How to Choose a Bike Helmet for a Child
The best bike helmet for a kid is one they will actually wear. Here's how to pick out a helmet and make sure it fits correctly.
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Some kids ride their bikes around smooth suburban streets. Others relax in a seat or trailer behind you. Some navigate city bicycle lanes like a pro, and others set out solo down quiet country lanes. But whatever the setting or the distance, all kids should wear a bicycle helmet every single time they ride. The key is finding a helmet that is comfortable, is protective, and fits well—and that your child will actually wear.
Every day, an average of more than 500 children with bike-related injuries are treated in U.S. emergency departments, according to an analysis of injury data from 2006 to 2015. Those wearing helmets were significantly less likely to have head and neck injuries, the study found. And although children tend to wear helmets more consistently than adults, many still ride without one, according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Along with advocating for safer, more bike-friendly streets, it’s important to choose a helmet that will help protect your child from injury in the event of a fall or a crash. Here’s what you need to know about how to buy a bike helmet for a kid, according to experts. Digital and All Access members can also see our full ratings, which include our testers’ assessments of 21 helmets for kids.
Get the Right Fit
When you’re choosing a helmet, focus primarily on ensuring the correct fit. “A poor fit will impact the protection a helmet can provide,” says Angela K. Lumba-Brown, MD, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Stanford Health Care in California and an expert on brain injury. “It can also make a helmet uncomfortable and therefore less likely to be used.”
The best way to find the right size is to take your child into a bike shop and have them try on helmets with a sales associate who’s familiar with the options, says Brad Bowman, product manager at Gregg’s Cycle, a family of three bike shops in Washington State. If you choose to buy online, Lumba-Brown suggests measuring your child’s head with flexible measuring tape about an inch above the eyebrows before choosing a size.
Balance Features and Price
Most helmets come equipped with a hard outer shell and shock-absorbing foam on the inside. Some helmets also contain a retention system designed to minimize rotational impact, a type of force that can lead to concussions. (Find out more about the types of helmets that can help prevent concussions.)
You should also consider ventilation, one of the features that CR assesses in our helmet testing. Good airflow can be especially helpful for older kids, Bowman says, because they may be more aerobic in their cycling exercise.
If you have younger, squirmy kids, ease of adjustability—signified by the score for ease of use in our ratings—is critical. The dial on the back of the helmet should be large enough to grab and easily turn.
The kids’ helmets in our ratings range in price from $20 to $90. But don’t get too hung up on price. All helmets sold in the U.S. have to meet standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, says John Galeotafiore, associate director of product testing at Consumer Reports, so inexpensive or poorly-rated ones should still offer minimum levels of protection. Counterfeit helmets that don’t meet federal safety standards are sometimes available for sale online, however, CR has found. So consider purchasing from your local bike shop or a trusted online retailer, such as REI or Performance Bicycle.
Once you choose a helmet, keep an eye on how it fits over time. Bowman recommends replacing your child’s helmet when they grow out of it. You can tell a helmet’s getting too small if you have a hard time getting it all the way on, or if the helmet exposes the child’s entire forehead or is tilted backward. “You want the helmet to sit just above the eyebrows,” he says.
Helmets should always be replaced after an impact, even if you don’t see any visible damage. And if your child is older and not outgrowing helmets more quickly, they should still be replaced every five years because the protective foam can become brittle over time.
Encourage Consistent Use
As a rule, enforce helmet-wearing even when your child is riding on the sidewalk or in a driveway. “Bike injuries don’t just happen in a direct collision with a car,” Lumba-Brown says. “The child can get out of control when they make a quick turn.”
One of the best ways to help kids understand the importance of wearing a helmet is to wear one yourself, Lumba-Brown says. A CDC study published in 2016 found that 90 percent of children reported always wearing helmets when their parents always wore helmets, too—but that number dropped precipitously among kids whose parents didn’t wear helmets or wore them inconsistently.
It can also help, Bowman says, to involve your child in the helmet-shopping process so they can choose a color or style they like. “Deferring to the child and what they’re excited about and what they will actually wear can be a really beneficial thing in getting them to use it.”
Along with ensuring proper fit and habitual helmet-wearing, Galeotafiore says there’s one rule to follow when you’re gearing up for a bike ride: Don’t pinch your kid’s chin. “You want to make sure with any helmet, you never cause the buckle to pinch the skin,” he says. “Otherwise they’re never going to want to wear the helmet ever again.”
Top Picks for Kids' Helmets
Digital All Access members can also see our full ratings of youth helmets.
