Bike seat / helmet / gtfo me daddy

Khannie

So.....Thought it might be nice to go for family cycles. My little one (18 months old now) absolutely loves going for walks in her buggy so I shelled out for a helmet and bike seat thingy.

Well....getting the helmet anywhere near her head = running away screaming. Though with a lot of "omg! look at that beautiful helmet! isn't it lovely!" we've reached the point that she'll pick it up so I'm hopeful there.

Anyway, the bike seat's a nono. She seems frightened of it. I'm looking for suggestions / anyone with similar experiences.

Loopy

I too have a 18mth old and have absolutley no idea how I would get her into one.

As it is, in the mornings she wriggles so much I have at times had to hold her down with my knee in order to strap her into the car seat, it can take ten mins.. Her strength is unbelievable... Sorry Khannie, Im no help... Be interested to hear others views as Id like to get one for my little one...

bored and tired

a friend of mine had a trailer type thing for the bike as opposed to a seat for the back of the bike and her kids all loved it,
other than bribery of lets go to the shops on our bikes to get icecream/sweets, im not sure how you are going to win her around though.

Khannie

looptheloop wrote: »

As it is, in the mornings she wriggles so much I have at times had to hold her down with my knee in order to strap her in, it can take ten mins..

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Classic. I thought our young one was bad.

B&T: I've seen those trailer things alright. For whatever reason they make me a bit nervous. Plus, I've shelled out the money for the bike seat now, so I'll stick with it for the moment.

Thanks both for the replies. Hopefully someone else has been more successful.

The Hill Billy

Khannie - Maybe try getting a couple of Barbie stickers (or whatever cartoon character she may be into at the moment) for her helmet? Dora the Explorer is a great one for wearing a helmet in her cartoons when she's on her bike. Point these thing out to her when you see them so she starts to think it is the norm.

Maybe you could get a Ken or Diego sticker for your own helmet so you can be "twins"?



The above examples are for illustrative purposes only. Hill Billy is not suggesting for a second that Khannie's daughter likes Barbie, or indeed that Khannie likes Ken. You get my drift. Terms & conditions apply.

shrapnel222

bored and tired wrote: »

a friend of mine had a trailer type thing for the bike as opposed to a seat for the back of the bike and her kids all loved it,
other than bribery of lets go to the shops on our bikes to get icecream/sweets, im not sure how you are going to win her around though.

people who use these in town during rush hour are just plain crazy imho, the thing is so low, if you're in your car you can't see it if it's just in front of you, and when it's raining, you see them even less. it's just a question of time before the worst happens, and in this case the kids will have no chance.

Khannie

Hill Billy wrote: »

Khannie - Maybe try getting a couple of Barbie stickers (or whatever cartoon character she may be into at the moment) for her helmet? Dora the Explorer is a great one for wearing a helmet in her cartoons when she's on her bike. Point these thing out to her when you see them so she starts to think it is the norm.

Nice idea. She was holding the helmet in her hand when I got home last night, so I think we're nearly there. She didn't like her shoes when she got them first. Now she's like imelda marcos.....walking up to you with shoes in hand...."eh...eh." (roughly translated...."put these on me immediately slave boy".).

The Hill Billy

BTW - Does herself have a little trike or anything? If so, maybe the helmet could become part of playtime on it.

Khannie

No trike, but I could be persuaded to invest in one if it would get her on the back of the bike. I'll check out smyths at the weekend.

run_Forrest_run

we took our little one on her first bike trip at around 18 months also and we bought her a nice little Winnie the Pooh helmet (that creature can do no wrong!). Anyway, there was some reluctance but we got the message through to her that there would be no cycling if she didn't put the helmet on (it doesn't help by the fact that mammy or daddy are not wearing helmets either...anyway).

A year later and she loves her bike rides, actually the last time we went out for a spin she actually fell asleep in her seat! It was so funny/cute but we did stop and Mrs. Forrest carried her while I walked the bikes home (not too far thankfully).

Oryx

Sounds like youre getting the helmet thing sorted. If you have trouble getting her on the bike, distraction might help. Either park the bike in front of the tv with her cartoons on and see if you can play a 'sit on the bike and watch tv game' or go 'hey look at that squirrell/monkey/elephant as you approach it. Maybe do a fun thing where mammy gets in the seat, ha ha ha, daddy gets on the seat, he he he, baby gets on the seat... etc. Just be inventive.:)

Hotblack Desiato

Putting stickers on a motorbike helmet is a no-no because the adhesive can weaken some types of plastic. So I wouldn't advise it on a bicycle helmet either.

Khannie

Well....we got over the hump. She's now loving the bike seat and has no objection to the helmet. Not sure if this will apply to others, but here's what we did.....

To get over the helmet issue, the "omg, look at that beautiful helmet!" and "where's your helmet?" and wearing my own helmet and getting the youngfella to wear his all contributed. Then one day I came home and she picked up her helmet and walked towards me, so we siezed the opportunity.

Stuck her in the bike seat and threw the helmet on. I'll be honest....she did cry a bit, and she did object along the way, but it was one of those "let's just get over this" things. So we cycled around, slowly, for about 8-10 minutes, then took her home.

Yesterday I took her out for a long cycle (around 45 minutes) and she absolutely _loved_ it. Probably going to take her out again later today.

Hope this helps someone else.

CJhaughey

I took my 17mth old out for her first spin on my bike.
I have an Ibert Safe-T-seat which I think is the best kids seat ever.
I was getting her ready and she kept pointing at the helmet, she wouldn't move without me putting it on her!
Her brother hated wearing it.
Now all she is saying is BIKE! BIKE!
I can see myself getting fitter if this carries on!

LolaDub

I saw a trailer thing attached to a bicycle today. It looks like a little carriage. There was two toddler girls in the back eating their ice creams loving every min of it. I'd say it could be a nice idea for park cycles or just up to local shops but not for busy roads.

Victor

Hill Billy wrote: »

BTW - Does herself have a little trike or anything? If so, maybe the helmet could become part of playtime on it.

Be careful not to create the idea that bikes and helmets are toys. Unfortunately, the road is no longer a playground. Note that cycling helmets are designed for falls, not crashes. Overall cycling is a health promoting activity.

Child seats - there are various configurations - facing forward / backward, behind the cyclist or in front, on-bike or trailer. I think I even saw a semi-tandem recently.

Khannie

Took her out again yesterday and called over to my mums house. Both of us loved the bike ride. It's a really nice way to get out and about and it's decent exercise for me.

CJhaughey

Victor wrote: »

Child seats - there are various configurations - facing forward / backward, behind the cyclist or in front, on-bike or trailer. I think I even saw a semi-tandem recently.

I looked at a good few of these recently but the one that i felt that was best for the child and me was the Ibert, being between your arms and in front is good for balance and maneuverability and also much better for the kid in terms of view, you can also talk to them much easier.

Khannie

That looks cool! Pity I didn't know about it before I got our one. I have a suspension mountain bike, so it doesn't have a normal frame. Had to attach the seat to my saddle bar, which in turn means I have to have the saddle up higher than I'd like.

Not cheap when you add in shipping etc.

CJhaughey

I didn't look around too much once I had seen the ibert, and the US dollar is pretty low right now so it didn't seem to bad.
I also liked the mounting on the stem rather than the top tube.
I just think the kid gets a better view than of my a$$:D

Khannie

CJhaughey wrote: »

I just think the kid gets a better view than of my a$$:D

Speak for yourself. My ass is a sight to behold.