Back to School Essentials

The school holidays are fast coming to an end and, depending if you’re a student or a parent, you’ll either be feeling a sense of dread or feeling over the moon that school’s back. But when it comes to children on bikes, it is important to ensure that they have all the necessary safety gear so that you can rest assured that they are as safe as can be when out and about riding. And we all know how fast kids grow up these days, with clothing and equipment needing to be replaced every so often because of how fast your kids grow out of them — not to mention the wear and tear that comes with rough usage, or the tendency of children to lose their stuff on a regular basis!

Take this opportunity to make sure that your kids are going into the new school year with a fresh start, with all the essential gear required to guarantee their safety. To help, we’ve compiled a checklist of things you need before sending your child riding back to the first day of school.

• Helmets. The need for bicycle helmets should be a no-brainer, as it really goes without saying why helmets are important for safety when cycling. However, kids sometimes see wearing helmets as uncool and unfashionable. Aside from being against the law to not wear a helmet while a bicycle, cyclists without a helmet are also exposing themselves to significantly more risk in the event of an accident.

• Closed toe shoes. Wearing sandals and flip flops while cycling is unsafe because they may get caught in chains or other parts of the bike. Wearing a pair of bike shoes solves the problem and provides the maximum comfort and performance when pedalling, but wearing any shoes will do as long as it’s closed toe.
  
  
• Education. No amount of safety gear can ever be a substitute for teaching your child how to cycle properly and safely. It is vital that your child knows the importance of cycling safely around cars and pedestrians, and looking ‘left, right then left again’ before crossing the road. And be sure to drill into your child the importance of wearing safety gear — there’s no buying them helmets if they’re just going to ‘forget’ and leave them behind at home.

Make sure your kids have all the necessary safety gear before they next hop on their bicycles!