What To Look For
A football helmet should fit well to keep your child safe. When starting from scratch, take your child to a sporting good store and measure his head about one inch above his eyebrows with helmet tape to get the basic size of his head. You'll also want to pay attention to his head's shape to ensure a proper fit. The helmet should cover the base of the skull, and the jaw pads should fit over the cheeks to prevent the helmet from sliding. The ear holes should be centered over the ears and the eyebrows should be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches under the top of the helmet.
Common Pitfalls
Helmets that fit improperly can slide from side to side, potentially causing injury upon impact. If a helmet does not cover the entire skull, serious injury may occur during a tackle. A helmet that doesn't fit at all could fly off during a game, leaving the child's head exposed and vulnerable to injury.
Face guards should also be two to two and a half finger widths from the child's nose. Improperly fitted face guards can cause issues. If the face-guard is too close, it can injure the child's nose during a tackle. A face guard that is too far away runs the risk that objects from the field could get trapped in the helmet or another player's fingers can move into the helmet and causing injury.
Chinstraps that are improperly fitted can also cause the football helmet to fly off of your child's head. The chin cup should fit right underneath the child's chin so that the helmet does not fly off during contact.
Where To Buy
Kid's football helmets are fairly easy to find. You can purchase them at any sporting goods store (like Dick's Sporting Goods or Sports Authority). They can also be purchased at stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart or Target in the sports section. When purchasing a football helmet, it is very important that it is tried on in person before buying. It is not recommended to order a football helmet blindly through the Internet going on the size of the helmet from the helmet measuring tape.
Cost
Riddell Revolution and Schutt Recruit are the most popular brand of youth football helmets. They run anywhere from $76 for a Riddell Attack Youth Helmet up to $139 for a Riddell Attack Youth Helmet of a different model. However, it is important that you go by fit instead of price.
Insider Tips
After fitting the helmet, have your child go through some moves he may commonly do during football practice or a game. This will give you an idea of whether the helmet will stay on properly.
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