How to you convince your mom to let you not wear a helmet boarding?

Question

My mom wants me to wear a helmet boarding this year, because my friends have to, its really stupid, because i never have before. How do I convince her that its fine without a helmet, cuz i have fallen a lot without a helmet and never gotten hurt HELPP ADVICE QUICKLY!

Answer 1

dude, juj. it doesn't matter if u wear a helmet or not. its protection and no one cares.  so just wear a dang helmet.

Answer 2

Just wear the helmet. Research below:

CHICAGO - Flying down water-enjected ice courses, helmets are a no-brainer for your favorite Olympic ski racers. A new study out of Norway confirms that they're a no-brainer for the rest of us snowriders, too.

Researchers hope their study, along with helmet-clad Olympic athletes, will lead to greater use of protective headgear on the slopes.

''Do as the Olympians do,'' said study co-author Dr. Roald Bahr of the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo. ''Wear a helmet, even if you're not an elite skier or snowboarder - especially if you're not.''

Some critics argue helmets may lead to accidents by giving daredevil skiers a false sense of security or cause more neck injuries because of the weight of the headgear.

The study found that while risk takers were more likely to wear helmets, helmet wearers overall were 60 percent less likely to suffer head injuries. It also found a lower risk of neck injuries with helmet wear, but that finding was not statistically significant, meaning it could have been due to chance.

The study looked at data on more than 6,000 skiers and snowboarders at eight Norwegian ski resorts during the 2002 winter season. It appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

With about 39 fatalities a year, skiing and snowboarding are safer than bicycling or swimming, which have higher death rates, according to the National Ski Areas Association, a trade group.

Helmet use is increasing, the group said, with one-third of skiers and snowboarders surveyed last season wearing helmets, compared with 28 percent the year before.

Over the past five years, almost 40 percent of skiers and snowboarders who died in ski accidents wore helmets, said Jasper Healy, professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, who does similar research but was not involved in the new study.

''I do wear a helmet,'' Healy said. ''But if you hit a tree, don't think a helmet will make the difference in being alive or being dead. It won't.''

Dr. Pietro Tonino, chief of sports medicine at Loyola University Health System, said the study will lead parents to buy helmets for their children. But he predicted the Olympics will persuade young people to wear them.

''You can still be cool even when you're wearing a helmet,'' Tonino said.

Answer 3

There actually is talk of some risks involved in wearing a helmet.  Mainly, people believe that helmets might actually cause neck injuries, but I found no facts to support this.

Here are some quotes from this article (http://www.ski-injury.com/helmet.htm)

"Two of the deaths amongst snowboarders resulted from them being struck by young skiers wearing helmets who had jumped without being able to see where they would land."

I assume they couldn't see because of the helmet?

"of 54 deaths at commercial ski areas in Vermont from 1979/80 to 1997/98, helmets would not have been of any particular value in saving any of the lives lost - as the degree of trauma simply overwhelmed any benefits that the helmet might convey in an impact. To quote Shealy et al again - a team of highly respected ski injury researchers - "On the basis of results to date, there is no clear evidence that helmets have been shown to be an effective means of reducing fatalities in alpine sports"."

"Many of the high speed impacts with solid objects lead to multiple injuries that no helmet could prevent or reduce. The wearing of a helmet should not be viewed as a panacea against fatal injury and should not give the wearer a false sense of security."

"Head injuries account for at most 10-20% of all injuries..... Most of these injuries are minor (usually concussion) and as I have already mentioned the bad ones are usually the result of skiing or boarding out of control."

It's best if you provide your mom with facts, and not just "But I don't want to!" So google around and try to find articles that support you.  But, beware, some of the articles do make helmets sound like a good idea.  Which they probably are.  Why risk it?  Some risks are worth it.. some are NOT.

Answer 4

If you're doing freestyle and all that then yes, you should be wearing a helmet. But if you're just boarding down the hills and such, you should be fine without one...

Answer 5

i think u should wear a helmet..i didnt wear a helmet at first either but i started wearing one......one day i bashed my head on hard snow i had a headache for 2 weeks so imagine if i didnt have it on...last month i bashed my face . i know guys who are pros they still wear helmets

Answer 6

I skateboard without a helmet and I know its dangerous but your mom obviously doesn't want you to get hurt.

If you really don't want to, tell her its just uncomfortable and whatever.

But if I were you then I'd bring the helmet, but leave it at the top of the mountain.

Answer 7

Listen to your mom.. she sure seems smart!  I've been hit on the hill twice so far.  On one occasion I was taken out at the knees and my head hit the hard packed snow.  I would likely have  suffered a concussion if I didn't have a helmet on.  The other time I hit the snow with my chest and broke a couple of ribs... helmet didn't help that time.  Another time, a skier snagged my board with her skis exiting the chair taking us both down.  The chair came around and hit me in the back of the helmet.  

I spend over 100 days on snow per year so I have more exposure.  I see a lot of bad stuff and recommend that everyone wear a helmet.

Answer 8

Just because you haven't fallen and cracked your head yet doesn't mean you won't.  Also it's totally possible that it might not be your fault should you bail, it could be someone running into you or freak conditions.

Your mom loves you and wants you to be safe.  She made you and she wants to see you live a long and happy life.  

Get a nice snowboard helmet that has speakers in the ear flaps and use the helmet as an excuse to rock out better.  There's nothing losery about being safe.

Answer 9

i can see this is a popular topic.  im going to agree with everyone on this list and tell u to wear the helmet. its not like u look like a loser with one on. these days they come in different designs and wit speakers and stuff. like people said before, it takes one really bad fall to get a head injury. lastly (like one of the aswerers said, watch some skate videos in which somebody falls and hurts there head.  if that doesnt scare u toward a helmet, i dont know wat will

Answer 10

It only takes one time. Keep the helmet on. Your Mother just wants to have her girl around longer and not in a wheel chair.

Answer 11

Just wear the helmet.  It's better than finding out the hard way that you should have worn one in the first place.  And define fall a lot.  Like...stupid falls?  Because I don't call those falls.  I call falls when I don't stick a landing or mess up on a rail and fall.  Usually involving some sort of head hit.  If you're not taking serious falls, you're not really progressing...You have to learn from your mistakes.

Just wear the helmet.  I used to be like you when I started riding.  Made stupid little falls, didn't ride anything above a blue.  Now, I'm glad my mom made me wear a helmet.  I'm pretty sure I would have had several concussions if I haven't been wearing one.  I live and ride on the the east coast which is notorious for ice, so I've seen plenty of bad conditions.

Also, it may give you a false sense of security if you allow it to.  Don't count on the helmet to protect you from anything.  Just think of it as a last resort if something does go wrong.

And it's not exactly stupid, pros wear them too.

Answer 12

like, boarding as in skiing?

i dont wear one and you could just say that most ski injuiries are on the bones, people rarely fall on their heads,

probably teh least vulnerable area is ur head

Answer 13

dumb! life is rough! get a helmet! you crash you hit something! youre gonna wish you wore i t! obviously you havent seen too many skate videos! protect yourself!

Answer 14

The one time you fall down and crack your head open without that helmet on you will wish you had listened to your mom. So be smart, wear the helmet, and don't be someone that has to learn the hard way.

Answer 15

Why not to?

It keeps you safe and there are so many out there!

See it as a fashion accessory.

I bought a Pro-Tec Classic Snow in white and it looks great.

Find one that you like and always wear it.

You look cooler and you look more like a pro with a helmet  ;)

Answer 16

Just wear the helmet.  Your mom loves you, and you're not going to convince her to unlove you.  There's nothing you can do.  Wear the helmet and respect yourself and your mom, or just don't go boarding and be a loser.

Note to "most injuries are on the bones" Give me a break.  Most DEATHS are head injuries.  Heads have bones.  But you arn;t using your head.

Answer 17

I would wear the helmet.  I agree with your mom.  I know thats not the advice that you want to hear, but my brother if he could still type or talk would tell you to wear the helmet.  He fell and like you had never wore a helmet because I am sure like you never had been hurt.  However his accident wasn't caused by him, but by another boarder that rode right into his head when he fell.  Multiple surgeries later he is still a vegtable.  The doctors say he is lucky to be alive, but living how he is I don't think lucky is the right word.

Answer 18

wear the helmet but make sure she gets you one with the built in speakers and input jack for your mp3 player. Its only a matter of time before you smack your head. You should try and preserve as many brain cells as you can, cause once you're old enough to buy alcohol, you'll have plenty of opportunity to kill them off.