kids helmet

I'd make sure which ever you get has a solid peak.
Saved my daughter from a too much damage once when she fell off - tiny graze on nose and chin.
If she'd had a helmet with no peak of a flimsy one it would have been way worse.
Front of the helmet was pretty ground out.

A helmet is far too personal a product to buy based purely on a recommendation. You will need to go and try different brands and models until you find the one that fits your kid the best. It makes a lot of difference to the effectiveness of the helmet.

The Lazer MIP helmet was the only one recommended as exceptional on the twowheeling tots website. It's an American site that I found about all things child related with cycling (well reviews, comparisons and the like). Although I believe this has been discontinued in America. It was basically considered the best out of a wide range from Giro, Spec, Bell, etc. Expensive at £50 for a kid who might grow out of it or damage it before long IMHO. Perhaps the spec one (also highly rated on that site) might be better at £20. Of course the argument is "what price your kid's safety?" My reply would be they both work just as well as each other and it is only minor things tht are offered in the £50 helmet over the £20 one. Nothing that adds much to the safety aspect. Of course if your kid will only wear the expensive one (due to fit or other reason) then it has a real safety advantage

Try before you buy. Evans usually bring things in to store without a commitment to you buying. They might ask for you to pay something up front (refunded if not bought IIRC) but they should provide the helmet in stock for your to try. It is so important to try helmets afterall.

We introduced our child to trailers and child seats quite early on so his head was still quite small. He never fitted even the smallest of the above helmets but we went into our small town's LBS which was a Raleigh outlet (indeed it had a museum of old Raleigh bikes including a special edition centenary golden bike given to just 100 people as a special recognition of something (the store owner was one). They had a Raleigh helmet that was smaller than any other so he had at least something on his head. Mind you it was touch and go whether he would keep it on for every trip out. No matter how tight or well fitted you got it he always managed to work it out so he could get it off. IF he so decided which sometimes he was happy with it. This son is a real Houdini type. He can wriggle his arms out of any child seat if he wants out.

BTW do any of you wear helmets? Me and my partner don't wear them anymore but we are thinking that it is hypocritical if we insist he wears his and we don't. So we are planning to always wear ours when he is around to see. That way he hopefully sees it as part of cycling to wear a helmet. Does that help at all with them keeping the helmet on????

Without getting into the whole helmet debate I don't wear one as I'm only really on the road or the likes of towpaths. If I was on an MTB route I would but that is only a matter of lack of confidence as I am not an MTB rider with any experience. I do however acknowledge the hypocrisy of the parent/child helmet thing. However there is research (I am unreliably told on other helmet debates) that helmet offer a degree of safety to developing brains in children that is not evident in adults. However would my 18 month old understand that when they are only happy wearing the helmet because it is copying Daddy/Mummy? Perhaps when older he could understand there is a difference.

I only really asked the question because we are going through a stage where he gets his helmet off no matter how well adjusted. I wondered if using the copying aspect of child development to get the helmet wearing to stick could work or does work with others at the younger end of the spectrum. How did you get your children to wear them when 2 or younger?