Bicycling provides excellent opportunities for families to get outdoors and exercise together. However, the ThinkFirst Foundation reports that one of seven children will receive a head injury as a result of a bicycle crash. A head injury can result in permanent brain damage and other disabilities, so it is vital that children be educated about how to ride a bike safely.
Setting an Example
Adult bicyclists need to set a good example for children by wearing helmets, observing safety and traffic rules, and using good judgment when biking. You might consider showing the children photos of expert bicyclists, pointing out that those bicyclists always wear their helmets. When speaking to a group of children about bike safety, you should wear your bike helmet, properly secured, to help the children recognize that helmets are the norm.
Raising Awareness
Use various hands-on activities to help children understand the ramifications of unsafe biking. For example, to help children understand the fragility of the brain, you could use gelatin to illustrate how the brain is soft and cannot be glued or sewn back together after it has been injured.
Staging a Bike Rodeo
A bike rodeo allows children to practice bike safety and handling skills in a protected environment. The bike rodeo needs to be held in a secure, paved area that is closed to traffic. Organizers of a bike rodeo need to plan carefully and recruit sufficient volunteers. A how-to guide from Cornell University is provided in the resources section.
Providing Information to Take Home
Take-home items such as puzzles, worksheets and coloring pages can help reinforce the lessons learned during a safety activity. The take-home items also enable children to share with their families what they have learned. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers age-appropriate materials that can be downloaded in a bicycle safety activity kit.
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