If you have children living at your apartment who like to ride a bicycle, you know how important it is to make sure they're wearing a helmet at all times. Riding a bike without a helmet can lead to serious head injuries in the event of a fall. But did you know you should also tell your kids to take their helmet off before playing in a playground?
Keeping a bike helmet on while playing in a playground may seem like nothing more than a nuisance. But it's far more serious, posing a hidden risk of strangulation. As a child climbs through playground equipment, the child's helmet could easily become stuck in a narrow opening, causing entrapment and asphyxiation from the helmet's strap. This tragic scenario happened to a seven-year-old girl in Canada and a three-year-old boy in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s, prompting he U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue a stern warning against children wearing bicycle helmets at the playground.
So, if your bicycle helmet safety lesson to your kids has been to remind them to wear their helmet while riding their bike, follow up with a warning not to wear helmets while enjoying a playground. Consider showing your children these two CPSC illustrations, which drive the point home.
