I don’t know about where you live, but here it’s icy and cold outside — definitely not bicycle weather. However, there are plenty of outdoor winter sports that children enjoy and that can be dangerous if they don’t have a helmet to protect their brains.

Lots of children ski and rarely do they ski without proper headgear. However, lots of children also sled in the snow. Sometimes those sledding excursions are down steep hills in backyards and neighborhood parks. Sometimes, those hills end at a fence or a street or several trees.  Sometimes, children cannot stop in enough time to keep from running into the fence, street or trees. Sometimes, children do not have proper headgear when they go outside to play in the neighborhood snow with friends.

Without proper headgear, those casual neighborhood play times can be the most dangerous. Your child’s head needs to be covered with more than just enough to keep her ears warm. She needs a helmet to protect her from a brain injury.

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons reports that, in 2008, winter sports was one of the top ten sports/ recreational causes of head injuries in children under the age of 14.

No state requires helmets for winter sports. Don’t wait for a state mandate. Please put your child in protective headgear every time she walks out the door to go sledding in the winter. Even mild traumatic injuries can be devastating to a child’s brain.

Trudi Hays, who lives in Herndon, Virginia, stepped forward and asked for two helmets for young neighbors. She got them.

If you live in Virginia and know a child who needs a bike helmet, call me at 703-260-6070, send an email to Sandra@RohrstaffLaw.com or contact us through our website, www.RohrstaffLaw.com, to sign up for our newsletter and let us know that you want a bike helmet for a child. We’ll put you on our list and also send you a measuring tape so you can tell us the correct measurement of the child’s head.

With toddlers, it is important to keep a watchful eye as they learn to make their way on their feet.  While most toddler falls are inconsequential, falls around dangerous areas can be detrimental.  Always use gates to protect children from stairwells and windows.  In recent years, some gates have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Be sure to check that the one you are using is in full compliance with today’s standards.  Wheeled baby walkers used to be popular, but now have been mostly taken off the market due to their dangers around stairs.

Helmets save lives. Everyone should wear a helmet while riding a bicycle.  Set a good example for your children and do the same yourself.  Be sure your helmets are properly fitted with the buckle fitting snug under the chin.  Only properly-fitted helmets provide good protection. Even children sitting in a child carrier on the back of your bike or in a trailer pulled by your bike should wear a helmet.

Infants under the age of one should not be carried on bikes.  Also, toddlers older than four are usually too large for carrier seats and should have either their own bike or a trailer attached to yours.

Helmets are also important in roller blading, roller skating, and skateboarding.