Safety helmets have become standard gear for biking. So much so that people don't think twice about putting them on. But many still go zooming down the side of a slippery mountain without the protection of a helmet. It's ridiculous if you think about it. Even more ridiculous when you consider that there were more than 26,000 head injuries from winter sports in 2007, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Keep safe while sporting in the snow by following these tips:

• Wear a helmet approved for your specific sport.
• Protect your eyes with goggles.
• Wear appropriate clothing.
• Use additional safety gear when it is available (e.g. hockey pads).
  
• Don't drink before skiing or snowboarding, and don't participate when you're not feeling well.
  
• Avoid hazardous conditions such as ice-coated sledding hills.
• Use approved areas for ice skating, skiing, snowmobiling and sledding.

Source

Recently, my son's two favorite activities have been going to the skate park and going to the BMX track. They're both favorite activities in my book as well. They're free, my son is being active and meeting friends, and I get time to walk around the parks or just relax and read a book.

I'm constantly surprised at how few children wear helmets or other safety gear. My son hates his wrist guards, but he doesn't complain otherwise. And, thankfully, none of the non-helmet wearing crowd has poked fun at my son. My son knows that he only has one choice in the matter -- wear the safety gear or don't skateboard/bike. It's just not a risk worth taking.

According to the CDC, about 300,000 sports-related concussions occur each year in the US. There are some basic pieces of safety gear kids should wear when playing sports.

Source

All bundled up in their winter gear, my two tiny daughters just headed out to the sledding hill. Though they've been before, they've never gone without me. And though I trust my husband's judgment implicitly, I worry that if I'm not there to say, "Be careful!" or "That hill's too steep!" or whisper to myself, "They aren't going to flip over, they aren't going to flip over," that someone might get hurt. But today is a work day for me, so I'm sitting home sending "be safe" wishes from my home office instead.

Winter sports are an utter delight to many kids. After all, what other time of year to you get to go careening down a slippery slope on a cheap piece of plastic? But it's up to us as parents to keep winter playtime safe as well. Requiring helmets, teaching kids to dress for the weather, and setting appropriate boundaries are crucial to helping kids learn how to play it safe in the snow.

Want to learn more? Click on the gallery below for winter play safety tips.

Source

The world has come a long way in the area of helmets over the years, both in how important we understand them to be and in our ability to make technologically advanced and more effective kinds. We now specialize helmets for the specific sport or activity, for age, and of course for size. But that's not all! We have helmets out there that are "green" and made of bamboo, helmets that do nothing but give great head massages, and even ones that will electronically monitor and record impacts and potential head injuries during a football game.

Very, very cool.

Source

It may not be convenient or even always comfortable, but wearing a helmet during certain activities is non-negotiable. In fact, according the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, helmet wearing can reduce head injuries by 85%. But it's not just bicycling that requires protective head gear. Other sports include:

• baseball and softball
• riding a bike
• football
• horseback riding
• rollerblading
• rock climbing
• skateboarding
• riding an ATV

Learn more at the National Safety Council.

Source

My mom worked for a neurological organization when I was growing up, so as a result, we were the kids who weren't allowed to jump on the trampoline or do anything fun without wearing a helmet. In elementary school, this was the equivalent of social suicide, but as I get older, I think my mom might have been on to something. Case in point: A recent study shows that kids falling off their bikes costs the healthcare system $200 Million a year.

Moreover, wearing a helmet reduces a child's risk of brain injury by 85%. So if your kid (or teen) isn't wearing a helmet, why not? Sure, it might make them cringe, but I promise, they'll forgive you one day.

Source

Helmets are something I've come to really respect, especially since I spent some time working to rehabilitate young adults who had suffered traumatic brain injuries during routine activities like playing sports and riding motorcycles. I've read that long-term and professional football players commonly suffer from negative head-impact effects like poor memory and short emotional fuses. But would you spend $1000 on a football helmet for your high school student to wear?

Riddell is hoping so, as they plan to start marketing their latest high-tech helmet creation to parents next month. The helmet not only provides state-of-the art impact protection but also tracks the location and severity of every bump and bang.

It is pretty pricey, no doubt about that, but can you really put a price on your child's health?

Source

Tis the season for outdoor sports, and biking is always a popular one. Whether it's your kids or yourself, wearing a bike helmet is a necessity - traumatic brain injuries are easier to come by than you might think. And there's very little point in bothering to wear a helmet if it doesn't fit right, so take a look at these tips for fitting a bike helmet:

• Adjust the padding so the helmet fits snug, but not too tight, and as low on the head as possible for the most protection.

• Make sure the helmet fits securely to stay in place even through vigorous shaking or, heaven forbid, a hard knock to the head.

• The helmet shouldn't move when the buckle is fastened (it shouldn't hurt or pinch, either. You don't want to be tempted to unbuckle it).

• When you open your mouth wide you should feel the helmet pull down slightly.

• When you're wearing the helmet and you look up you should just see the rim slightly, and the "Y" on each side of your head should come together just below your ears.

Source

It's not something that happens to us every day, but most people experience at least a couple good "hard knocks" to the head during the course of their lifetime. Usually it's something minor, like dropping your pen on the floor and hitting your head on the desk on the way back up. But sometimes events like falling during a sports game or slipping off a ladder while cleaning your gutters can cause serious hidden damage, the kind of damage that could stay with you forever.

It's called postconcussive syndrome, and the biggest risk comes when you hit your head frequently (think football players, boxers, etc), and your brain doesn't get a chance to recover fully in between injuries. But everybody should wear helmets when appropriate, pay attention to how they feel, and ask lots of questions if they do have any kind of accident. Just because you have a thick skull and there's no outward appearance of damage (like a big dent or something!) doesn't mean your head is invincible.

Source