Should You Wear A Helmet Skateboarding?
It’s A No-Brainer!
Yes, you absolutely should wear one! It might be an unpopular opinion in skating, especially if you’re a teenager trying to convince your parents you don’t need one.
Trust me, you do.
Your brain is too important, regardless of how talented you are on a board. Even the most basic tricks can end in disaster when it coming to skateboarding.
When Should You Always Wear A Helmet Skating
- When you are just starting out; a huge percentage of injuries occur in the first few weeks
- Learning transition and riding ramps
- Half-pipes and vert ramps with major height
- Cement bowls and pools
- Large drops and big stair sets
How to encourage your kids to wear a helmet
1. Safety Education
Learning how important the brain is can help us understand why we need to skate safely. From the dangers of mild concussions to more serious brain injuries, parents need to teach how to protect our most valuable asset.
2. Fear Tactics
There have been several horror stories of brain injuries from skateboarding that can humble the best skaters. Learn from the lessons of these young athletes whose lives are forever changed for not wearing a helmet. One search on Google for skateboarding brain injury will show plenty of stories to learn from.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrJfyHDxgbw
3. Make It Fun
Growing up I used my helmet as a canvas for the stickers I collected of my favorite brands and shops. Encourage sticker collecting to add a personal touch to make the helmet a reflection of you.
Another awesome option is a dry erase helmet from Wipeout. Get creative and make art that protects your head. Wipe it off when you get inspired and start again!
3. Normalize Helmets
Talk to other parents in the skateboarding community, get on the page about encouraging safety equipment. Peer pressure plays a huge role in thinking protective skate gear is lame or cool. If the group you skate with wear a helmet, wearing yours is a no brainer!
4. Exposure and Role Models
Expose them to positive role models in the industry that make wearing safety equipment look normal. Some pull it off so well they even make it look cool. Andy Anderson is a great example of a gnarly skater with a cool style. Watch his new 2020 part and be amazed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg1ZMwAAcEg&t=2s
5. Protection Helps You Progress Faster
Confidence is the key to stepping up to new tricks on your board. Knowing your head is protected provides an ease of mind that you won’t end up in the ER with a head injury. That can definitely help alleviate some fear when it comes to trick progression.