Kids ski helmets
the piece of kids ski gear for safety on the slopes
Kids ski helmets are essential piece of safety gear that children must have on family ski vacations. Resorts place such importance on children wearing them that they’re compulsory in many ski areas up to twelve years of age.
Usually, they're included in the price when you hire your kids skis and ski boots.
Why are kids ski helmets important?They protect and cushion your child’s head if he falls. A fall without one doesn’t need to a spectacular ‘wipe-out’ with snow flying in all directions to cause serious head injury.
He could bump his head simply by slipping over when he’s waiting next to you in the lift queue.
Won’t my child get hot wearing one?
Possibly so – most likely on a nice warm sunny Spring day. Our children sometimes complain about becoming hot and sweaty underneath the helmet. That's hardly surprising as a person loses roughly a quarter of their body heat from their head.
Kids ski helmets do usually having some sort of air vent in the tough outer shell and padding, but children can still get warm very quickly. Please don’t be tempted to take it off whilst skiing. If you need to cool your child, take a rest and keep safe.
How do I get the right size?To ensure that the headgear fits properly, you can either measure your child’s head, then find the appropriate size. Or it may simply be a case of trying several sizes and makes to see which fits best.
It should not be too tight, neither should it be too loose. If you can wobble it easily on top of your child’s head then try a smaller size. One we once bought was slightly too big for our then four-year-old. The problem was easily fixed because it was supplied with some extra pads to place inside. An instant snug fit.
Are there any features to look for?
Look for kids ski helmets with these features:
- a clip of some sort on the back of the helmet into which you can place your child’s goggle strap, like in this photo on the left. This means your child can take his goggles off at the end of the day without them falling away and getting lost.
- Chin straps with a padded fastening that you can pull over the plastic buckle will be far more comfortable against your child’s chin than a cold buckle
A useful place to store your child's lift passIn resorts with hands-free lift passes you might see children moving their heads towards the ticket checking point. That’s because the height of the check-point is usually around head height for children. So if you tuck your child’s lift pass into his headgear, all he has to do to get through is lean his head towards the machine. Much easier than fumbling around in a pocket to find a lift ticket.
One of the best family ski resorts we've stayed at had all check-points on the left hand side, so we tucked the pass in the left side of the headgear between the shell and the padding.
Worried that the pass might fall out, we secured it with a little sticky tape. (You can see the black tape in this picture with the pass behind the vent).
Should kids ski helmets be worn when sledging?
Yes. Sledging or tobogganing is great fun (and not just for the children!) but there’s always a risk of injury.
Some sledges can go quite fast - especially if you have an adventurous child, or one who loves to race his siblings.
There's a race all lined up ready to start in this photo.
Seeing as the 'controlled crash' seems to be the preferred method of stopping a sledge, keep the helmet on.
Lead by exampleSki helmets aren't just for children. You’ll see an increasing number of adults choosing to protect their heads, especially those taking ski vacations in American and Canadian resorts.
Apart from being sensible, it will make it much easier for your children to accept wearing a kids ski helmet if you're leading by example and wearing an adult sized one.
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