onto them because they didn't like to hear the girls cry! They climb on playground equipment and ride their bikes sucking on them.
One girl's teeth are horribly messed up--if she smiles (with the dummy not in her mouth) you can see her front teeth don't meet properly and there is an oval shape where the dummy fits. I am serious--her side teeth have come in longer than the ones right in the front because she sucks on the thing day and night.
whew. i better stop. I am soooo fired up about this, but you asked for opinions...
they are okay for an infant---but when I see an otherwise normal five year old girl with one I want to rip it out of her mouth!
They help some infants sooth themselves---the problem is when adults choose to use them as corks instead of dealing with the kid OR when they refuse to help the child learn other ways to be calm. Then you wind up with preschoolers and older toddlers with speech and teeth problems and social issues.
Folks say that the kids will give them up eventually---but I know a 5 yr old girl and a 4yr old whose parents (2 diff families) let the girls hang onto them because they didn't like to hear the girls cry! They climb on playground equipment and ride their bikes sucking on them.
One girl's teeth are horribly messed up--if she smiles (with the dummy not in her mouth) you can see her front teeth don't meet properly and there is an oval shape where the dummy fits. I am serious--her side teeth have come in longer than the ones right in the front because she sucks on the thing day and night.
whew. i better stop. I am soooo fired up about this, but you asked for opinions...
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