10 Tips for Bicycling with Kids

Bike riding is one of summer's most pleasurable activities, and parents may want to share the fun with their kids. Kathy Parish, R.N., pediatric trauma nurse coordinator for Beaumont Children's Hospital, offers the following injury prevention tips for parents who want to take their kids for a ride.

• Always wear a helmet and make sure your child wears one as well.
• Be sure when buying a bike seat that the manufacturer has met ASTM 1625-00 standards.
• Secure your child in the safety harness so he doesn't fall out of the seat.
• A rear-mounted bike seat raises your bike's center of gravity, making it difficult to maintain balance when not pedaling or when placing your child on or removing him from the bike seat.
• Secure your child's legs, feet, clothing and shoes so they don't get caught in the spokes.
• Ensure your child does not have access to items he may drop that would interfere with the bike's safe operation.
• Look for a sturdy frame, roll bars, a rollover hitch and five-point harness to secure the child when buying a bike trailer.
• When using a bike trailer, practice with it in a safe environment without traffic. The extra load will make it harder to get started and require longer braking times to stop. Turning corners may be tricky.
• When using a trail-a-bike (see picture), consider attaching a bright orange safety flag to the rear of the child's bike.
• Keep in mind that a trail-a-bike is longer than a regular bike, so it takes longer to cross paths and roads.