Many kids learn to ride a bike between ages 3 and 8 years old. Regardless of age, there are some important ways to help ensure that your child is as safe as can be on a bike when they are learning how to ride.

Adolescents, teens and young adults have the highest rates of bicycle-related injuries treated in emergency departments (EDs), so it’s essential to instill good habits and teach kids the rules for riding early on.

Helmets are crucial to preventing injury
First, make sure the bicycle your child is riding is age appropriate and the right size. Riding a bike that’s too big can be dangerous because a child will not be able to control it as well as a properly sized bike. A good rule of thumb is to make sure both feet can touch the ground while sitting on the bike. The bike should also be in good working order. Next, be sure that their bicycle helmet fits properly, with the strap snuggly secured under their chin.

“It’s super important that they wear a helmet every time they’re on their bike, even if it’s for just a couple of minutes, even if it’s in the driveway,” says Dr. Pilar Bradshaw of Eugene Pediatric Associates. “Many bike accidents happen within a half-mile perimeter of your home.”

Your child’s helmet should fit correctly and be well maintained, age appropriate, properly certified for use, and worn consistently and correctly, she says. When you buy a new helmet look for the label or sticker indicating it meets the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) safety standard.

Children under 16 years of age in Oregon must wear a helmet while riding a bike on a public path or roadway—this includes tricycles and balance bikes.

Model good behavior for your kids
All bicyclists, regardless of age, can help protect themselves by wearing properly fitted helmets every time they ride. There is no concussion-proof helmet, but it can help protect your child or teen from a serious brain or head injury. And because anyone can be injured on a bike, Dr. Bradshaw also encourages parents to wear helmets.

“It’s super important for adults that are riding their bike with their kids to model wearing their helmet,” she says. “Unfortunately, you can have a skull fracture just standing and falling over on your bike, so it’s very important for parents to realize that wearing a bike helmet as part of getting ready to mount that bicycle is critical to kids’ safety. Their heads are fragile in parts; their skull will not necessarily be able to just bounce if they hit the concrete.”

Bright clothing and lights for bikes
When kids are first learning to ride a bike, it’s best to have them practice where the path or road is flat, free of obstructions and obstacles, and doesn’t have automobile traffic. It’s also important to ensure that kids can been seen. Wearing clothing that’s easy to see and adding lights to a bike can help, Dr. Bradshaw says.

“Kids, especially kids who are not yet seasoned drivers, will not be able to imagine how hard they are to see if it’s dusk, dawn, dark or if there’s that sunlight dappled shade where a kid riding along the side of the road is very difficult for a driver to see. Give them a safety jacket or a blinking light on their back or something that will help draw drivers’ attention to them when they’re in traffic.”

Ways to improve rider visibility include:

  • Wearing fluorescent clothing, which can make it easier to see kids from further away during the daytime.
  • Wearing retro-reflective clothing and adding reflective materials, such as decals, to a bicycle can make them more visible at night.
  • Making sure the bike has active lighting, which can improve the visibility of bicyclists. In Oregon, every bicycle must be equipped with a white front-facing headlight, and a red rear reflector or light, visible from at least 500 feet when used at nighttime.

Also encourage children to wear close-toed shoes when riding a bike and avoid footwear like sandals and flip-flops.

Teach kids the rules of riding
Nearly 1,000 bicyclists die and more than 130,000 are injured in crashes that occur on roads in the United States every year. While those statistics might be eye-opening, remember that riding bikes is a great way for kids to stay active. Just be sure to take proper safety precautions and help kids learn the rules of the road.

“If they’re going to be riding their bike with cars in traffic as they get older, those kids really, really have to learn to lookout and also follow the laws that relate to bikes on the street,” Dr. Bradshaw says.

Here are some important things to teach your kids as they learn to ride a bike:

  • Watch for cars backing out of driveways; teach them what reverse lights look like.
  • No handlebar riding, doubling up on the seat or standing on the back of a single-rider bike.
  • Come to a full and complete stop at all stop signs and traffic lights displaying a red signal.
  • Use standard hand/arm signals when turning and stopping.

To learn proper hand signals and other important bicycle safety tips, read the Oregon Bicycle Manual, which is available in English and Spanish and provides guidance for people bicycling and driving on roads in Oregon. If your child does not have the skills or coordination needed to use hand signals without falling or swerving, they shouldn’t be riding in the street quite yet.

“When your child gets their first tricycle or bike, parents should think: ‘This is the first vehicle that my child is ever going to drive.’ And, if you put that idea of a vehicle in your mind, sometimes it will help you think more creatively about their safety,” she says.