# Bike trailers with babies SBS and helmets



## dmpmercury (Mar 31, 2008)

I see a lot of websites saying you can't ride with a baby under 1 because of a potential risk of SBS. I know a lot of people disregard this and I never heard of a baby getting SBS from a bike trailer. Is there a real risk to this or is this a hypothetical risk that has never been proven?

I saw this blog on a different post where someone actuall tests the G forces of various activities including wearing an ergo and using a jogging stroller and there were more G-forces from the ergo http://babyt3stbed.blogspot.com/

Do you think it is a real risk to bike with a baby under 1 or is this something that is overblown with no real data or actual instances to back it up. Should you use a infant seat or the slings they design for babies for trailers or is it a huge risk. In countries where biking is common are there age rules and is it common for babies under 1 to go on bikes?

I also wondering on wearing a helmet in the trailer. A trailer sits low to the ground and uses a 5 point harness and has a roll cage and is designed not to tip. I know trailers aren't as protective as cars but helmets are designed for falls not being hit by a car. Will a helmet provide protection from being hit by a car?

I am very strict about helmets while riding bicycles and tricycles etc for both us and the kids but I never found them practical in the trailer. I am also very safety conscious in general with car seats and trampolines and other safety hazards.

I just wondering if there is a real risk to a baby by the jostling of the trailer. I am hoping one day we have more biking and walking friendly cities and more people use bikes for transportation. Are there ways to do so when you have a baby.

So what do others think about biking with babies under 1 and using helmets in a bike trailer.


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## alfabetsoup (Jun 13, 2005)

I think the baby would get shaken around too much. Their necks just aren't strong enough to support their heads with that kind of bumping (and a bike trailer is really bumpy) and I wouldn't want to take the risk.

You can get cargo bikes with infant seat attachments, I think the Madsen is the big one in the states. I think that would be a lot safer and more comfortable for the baby and you can usually get 1 or 2 older children in as well.


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## galincognito (Nov 23, 2007)

we always wear helmets in the trailer if only to teach the kids that bike ride = helmet. they don't complain and are actually very excited to wear their helmets.


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## nolansmummy (Apr 19, 2005)

I have never taken a child in a trailer under one, so i can't comment about that. I know it jostles my kids around a lot though ( they are 3 and 6). I have mine wear helmets to get them use to wearing them, like *galincognito* said, plus mine love to wear them too.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

I have not seen enough research for me to be comfortable with an under 1 in a trailer. Also under 1 kids shouldn't wear helmets- too much weight on their little necks with already over-sized heads.

-Angela


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## leighi123 (Nov 14, 2007)

I think everyone should wear a helmet, for head protection of course, but also to establish good safety habits. My rule for ds is no helmet = no ride (and he wears his with no complaint)

those trailors are VERY bumpy, I rode in one when I was 8yrs old, and was shaken like crazy on a fairly smooth road. I'd imagine that a smaller baby would be jostled even more! I wouldnt use one until the child was old enough to tell me if the bouncing around was too much. You need quite a bit of muscle control to comfortably withstand the shock of riding in those things.

Ds is in a bike seat now, he will be 3 this summer, the harness sucks, but he knows enough to sit still and not mess with it (a 1yr old would probably not understand how they need to sit to be safe). I hardly ever put him in it b/c it seems scary to me.

I would deffinatly not put a baby under 1 on a bike. They need a helmet and their isnt ones they can wear safely.


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## mumkimum (Nov 14, 2006)

We waited until dd fit a bike helmet before taking her out in the bike trailer, so around 2 or 2.5 I suppose. I don't know that I'd be comfortable with a younger baby in the trailer, even with some other additional safety things.

We do always use a helmet in the trailer. My family always used helmets when my siblings and I were young and there were a handful of times the trailer did tip over because of a larger road bump or something - biking is certainly faster than just walking or running, you really are better off falling out of the trailer with a helmet.


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## lunarlady (Jan 4, 2010)

The seating in a trailer is pretty upright, so when baby falls asleep (ours always did!) their head hangs down and forward. I don't think you'll end up with SBS in a child older than 5 months, but I do think you could strain the little one's neck with all that bouncing in an uncomfortable position. I used to work at a bike store, and we reccomended 9-10 months of age for riding in a trailer, if the child had excellent head and neck control, and to keep rides to 30 minutes or less until child is over a year. Even for a little baby, SBS is pretty hard to cause accidently, but I think going down a potholed street at 25 mph in a bike trailer might do it.

You should always put a helmet on a kid in a trailer! Yes, the metal bars are designed to minimize the impact, but if the trailer were hit by a car going 40 mph, the bars will bend and can even collapse. The bumper of a SUV rides right about at head level to a child in a trailer. A helmet on the child could save their life. Yes, they will still have severe injury, but nothing kills faster than brain trauma. And for my DD, the helmet is key for getting out, when she always trips and falls head first onto the pavement.









In countries where cycling is very common, there are no rules about age restrictions for cyclists, and not everyone wears a helmet. Having been to some of those countries, I can tell you that the most common way to see a small infant/child on a bike is in a sling or other carrier held very close to mama's chest, and mama on an upright, cruiser style bike. They ride fairly slowly and carefully. FWIW, I didn't see them in urban areas or on busy streets, only on side streets and in small towns. I don't think this is wise when alternate, safer options are available, but I do think it works.

We're a cycling family, and put DD in a trailer at 8 months (with helmet). I can tell you that after about 30 minutes she was howling and screaming to get out. She didn't really enjoy it until the following year when she was about 18 months old.

Happy cycling!


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## claddaghmom (May 30, 2008)

I felt comfortable w/ the idea of 6+ months. But DD made it clear about what she thought about that lol. She screamed as if she was dying...and that was simply strapping her in; we hadn't even started biking yet.

I pulled it out of storage in March and she jumped right in, clapped her hands and was ready to roll lol.


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## alfabetsoup (Jun 13, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lunarlady* 

In countries where cycling is very common, there are no rules about age restrictions for cyclists, and not everyone wears a helmet. Having been to some of those countries, I can tell you that the most common way to see a small infant/child on a bike is in a sling or other carrier held very close to mama's chest, and mama on an upright, cruiser style bike. They ride fairly slowly and carefully. FWIW, I didn't see them in urban areas or on busy streets, only on side streets and in small towns. I don't think this is wise when alternate, safer options are available, but I do think it works.

This is really, really unsafe and I have never seen it here (UK) or anywhere else I've been in Europe. If you fell, you could land on the baby. I've seen infant car seats attached to bikes in a few different configurations, that seems to me to be the safest way to transport a very young child by bike.

Imagine putting your 8mo in a trailer. You put a heavy helmet on his head (if you can find one that fits) and strap him in. He falls asleep. His head lolls forward, dragged down by the weight of the helmet. You go over a bump or around a sharp curve--what do you think will happen to his head and neck? Will his neck be able to support the weight of his head and helmet in a slumped forward position over unexpected bumps? Especially while he's asleep? The thought of it just chills me.

If you use cycling for transportation, you can find a way to carry your baby safely--you might have to spend some money but it will be cheaper than a car. If you are just riding for recreation, wait until your baby is old enough and strong enough to handle it and enjoy it.


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