Helmet for a 11 month old

jag con

Hi i have a 11 month old baby and would love to take her out on the mountain bike with me just for short spins around the town etc. Anyway i have a child seat for the bike but cant pick up a helmet for her , I measured her and she is 44cm but the nearset size i seen online for a lid is 46cm. So my question is she too young for a child seat.

Thanks
JC

Lumen

I wouldn't bother with a cycling helmet, it'll do more harm than good (I base this on experience and studies which I can't be bothered to find again).

Maybe consider a Thudguard if you really think it's necessary.

When I cycled with a child on the bike I adopted the mindset that if I crashed there would be serious injuries or death. I obviously don't believe that, but it helps focus the mind.

check_six

It's a hat or jacket with hood and some gloves the kids need. It can be a bit cold on the back of a bike if you're not pedalling furiously to keep warm.

The thing you have to watch with child seats is that you need to keep the weight of the child as low down as possible, (without them getting in the way of your pedalstroke). This helps a lot with the manoeverability of the bike, even an extra centimetre can help.

The first seat setup I had on my MTB was way too high due to things like mudguards and bottle cage bolts, and my kid could nearly steer the bike himself depending on which way he leaned or jigged about as we cycled along!

The other thing you have to watch is that moment when you have to dismount and try to take the child out of the seat without the whole thing toppling over. This can be tricky sometimes, but the thing to imprint on your brain now is that, despite what your primal instincts tell you, you should try and catch the child *first* and then worry about the bike later in the event of the bike falling over when you are taking the kid out.

Also, bikes can be a bit trickier to lock properly when they have the seat on the back. Check your lock for suitability.

DirkVoodoo

Wouldn't put a helmet on an 11 month year old baby, I know that nutcase helmets specifically warned against selling helmets to be used on children less than 1 because their neck muscles just aren't developed enough to cope with the weight.

I'm sure there is a relative comparison for an adult floating around there somewhere, strapping a bag of cement or something to your head.

Undercover Elephant

jag con wrote: »

So my question is she too young for a child seat.

No, not if she can sit up straight. My youngest forced her way in at 10 months.

One thing to be wary of is that it can send some children to sleep. Do-o-own goes the head, and it's almost impossible to do anything about it. Quick squirt of the water bottle is probably the most effective. Don't tell your spouse.

doozerie

And something else to be mindful of is the location of your child if swinging your leg over your saddle, or handlebars, to mount the bike. I've not had a bike seat on my bike but I gather it is easy enough to forget to be cautious. I did cruelly kick a bouquet of flowers in the petals once though, while they sat innocently jutting out of my rear pannier waiting for me to cycle them home, but at least they didn't grass me to my wife when I got home.

rflynnr

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with either Lumen or Dirk here but if the kid is old enough to be put into a child seat (implying their neck muscles are sufficient to hold their head erect for prolonged periods) then I doubt they'd have much trouble bearing the weight of a helmet. My youngest walked at eight months and , in retrospect, my decision to wait until she was 10 months to put her into a child seat (with helmet) was not based on any objective rationale but rather a vague sense that "she can't be ready for this".