With all the media coverage helmets have received in recent years, most people recognize that it's important to wear a helmet when participating in bicycling, skiing, snowboarding and equestrian sports.
Unfortunately it's all too easy to find people suffering from accidents that a helmet may have prevented.
But many people also know that it's not easy getting a child to wear a helmet all the time; in fact, there are many different websites and hundreds of articles that provide parents with some great ideas for how to encourage children to wear helmets.
Some of those ideas include: start your children wearing helmets when they are young so that by the time they are older it is a habit, or wear a helmet along with your child so that they feel more confident wearing one, or even to buy your child a helmet that has one of their favorite icons on it - for example if your child has a Barbie or a Power Rangers helmet, suddenly the helmet becomes that much more fun and they are more prone to wear it.
These are all great ideas and ones that helmet covers can add to.
So here are 4 ways having a good helmet cover can benefit you and your child.
1 - Your child will be more willing to wear their helmet all the time.
While buying a helmet with your child's favorite icon on it is great initially, when you take into consideration how frequently children get obsessed with the next big thing, icon helmets can become passé very quickly thus making it so your child is not as excited as they once were to wear their helmet.
This is not a problem with helmet covers.
Because helmet covers are designed to be removable, they can be updated and changed based on the child's whims.
So while at one time your child might feel like a dinosaur is the best thing in the world (and hence encourages them to wear their helmet) a few months later they might be head over heels in love with a lion.
Having a selection of helmet covers can provide the flexibility needed to keep children interested in wearing their helmet all the time.
2 - Helmet covers provide more visibility for your child.
Having a bright colored helmet cover can dramatically increase the child's visibility while they are out riding near roads, or as they fly down a mountain.
This increased visibility is beneficial for their safety as other bikers and motorists will be able to see your child easier and be able to avoid injury from collision.
In addition, since children rarely like to stay by their parents while out riding or skiing, you will be better able to see your child as they are out having fun, thus decreasing your anxiety that they will become lost.
3 - There is evidence that helmet covers provide a slight added layer of protection in an accident.
According to a 1991 test done by Voigt R.
Hodgson Ph.
D.
, helmets that have a helmet cover on them provide slightly better friction protection after a crash.
This added protection results from the helmet cover making contact with the ground first and then sliding until it is pulled off as a result of the friction.
This motion helps slow the overall slide providing for a small increase in safety.
See the report under Helmet Covers at the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute website: http://www.
bhsi.
org 4 - Helmet covers allow for more personal expression.
With all the mass marketed helmets available out there, it can be hard to stick out and make the helmet your own.
There are helmet decals available, and these help, but they are not as noticeable as a helmet cover.
Also, decals cannot be removed and changed like a helmet cover can.
So with a selection of helmet covers you can routinely change the look of you and your child's helmet to better express your individuality.
Now take the time to look at some of the helmet covers available online and see if you can't find some that will provide the benefits discussed here in addition to providing hours of fun for you and your child.