Safety checklist: on bikes and skates

New Zealand Child Safety Foundation

Safety on bicycles

Key facts:

Younger children are most often injured on their bicycles at home, while older children are more typically injured in traffic. In 1998 (in the 50% of incidents where location was recorded) 64% of children under five were injured at home, while 77% of children aged 10 to 14 were injured on the road or street.

• Ensure a bike is age appropriate
• Use training wheels while child is not confident
• Make your property bike/trike safe
• Ensure child knows they are not allowed out of the gate without an adult
• Ensure all children wear well-fitted helmets
• Ensure your child knows how to ride a bike safely
• Check brakes, tyres and saddle regularly
• Check all equipment for loose wheels and wear
• Check the handle bars are secure

Safety on wheels : skates, rollerblades and skateboards

• Only use outside, away from traffic and preferably on flat ground
• Never use on the road
• Ensure each child wears protective gear and a properly fitted helmet
• Ensure child avoids stairs, steep sloping paths and rough ground
• Check all equipment for loose wheels and wear
• Avoid long laces or trousers with wide legs

This checklist has been kindly provided by the New Zealand Child Safety Foundation , one of New Zealand’s least known but most valuable charitable foundations. Among the many services provided by the Foundation is the Train the Trainer Child Safety Parent Workshops. These free workshops are proving to be a wonderful tool for a growing number of organisations to use to inform/advise their parent groups on injury prevention skills. For more information visit their website.