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Grades 4–5 · Out and About · Badge 2

Fit your own helmet

Fit your own helmet with the three checks, without a parent doing it for you.

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Step 1 of 9

1Look

Two helmets, one of them useless

Still image

Two kids, two helmets

Side by side. One helmet is tipped back on the head with the forehead bare and the strap hanging loose. The other sits level, two fingers above the eyebrows, strap snug under the chin.

Both kids think they are wearing a helmet. Only one of them is.

2The idea

A helmet that moves is a hat

The helmet works by being where your head hits the ground. When you come off a bike you usually go forward, so the forehead is the bit that lands first. A helmet tipped back leaves it out. A loose strap means the helmet comes off on the first bounce, before the second one.

So the helmet has to be level, and it has to stay put. Nobody can check that for you from across the room. You check it, on your own head, every time you put it on.

3The idea

Three checks. Eyes, ears, mouth.

Eyes. Put the helmet on level. Look up with just your eyes. You should see the front rim. If you cannot, it is tipped back. The rim sits about two fingers above your eyebrows.
Ears. The two straps on each side should meet in a V just under your ear. Not on the ear, not on your jaw.
Mouth. Buckle it, then open your mouth wide. The helmet should pull down a little on your head.

If any one of the three fails, the helmet is not on yet. You adjust and check again. It takes ten seconds once you have done it a few times.

4The idea

Doing it in the hall, Tuesday morning

You put it on. Look up: no rim. Tipped back. You push it forward and tighten the dial at the back until it sits level. Look up again: there it is, two fingers up. Straps: the left V is under your ear, the right one is sitting on it. You slide the buckle down. Both under.

Buckle. Open wide. Nothing pulls. You take in the chin strap one notch. Open wide again: a little tug on top of your head. Three passes. Now it is on. Thirty seconds, and you did not need anybody.

5Decide

Which one passes?

Right. Eyes: look up and you can just see the rim. Ears: the straps make a V that meets just under each ear. Mouth: open wide and the helmet pulls down a little. If it does not pull, the strap is loose.

Not that one. Tipped back leaves the forehead bare, which is the bit that hits first. Unbuckled means it is off before you land. Too far forward and you cannot see properly, which causes the crash it was meant to help with.

Pick one to carry on.

6Build it

The fit check

Interactive

Fit check

A helmet on a head, seen from the side. Drag the rim, the straps and the buckle until all three checks turn green. Then it makes you do it again from scratch, faster.

The second time is the one that counts. The first time you were thinking about it.

7Find them

Which of these mean the helmet is not on yet?

Tap the ones that count.

Find all 4.

8Say it

The three words

Say them out loud, in order, every time you put it on

“Eyes, ears, mouth”

You will say it under your breath for about a month. Then you will just do it.

9Do it

Before you leave this page

Put your helmet on and do the three checks yourself. Then, with it still on, ask a parent to try to move it. If it shifts, adjust and try again. You are done when they cannot move it.

Tick it when you have done it.

Lesson done.

Eyes, ears, mouth. If one check fails, the helmet is not on yet.

Next lesson: A bike on a road

Badge 2 · Wheels

2.1Fit your own helmet 2.2A bike on a road 2.3When a scooter stops being a toy ★Badge Challenge

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