By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Brookley Garry (left), 6, and sister Meggie, 5, of Pleasant Ridge, get their helmets on.

Don't climb onto your bike today before you heed the words of our resident expert, Meggie Garry of Pleasant Ridge:

"If you don't wear your helmet, if you fall off your bike, you could hurt your head."

Meggie is 5, but she and her sister, Brookley, 6, and brother Jack, 3, are way ahead of the curve on a new Cincinnati city ordinance that goes into effect Saturday . It requires kids and teens under age 16 to wear helmets with chinstraps while riding bicycles, skateboards, roller skates, inline skates and scooters. Other municipalities, including Blue Ash, Glendale and Madeira, already require children and teens to wear bicycle helmets. Many fire and police departments offer helmets free or at low cost.

The Garry kids - even Jack, who still uses training wheels - say they always put on their helmets when riding bikes, whether they're just going up and down their street or to the library two blocks away. Parents Brian and Kim insist on it.

Brian Garry used to manage a transitional-living facility for adults who had suffered traumatic brain injuries - many because of cycling injuries.

"Having seen the devastating effect that traumatic brain injury can have, I'm definitely in favor of the helmet ordinance," Garry says.

Helmets come in all colors, patterns and price ranges. But parents can find helmets that meet national safety standards for less than $10, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute.

Kids who participate in different wheeled sports can find multi-use helmets for cycling and skateboarding, for example. A good bicycle helmet will provide adequate protection for most activities.

Hard-core skaters should use sports-specific helmets, says Stephanie Lambers, director of TriHealth's Think First Trauma Prevention program.

Helmets for skateboarding and inline skating tend to have harder outer shells and are more heavily constructed.

Skating helmets also come a little farther down the back of the head, since skaters and skateboarders are more likely than cyclists to fall backward.

Helmets help prevent traumatic brain injury, which can result in brain damage, disability and death.

Thursday, families can learn more about bicycle helmets and other safety issues during a kids safety fair from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Over-the-Rhine Community Center, 1715 Republic St.

Buying helmets is the first step. The hard part is getting kids to wear them.

The Garry girls chose their own - blue helmets with white daisies.

"The child needs to like the helmet. They need to like the color," Lambers says.

Lambers and Krista Jones, the injury prevention coordinator at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and coordinator for Greater Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition, helped draft the new helmet ordinance.

Parents who wear helmets when they cycle, skate or scooter set the best example, experts say. And kids who wear helmets are more likely to convince their friends that the headgear is cool.

Still, it doesn't matter what the helmet looks like, experts say, as long as it fits and meets national safety standards.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission sets standards for bicycle helmets. Look for helmets with the CPSC stickers.

To make fitting a helmet easier, use a tape measure to check the circumference of the child's head about an inch above the eyebrow. Then look for helmets that match that measurement.

But the new ordinance will be an adjustment, and an expense, for some families. Local Kiwanis Clubs are raising money to help buy helmets.

And Cincinnati police officer Kathy Horn is helping collect new and gently used helmets through the LeBlond Community Center in East End.

For details, call 281-3209.

Tips on buying a helmet

Not sure which helmet to buy for your child?

Here's some advice from the Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition and the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute:

• Helmets come in all sizes, colors and price ranges - from about $8 to more than $200. As a rule, the bigger the vents, the bigger the price tag, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute.

• Let the child pick the color or design.

• Parents should make sure the helmet fits and that it meets national safety standards.

Look for stickers indicating approval by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) or standards set by the American National Safety Institute (ANSI) or the Snell Memorial Foundation.

• If the helmet will be used for skateboarding and bicycling, look for a multi-use helmet with a sticker inside saying it meets safety standard ASTM F1492, indicating it meets impact standards for both activities.

Get the right fit

• Since heads and helmets come in different shapes and sizes, expect to spend some time trying on different models for a proper fit.

• The helmet should fit comfortably snug all around the head.

It should rest as low on the head as possible, and lie evenly across the top of the head - not rising in the front or back of the head.

Use the "eye-ear-mouth" method: The front rim should be barely visible to the eye when you look upward.

The Y of the side straps should meet just below your ear.

The chin strap should be snug so that when you open your mouth wide you can feel the helmet pull down a little.

• Some helmets provide extra foam fitting pads; others use rings. Try each kind to see which works for you.

• With the helmet in place, adjust the straps.

When the straps feel right, shake your head around violently.

Then put your palm under the front edge and push up and back. If the helmet moves more than inch or so, exposing the forehead, then tighten the strap in front of the ear.

The front and back straps should meet just below the ear. If they're too loose, the helmet could come off in a crash.

Getting kids to wear them

Now that the city of Cincinnati - and other communities - say helmets are mandatory for bicycling and other "wheeled" sports, how do you convince the kids to wear them?

• Let the child pick out the helmet; you'll hear fewer complaints that it's "uncool." Just make sure it meets safety standards.

• Train them young, if possible. The earlier a child starts wearing a helmet, the more habitual it becomes.

• Wear a helmet yourself, every time you're on wheels.

• Explain why you want them to wear it: In Cincinnati, at least, it's now the law, and you and your child can face fines and worse if you're caught without the helmet. Explain also that not wearing a helmet could put the child at risk for a serious head injury that could lead to brain damage or death.

• Reward your children for wearing helmets.

• Enforce the helmet rule: No helmet, no bike, skates, skateboard or scooter. And be consistent.