Because it’s so important for kids to get regular exercise and to spend some time outside each day, teaching them the joys of riding a bike is often a goal for many parents. However, riding a bike can be very dangerous if you haven’t taught your child how to be safe when using this toy.
So to help ensure that your child doesn’t sustain any major injuries due to a biking accident, here are three tips for teaching your kids about bike safety.
Always Wear Your Helmet Correctly
One of the most important pieces of safety equipment that your child should always wear when riding a bike is a helmet. While things like gloves, elbow pads, and knee pads can help keep your child from getting scrapes, bumps, and bruises, it’s their head that you should really be concerned with.
To ensure that your child is wearing their helmet the proper way, Dr. Kate M. Cronan, a contributor to KidsHealth.org, recommends that you regularly check to ensure that the helmet they’re using isn’t cracked and that it fits on their head correctly. Ideally, the helmet should cover their forehead and not slip back onto the back of their skull. Additionally, make sure your child knows to always fasten the straps of the helmet before they take off on their bike.
Be Very Careful Around Moving Cars
Although your kids can get hurt from just falling off their bike all on their own, any type of accident involving another person or thing will result in a much more traumatic event. Because of this, it’s vital that you teach your kids how to be safe when biking around others or around cars.
According to David Mozer, a contributor to ibike.org, you should teach your kids to ride with traffic if they’re ever biking on the sidewalk, in a bike lane, or on the road. Teach your kids to stay as far away from moving cars as they can. Even though bikers might have the right of way, your little bikers might be hard for cars to see, so make sure you teach them how to bike with caution.
Make It Easy For Others To See You
As was mentioned above, it can often be hard for drivers or even other bikers to see a smaller child riding on a bike near them. Because of this, you should explain to your child how important it is that they make themselves easy to be seen when on their bike.
To best do this, SafeKids.org advises that you remind your child to wear bright clothes whenever he or she goes out biking. Additionally, having reflectors on their bike, helmet, clothes, and shoes can also be very helpful for making them more obvious to cars on the road.
If your child loves to bike or you’re wanting to instill this love in him or her, consider using the tips mentioned above to also teach your child how to stay safe when on their bike.
