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TriangleMom2Mom's Bike Helmet Giveaway
Pulley Watson, a Mom2Mom advertiser and local law firm, has graciously offered us some great bike helmets and gift certificates to the Bicycle Chain for a contest.
Pulley Watson held a bike safety festival in March. And they have been working to ensure that all kids wear helmets when they're on a bike. Click here for more information about bike safety tips from Pulley Watson and the Bike Head First Campaign.
So we'll have two winners. Each will take home a helmet (a Small Fry child helmet made by Specialized) and a $25 gift certificate to the Bicycle Chain, which has locations across the Triangle.
What do you need to do to win? Finish the following sentence by noon, July 17. Please remember that banter back and forth is allowed and encouraged as long as it pertains to the question and subject. Make sure you're registered on the site. If you're not, just click "Join Us" at the top of this page and fill out the form. (Your triangle.com and newsobserver.com user IDs and passwords work here too).
To answer the question, scroll down to the bottom of the page, fill out your answer in the comment box and click "post comment." If you don't see the comment box, you're not logged into the site.
The question: Where do you let your kids ride bikes?
A. On the street
B. On the greenway or park
C. In an empty parking lot
D. Anywhere
E. Other
Contest rules: To enter, make sure you are registered as a member of TriangleMom2Mom.com and participate in the"TriangleMom2Mom's Bike Helmet Giveaway" forum by noon, July 17. Banter back and forth is welcome and encouraged, but should be relevant to the topic of discussion. No purchase necessary. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Employees of The News & Observer Publishing Co. and McClatchy Interactive and their immediate families are not eligible to win prizes but may join TriangleMom2Mom and participate in site activities. Prize winners will be selected by random drawing from all registered users of TriangleMom2Mom who participate in the "TriangleMom2Mom's Bike Helmet Giveaway" forum as of 12:01 p.m., July 17. Odds of winning dependent on number of entries. The winner must accept the prize by noon, July 24. The winners' names will be posted on the site.
Comments
(E) Other. My oldest is only two, so he doesn't ride a bike yet. He wears a helmet when sitting on his tricycle (we are working on pedaling). As he gets older, I would let him ride on the neighborhood streets once he knows how to be safe and there aren't many cars. He also wears a helmet when riding on the back of an adult bike.
For moms with younger kids, do you have any experience with "run-bikes" (bikes that don't have pedals). We are thinking we may go this route instead of training wheels. What is your experience?
B & E
My son is 3 and a half - he rides a tricycle on the sidewalks of our neighborhood, but only during the day on weekdays - it seems to dangerous, even on the sidewalks, in the evenings when people are getting home from work and on the weekends...
There's a greenway near our house and that's the best - but I have to carry his trike across a couple of intersections to get there :(
But, when we go to a park i always through his trike in the back of the van to take with us -
To Lindsay47 - we don't have one of those "run-bikes" but a four-year-old down the street does. He's had it for at least a year and is on it a lot. I think it's really helped his balance.
(I can't win the prize, just wanted to share my experience).
Sarah
site editor
in the street/cul-da-sac
B & E -- the younger one rides only in the driveway or on the sidewalk with a grownup, the older one can ride on the sidewalks in the neighborhood. We do ride them via the sidewalks to the park in the neighborhood, and maybe when the almost four year old is a little older we can all ride together on the greenways.
I think all of the above should be fine as long as safety comes first.
My girls love to ride their bikes. Our 10 year old just got a new bike for her birthday & she rides on our street and to the park nearby so she's on the greenway some. Our 6 year old is transitioning from training wheels so she's just in the street & circle at our house. It does seem kids don't ride bikes as they get older as much as they did when I was a kid. I think most neighborhoods don't have somewhere for them to ride their bikes to.
any ole place
A - in the street/cul-de-sac
We're pretty fortunate that we live on a cul-de-sac, so we don't have to worry too terribly much about traffic. All 3 of the kids (2, almost 5, and 7.5) wear helmets gladly. They all know that no helmet = no rides. They also use them with their scooters, skates/roller blades, and at the ice rink. Fortunately, we haven't had any close calls, but better safe than sorry. They also know that they aren't allowed to ride unless mom or dad is available to keep an eye on them.
Lindsay 47, thanks for asking, and Sarah, thanks for answering about the "run-bikes". My husband is looking into that for our middle child. She hasn't asked about taking training wheels off yet, and she might do okay, but we don't know anyone who has used one of those bikes to give an opinion.
Talking to more avid biker friends, they are all getting the "run-bikes" for their children. I hope to be able to try one out with my two year old this month so we'll see how he does. I didn't personally use training wheels, but I didn't have a bike until I was 7. Kids are getting them much sooner these days.
There are so many options when biking today....has anybody tried a tag-along bike for older children? (this is 1/2 a bike that attaches on to the adults' seat so the child has their own seat and wheel and pedals) I think when my boys get older, I'd like to get one of these.
Currently we have the bike seats that go on the back of our bikes for both our boys. My two year old loves it, and we haven't tried my 8-month old yet. There are also the bike seats similar to this style, but they attach in the front. We got both our seats at consignment sales, so I haven't ever used a front seat myself. I think you could have more interaction with your child that way.
Unfortunately, we won't get to try out a run-bike this week, but hopefully in the next week or two. I've been doing a lot of research on this, and I think that's the kind we want to get. Now I need to decide if we should get foot-pegs or not and also some have a hand brake. If anybody has experience with this, I'd love you to share!
When I was younger, helmets were just starting to be worn by some children (not just professional bikers) but I didn't have one until I had a really bad accident on my bike. I got one shortly thereafter, and my dad did too. I think it's important for adults to model the behavior that they expect out of their children. Both my husband and I wear ours when we bike.
THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. WINNERS TO BE NOTIFIED SHORTLY.