How to make a 15 year old want to skate in a helmet?

September 16, 2006 5:51 AM

I need some gory pro-skateboard-helmet propaganda.

The young man of the house has just discovered skateboarder videos, and of course none of the young rebels filmed are wearing helmets. So now he's convinced himself that not wearing a helmet is cool. As the house fuddy-duddy, it's clearly my job to convince him otherwise. I need horror stories, I need gory pictures of bleeding depressed skull fractures, and I need audio testimony from people whose lives have been ruined by acquired brain injury. Help me, hive mind!

posted by flabdablet to education (31 comments total)

Well, for what it’s worth, it isn’t that not wearing a helmet is cool; it’s just that wearing a helmet is very uncool. This is a battle my parents lost with me around that age (and all friends’ parents lost with them too). All the horror stories (albeit not pictures/video; those were all in the skateboard videos themselves) and that sort of thing were relayed to us too and if anything they just made us feel more rock ‘n roll. Perhaps we were just especially stupid though. If it’s any consolation though, in 10 years I only banged my head a few times and never all that hard (heh!) and in fact never even heard of someone getting a serious head injury. Although I saw plenty of arms and legs bent at funny angles so I’d have thought broken limbs are much more likely.

But anyway, if you really want to take that route, here’s one for you, Nollie Roof Gap. Poor old Carlos.
posted by ed\26h at 6:18 AM on September 16, 2006

You are the parent, the kid is 15. I don't think you need to convince him of anything. You tell him to wear the damn helmet, it's not negotiable. It's perfectly OK to be an authoritarian parent sometimes, particularly when safety is an issue. When he is 16 are you going to debate seat belts, or drinking and driving with him too?

Kids need the opportunty to screw up and learn from their mistakes, but job 1 as a parent is to pick and choose which mistakes are not worth the risk. If you think skateboard helmets fall into the non negotiable category them make it so. You are allowed to do that.
posted by COD at 6:49 AM on September 16, 2006

I don't know that you're actually going to find that many people who've had their lives ruined by skateboarding head injury. These things tend to be more hype than fact.

ed\26h is on the right track - what you really need is to show them a few dozen YouTubes of people crashing/whatever to let them know the consequences of stupidity.

(Yadda yadda won't someone think of the children yadda rugby us football head as weapon yadda)
posted by unixrat at 6:49 AM on September 16, 2006

ed\26h I agree with you. The head injuries happen far less often than the limbs bent at weird angles.

COD has a good point though, if my pops would have said "WEAR THE DAMN HELMET, ITS NOT NEGOTIABLE, OTHERWISE NO SKATING*, I probably would have worn the helmet down the street until he couldn't see me anymore. Damn kids.

Your son really does the need the Youtube and education route. Teach him why it pays to be safe rather than throwing down a set of rules he and his friends will end up breaking anyway.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 7:16 AM on September 16, 2006

It's perfectly OK to be an authoritarian parent sometimes

To be honest I couldn’t agree more with that. However, practically all good parents will tell their 15 year olds, for instance, that drinking and smoking are non-negotiable – they’re simply not allowed to. But you still get a lot of pissed kids. If a helmet rule is made, the kid is going to leave the house wearing one and by the time he meets his friends on the corner it’ll be firmly in his backpack. And I doubt it’s going to be possible for the parent to realistically police such a rule. Not being a parent I may be wrong but (I have been a kid and) suspect it’s unrealistic to try and enforce that kind of rule on authority alone.

And on preview - what funmonkey1 said.
posted by ed\26h at 7:28 AM on September 16, 2006

Realistically, you're struggling with saftey vs. a child's bid for independence (and rebellion).

I'd suggest going over to http://www.tonyhawk.com/. Every picture, video etc, of the icon of skateboarding is wearing a helmet.

You also might buy this amazon video where you see the 'experts' fall, wearing helmets.

Unfortunately, the guy who invented some of the tricks that the other kids are trying, is probably seen as "too old."

--------------

Now, me, I'm not a parent.
So, I'd pull the 15 year old aside and ask him if it'd hurt if I punch him in the nads. I'd then offer to let him wear a cup, and I'd ask him if it would then hurt as much. (remember, kids think their indestructible). I'd then suggest a helmet.

Bonus: I'd then explain, if I ever caught him without a helmet, I'd punch him in the nads.
posted by filmgeek at 8:01 AM on September 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

A friend of mine, riding a bicycle without a helmet, on an empty residential street (wasn't hit by a car, wasn't doing stunts, just crashed), managed to do this to himself a few days ago:

--knocked out five of his front teeth
--chipped several others
--broken nose
--minor concussion
--lots of other minor injuries

Would this have happened if he were wearing a helmet? Maybe. You can always hit at just the wrong angle. But it's indicative of the damage a relatively minor fall can do when your head encounters asphalt.

I'd suggest you try to locate a "cool" helmet - not a big foam one, but a form-fitting one of some sort - you know, along the lines of a rugby helmet or whatever. Still provides some level of protection, and if he'll wear it, that's a lot better than the world's most protective helmet that isn't worn.
posted by jellicle at 8:16 AM on September 16, 2006

I think that the authoritarian route is cool, but give the kid some help explaining it to other skaters. Having to say "My mom makes me" is only going to make him take if off as soon as you look away.

I spend a fair bit of time at the dirt jump park. I always have on a full face helment. Dirt Jumping has the similar ethic of not wearing helmets. I get asked about my helmet from the kids, and I always explain that I've got too much going on in my life to sit around injured. I've got a collection of broken helmets sitting at home, and that I'll get up and walk away from stuff that nobody else can. I flat out tell kids at the park to get a helment. I occasionally use the line 'I'm pretty good at school, I like my brain,I plan on keeping it a while."

I've got a good friend that wears a surf helmet. He gets comments on it, and he just explains that the doctor told him that another bad concussion would kill him. Your lifetime limit is only about 5.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that if there is any way you can help your kid explain the helmet thing as being cool because he's just going for it, trying hard, falling a lot, you might have a better chance. And, spend as much as you need to on the helmet to make sure it's the coolest helmet he can pick out, and then buy him the stickers to cover it with. If he's got some sense of ownership of it, he's more likely to wear it. This helmet is a pretty cool one that was designed with Bob Burnquist.
posted by tumble at 8:20 AM on September 16, 2006

here is me from a cycling accident: gory link.
posted by atom128 at 8:31 AM on September 16, 2006

here is my friend naz, sorry, still cycling specific but i dont know a ton of skaters... www.flickr.com/photos/absenter


posted by atom128 at 8:35 AM on September 16, 2006

As people have intimated, I'd save the serious helmet arguing for biking; few of the boarders I know have landed on their heads (although many limbs have received new and unexpected articulations) while I know far too many cyclists (myself included) who've done the brain-pan dismount.
posted by Luddite at 8:50 AM on September 16, 2006

Unfortunately, the guy who invented some of the tricks that the other kids are trying, is probably seen as "too old."

Age or not, I think you’re generally right – Tony Hawk saying something isn’t going to impress it on your average 15 year old skateboarder. He’s more the media icon or skateboarding than anything else. But irrespective of that, the main problem is he’s a vert skateboarder. It’s "acceptable" for them to wear helmets. They all do. So unless this kid rides vert (which is very unlikely and in which case he’d almost certainly be wearing a helmet anyway) you’re probably out of luck with that. Street skateboarders wearing a helmet is (or was relatively recently at least) simply unheard of.
posted by ed\26h at 8:59 AM on September 16, 2006

Tell him if you catch him without a helmet that you will confiscate his skateboard, then do it.
posted by konolia at 9:43 AM on September 16, 2006

Here's a conversation I recently had with a very smart woman on the internet:

So tell me an interesting short story--a case history, so I can see what you do.

Guy skateboards off of his roof, onto trampoline but misses
Severe brain injury
Needs neuropsych
Neurology
PT
OT etc
I gather all legal and medical information
Compile, develop rehab plan
Transfer to Case Manager
Oversee service

Teenagers have no frontal lobes
That is where all the executive functions are
They do not have the cognitive capacity to make decisions
IQ and executive functions do not relate to each other

(I mention that I can see these functions coming together in my teenaged son)

When he is 22 he will be done
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:41 AM on September 16, 2006

Do you let the kid cross roads?

Then you probably shouldn't worry about him skateboarding without a helmet, as letting him cross roads is far more dangerous.
posted by reklaw at 11:34 AM on September 16, 2006

reklaw's right, so long as anything else presents a greater risk you need to to forget about your otherwise legitimate concerns. Maybe start with heart disease and work your way down... how's the kid's cholesterol?
posted by moift at 12:53 PM on September 16, 2006

If you're dead set on this, and realistically you'll probably lose regardless, you can always arrange a field trip to a rehab facility that specializes in sports injuries. Bonus point if there are skateboarders there. More bonus points if you can find one that has suffered severe brain injury as a result.

In all truth though, as a former skater and someone that's been around the culture since the 80's, your son is more likely to suffer severe head trauma from being hit by a car on his skateboard than from doing any tricks he may try. Expect scrapes, bruises, fracturers, dislocations, concussions, and other monor stuff that is a pain in the ass for the up to 6 to 8 week recovery, but will leave little to no significant long term damage.

I've suffered worse injuries commuting to work in a safe manner on a bicycle than I ever did attempting any tricks or stunts on a board/bike as a kid.
posted by ChazB at 1:05 PM on September 16, 2006

An idea from "How to Talk to your Kids so they will Listen": don't be the athority on this. Tell the kid it is time for his check up, and clue the doctor in beforehand. Let the doc tell the kid he needs to wear it and why. Then go to the coolest shop in your area, and have them help him pick out a cool helmet. Tell him that you trust him to make the right decision to wear it, even if you aren't around. If the other kids get on his case about it, tell him to say that the last time he went without another adult saw him and reported back to his dad and he got in trouble.

wife of 445supermag
posted by 445supermag at 1:32 PM on September 16, 2006

The street skaters wear helmets in competition too, check out http://www.expn.com for the X games guys names.

Tony Hawk still carries come force, if not for his skating, for his staking ames, so definitely try his site too.

Maybe try getting him involved in competition or team stuff since they hafta wear gear.

reg
posted by legotech at 2:10 PM on September 16, 2006

Does your kid like to stand out from the crowd? If he's a nonconformist maybe he could make himself a helmet so rad that it's more of a fashion statement than a safety device. (I mean decorate a store-bought proper helmet, not make his own lid out of tinfoil.)

From the Cool Helmet Department: this morning I saw a cyclist who had glued a whole bunch of pheasant tailfeathers to his helmet, plus some sparkly dangly stuff. He went whizzing past so I didn't get a very good look, but it was definitely cool and eye-catching, in a "Sioux warbonnet goes to Vegas" kind of way. It takes chutzpah to wear something like that, which might actually gain him more street cred than he'd lose for wearing a helmet in the first place.
posted by Quietgal at 2:18 PM on September 16, 2006

Another thought: get in a conversation about how long these guys have been at competition level and how much experience they have (ask him to tell you.) Then ask him if he thinks that he is as good as them, or does he have more to learn. You make more mistakes when you are learning. It might get him thinking.

wife of 445supermag
posted by 445supermag at 2:24 PM on September 16, 2006

"These things tend to be more hype than fact" < -- br>
As an EMT who has dealt with quite a few busted noggins, I have to politely disagree with you. Any form of head trauma is no laughing matter. Skull + concrete = brains rattling around. That's never a good thing.
posted by drstein at 10:04 PM on September 16, 2006

The founder of Freenode just died in a bike accident. He was not wearing a helmet.
posted by any major dude at 10:16 PM on September 16, 2006

OK. Target audience exposed to an "accidental" viewing of the Nollie Roof Gap video, abruptly cut off as soon as everybody starts panicking and running down to check the fallen Carlos out; I thought it looked a bit more plausible without the ha-ha brains-fallen-out ending.

Of course he shrugged it off with "what an idiot, he can't even nollie and he's up on a roof" but there was that momentary look of shock at the point where the blood starts to pool under Carlos's head. So I'll let that cook for a week and we'll see what happens with helmet usage.

Thanks, ed\26h!

Keep 'em coming, folks... the campaign is still in the early stages here :-)

And I will have to check to make sure, but after watching the end of "Deck Dogs" the other day, I'm almost sure I saw Tony Hawk doing a 540 in a concrete skate bowl without a helmet.
posted by flabdablet at 11:32 PM on September 16, 2006

Early indications positive - we were out for our afternoon stroll and caught a glimpse of our intrepid hero in the distance, heading for the skate park - with bright red helmet on head.
posted by flabdablet at 6:00 AM on September 17, 2006

You'll find some useful stuff in 411/911, especially around the 5:35 mark.
posted by ed\26h at 8:40 AM on September 17, 2006

I don't know that you're actually going to find that many people who've had their lives ruined by skateboarding head injury. These things tend to be more hype than fact.

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you have no idea what you're talking about from a medical perspective.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), accounts for approximately 1/3 of all trauma deaths. It is a major public health problem. Over 1 million people a year, and an estimated 5 million people overall in the United States alone, either suffer TBI or have suffered major life consequences as the result of TBI.

Insofar as the "surely it can't be that bad if I can just shake it off" argument:

That's because this kind of damage tends to be cumulative, not acute. Repeated encounters between the occiput of your skull and concrete at high speed will have consequences. Maybe not today, or even next year, but each concussion-level trauma to the brain leaves residual damage.

If you accumulate enough of this damage, you lose function. If it's severe enough, it kills you.

If you want to make the case for a helmet, have the kid sit down with the surgical staff at your local Level 1 trauma center.
posted by scrump at 10:48 PM on September 17, 2006

I don't remember names sorry, but the pro-roller blader in UK banged his head on a telegraph pole and did not survive.

even the best should wear a helmet, but nobody wants to. Although as I kid I always wore a helmet when playing hockey.. too many whacks on the ice :)
posted by lundman at 11:35 PM on September 17, 2006

ed\26h, 411/911 is truly horrible; those falls make me hurt just watching them. Tremendous stuff, and after a bit of light editing, just what I was looking for.

Thanks!

The unhappy camper with the split eyebrow is definitely a keeper.
posted by flabdablet at 12:01 AM on September 18, 2006

I told my 15 year old brother that if I ever caught him riding his bike without a helmet he'd come home to discover his front wheel missing.

I would do the same thing with his skateboard. All you need is the will and a wrench.
posted by exhilaration at 10:36 AM on November 29, 2006

When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, I read Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park. The book is about a girl who struggles to deal with her brother's death in a bike accident where he wasn't wearing his helmet. The book is very well-written - the message about safety is there, but it doesn't dominate the story. Over 10 years later, I still remember the narrator's words that an inch of styrofoam could have saved her brother's life. That was probably the first time I realized how stupid it was not to wear a helmet when biking.

Your son may be a couple of years too old for this, though, since Amazon gives it an reading level of 9 to 12 years. Still, it's worth a try to go for the emotional angle if the gory pictures and videos don't work. The book's average rating on Amazon is 4.5/5. {reviews}
posted by catburger at 7:17 PM on December 21, 2006