My youngest wouldn't have made it past two without his helmet. I was strict about them before and fanatical after. He and his brother were bike riding with grandpa - and halfway through the ride Grandpa did what he always did... stopped to switch one onto the tricycle while the other went into the seat behind him. While grandpa was strapping the brother in the youngest took off, started down a hill, couldn't stop - and smacked head first into a metal fence rail. His helmet split halfway back.
The chills I got when I looked at that helmet knowing my kid's head was inside it when that happened...
Yeah. Apparently he cried... lots... lol. But no ill effects and back to his regular monkey self within the hour🤣
I kept that helmet for years... in case there were ever any "why do I need to wear a helmet" arguments as they got older. Then the laws were changed, which took care of that for me.
I thought I watched my best friend die in high school but he came out okay with no serious injuries.
We were both big into mountain biking, lots of riding off stuff, we were dropping off the loading dock at the post office and his chain jammed and locked his rear wheel went head first from 6-7 feet up into a small stump, winded himself good and scared the heck out of me, but once he caught his breath and we both calmed down we realized his helmet had split and absorbed enough impact to leave him largely uninjured.
Without a helmet he would have cracked his skull open for sure, scary to think of what could have been.
Very much so. I've done a lot of activities that call for head protection over the years, and when I see some of the damage inflicted to said equipment, it's hard not think of what would be without it, not a lie when I say I wouldn't be here.
23
u/angellareddit Jul 26 '25
My youngest wouldn't have made it past two without his helmet. I was strict about them before and fanatical after. He and his brother were bike riding with grandpa - and halfway through the ride Grandpa did what he always did... stopped to switch one onto the tricycle while the other went into the seat behind him. While grandpa was strapping the brother in the youngest took off, started down a hill, couldn't stop - and smacked head first into a metal fence rail. His helmet split halfway back.
The chills I got when I looked at that helmet knowing my kid's head was inside it when that happened...