Bicycle helmets have probably saved a lot of lives, but are dads that don’t require that their kids wear them “bad dads”? I suppose if their kid has a serious accident and sustains head injuries or worse, then yes, they’d be a bad dad.

But I grew up in a time when helmets weren’t even on the scene yet. I don’t recall anyone getting seriously injured (broken arms aren’t serious folks!) and I surely would have heard from my mom if she had any evidence for why we kids should be more careful.

Now motorcycles are a different story… a close friend of mine lost his brother due to a motorcycle accident and he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

I suppose there isn’t any harm in wearing a helmet so why not err on the side of caution and slap one of those doofy looking things on your kids head.

For an interesting post on this subject read ‘Bad Dad: Nostalgia Overcomes Common Sense‘ at Wired’s Blog Network.