Before we determine the appropriate helmet size for your children, let's clarify a fundamental question: When do children need to wear a bicycle helmet? Simple answer... basically always, when they are on a bicycle or a balance bike. Even if they are not riding themselves but are passengers in a child trailer, child seat, or cargo bike, their head should have suitable protection!
Another intriguing question: How do you get the kids to actually wear the helmet? It definitely helps if your child has a helmet that they find "cool," and with the wide selection of children's helmets available on the market today, you're sure to find one that visually satisfies your daughter or son.
But even more important is an optimal fit! Therefore, the helmet size should definitely match the child! If it's too small, it will chafe and press - and your child will refuse to wear it. If it's too large, it will slide away in the event of a crash and won't adequately protect the head.
Let's get started - find the right children's helmet!
Here we have a simple step-by-step guide for you to help determine the correct helmet size for children. Afterwards, there are more tips for choosing a safe bicycle helmet for your child.
How to measure a child's bicycle helmet size
The most important step when buying a suitable children's helmet is measuring the head circumference, as this determines the helmet size.
To determine the helmet size you need:
- a measuring tape
- or a string and a ruler
Here's how you do it:
- Especially important for toddlers: Choose a time when your child is in a good mood. If necessary, you need to provide distraction so they remain calm and you can measure the head.
- Place the string or measuring tape around the child's head.
- The measuring tape should fit loosely, not cutting in or hanging loose.
- The measuring tape should sit about one centimeter above the eyebrows and be guided horizontally around the head.
5. If you use a measuring tape, you can read the head circumference directly
6. If you used a string, you need to remember the point where the string ends meet and measure the length with the ruler.
Now you can start looking for a helmet in the right size.
What helmet sizes are available for children's helmets?
Children's helmets are available in sizes like "45-49cm" or "49-53cm". The helmet size corresponds to the head circumference in cm, so if you measured 52 cm, you need a helmet that fits this measurement. You would need to buy our example helmet in the second size.
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Helmets can be adjusted in size and therefore usually cover a certain range (about 5 cm head circumference). |
Only a few manufacturers still indicate sizes like S, M, or L. Usually, you will find size in centimeters in the selection menu. If the measurement does not seem suitable, you can visit the products of another manufacturer, as the sizes are not always the same.
Your child is exactly between two helmet sizes
If the head circumference is exactly between two helmet sizes, you can buy the larger helmet. It can usually be adjusted. If your child wants a helmet without an adjustment system (e.g., a skate helmet), you should order both helmets for safety and try them out calmly to see which fits better.
How the children's helmet sits correctly on the head
A rule of thumb applies to all bicycle helmets: The lower edge of the helmet should be parallel to the ground. This means that the fit of the helmet moves with the sitting position. The lower a cyclist sits, the further the helmet is worn at the neck. This adjustment is important because it ensures that the field of vision is not impaired by the helmet. Depending on the shape of the head, the sitting position can also change the circumference you need to measure!
Since smaller children usually sit very upright on the bicycle, the head circumference shown at the top of our graphic is usually the right one. Older children may sit more bent over, which means the fit of the helmet also moves!
How to adjust the children's helmet to the right size
You can usually adjust a bicycle helmet, but this does not work with skate helmets and full-face helmets.
Adjust adhesive pads
Especially with children's helmets, pads of different thicknesses are often provided. They are attached inside the helmet with Velcro fasteners, and you can simply try out which ones fit most comfortably and then attach them in the helmet.
Adjust head ring
In the second step, put the helmet on your child and turn the wheel at the neck, so the head ring's holding system inside the helmet closes or widens. It must not press, but if your child shakes their head, it should also not fall off, even with open retaining straps.
Sometimes (but more with adult helmets) you can shift the distance of the head ring to the lower edge of the helmet. This allows you to adjust the helmet even more individually.
Adjusting the strap
Some helmets have a clamp that holds the front and rear straps together, which is adjusted first. The two straps should form a triangle around the ears, but leave about 1 cm of space from the ear.
With other helmets, these straps are permanently sewn. Then this step is omitted.
Next, adjust the width of the chin strap. Close the clasp and adjust the length of the strap until there is still room for two fingers between the chin and the strap.
Finally, pin the end of the strap – done!
Since the ear mounts and the chin strap closure tend to loosen over time, you should check the correct fit of the child's helmet from time to time.
Image © Fox Racing
What helmet size fits children at what age?
Right away – as with clothing or bicycles, it is somewhat difficult to choose a child's helmet based solely on age.
- Children grow at different rates, the body size (and thus the helmet size) on specific dates can vary significantly. Therefore, it usually doesn't work to shop by the motto “On the tenth birthday, helmet size XY fits.”
- People, whether tall or short, can have very different proportions. This applies not only to the body, each of us also has our own head... and it can be larger or smaller, elongated or wide, round or narrow, and thus require a completely different helmet size than expected.
- Finally, growth spurts make it difficult to predict the right size at a specific time. Perhaps it has also happened to you that you bought your child shoes and a week later they were too small? A growth spurt then threw a wrench in the works! Fortunately, this is rarely the case with bicycle helmets, as they are almost always adjustable in size. But with a growth spurt, the helmet size can change almost “overnight!”
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Instead of relying on age specifications, it is always safer to measure the child's head before buying a bicycle helmet! |
Nevertheless, many helmet manufacturers provide age specifications or recommendations on which helmet fits at what age, and they are usually a good guideline. But they do not replace the precise measurement of the appropriate helmet size!
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Age |
up to 3 years |
2 to 5 years |
4 to 9 years |
7 to 12 years |
from 12 years |
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Head circumference in cm |
44-49 cm |
46-52 cm |
51-58 cm |
55-60 cm |
52-65 cm |
|
Helmet size |
XS |
S |
S/M |
M |
Adult helmets |
In the overlaps, you can see how inaccurate the classification of helmet size by the child's age is! Measuring is always better!
How do you notice that the helmet size is changing?
Little girls and boys quickly become big girls and boys, and naturally, the head grows with them.
At some point, the helmet would no longer fit properly on the head, but you should best not let it come to that!
Here are some signs that the helmet no longer fits properly:
- Smaller children may not yet be able to specifically name that the helmet is pressing! They just don't want to put it on.
- Look for pressure marks on the sides of the head or on the forehead.
- The chin strap is difficult to close or cuts in.
- The child sweats more and more under the helmet because the ventilation of the helmet no longer works properly.
If you notice that the helmet no longer fits properly, you can adjust the helmet width and the fit of the retaining straps. If one of these (or both) has reached its limit, it's time for the next helmet size!
Why is the right size so important for a children's helmet?
Sure, you can strap any helmet onto a child's head. But you're not doing your child any favors.
If the helmet size is too large for your child, the helmet doesn't sit well on the head. It slips, and often in front of the eyes, which restricts vision and becomes dangerous. If the children's helmet slips off the head during a fall, it can't protect the head, and the consequences can be fatal.
If the children's helmet is too small, it presses and chafes. Your child will then (rightfully) refuse to wear the helmet at all.
Conclusion: If the helmet size is not correct, the helmet cannot efficiently protect a child's head, even if it meets the required standards or features safety technology like MIPS.
When a children's helmet fits properly, cycling is even more fun! Image © Amber Faust on Unsplash
Does the shape of the children's helmet matter apart from the size?
There are children's helmets in all possible variants, even full-face helmets are available in small sizes. They come with or without a visor, in all colors, with patterns or more neutrally designed. In principle, it doesn't matter if children wear a more neutral all-round helmet, want a mini-MTB helmet, or prefer a skate helmet. If you let your child choose for themselves, the chance is greater that they will wear the helmet without protest, which is the most important criterion!
Skate helmets on the bike?
If a helmet in skater style meets the required standard for children's helmets DIN EN 1080, it can be worn on a bicycle. However, these helmets often cannot be adjusted in width because they lack the necessary “interior”. Then you need to measure the helmet size particularly accurately so that the helmet fits!
The big exception: the full-face helmet
A full-face helmet is mega cool, so it's no wonder that many kids want to have one.
However, full-face helmets are relatively heavy and therefore more of a burden than good protection for smaller children. Full-face helmets also usually cannot be adjusted to the correct size. A full-face helmet covers part of the face, because only in this way can nothing worse happen in mountain bike accidents. The problem with this: The helmet restricts all-around visibility and often also affects hearing. The mini-biker no longer notices anything happening on the sides. In the terrain, the advantages may outweigh the disadvantages, but on the way to kindergarten, it is dangerous!
Special helmets like full-face helmets are particularly cool, but rather unsuitable for everyday use on children's bicycles! Image © 100%
What helmet size does your child need in winter (with a hat)?
Many children also ride their bikes to school in winter or ride their balance bikes to kindergarten, so a helmet should be worn even in cold weather. To ensure that the ears don't get cold underneath, it is necessary that a hat fits under the helmet.
This is how a children's bicycle helmet works in winter with a hat:
A thin hat can usually be worn under a helmet without any problems, provided the helmet size allows it. Special helmet hats in small sizes are particularly recommended here because they are thin but still windproof. They are often even water-repellent and therefore particularly suitable for the cold season. If the temperatures are not too frosty, a headband or a multifunctional scarf. However, you should make sure that the headband cannot slip into your child's face and obstruct their vision.
Incidentally, the hat is often the reason why a larger helmet is purchased. Many parents realize in autumn that no hat fits under the children's helmet and then start looking for a new one. We recommend keeping the smaller helmet over the winter because it might fit again in the spring without a hat.
Another tip: Many children also like to ride with a cap under the helmet in summer. But baseball caps are often made of quite rigid material, which means that the bike helmet no longer fits correctly. It tilts, floats too high above the head, the straps no longer fit... and thus the helmet can no longer provide proper protection. So it's better to take the cap off and then put the helmet on, that way the head protection works optimally!
Now you'll find the right bike helmet for your child...
... and it's well secured on the children's bike on the road. Especially younger kids do have a fall or two, here's another parent tip: bike gloves for children often prevent more serious injuries! By the way, children tend to wear their helmets with less fuss if the parents set a good example and never ride a bike without one. Here are the adult helmets...
The helmet still fits, does your child still need a new one? Here is all the information on the durability of bike helmets!
Title image © Rascal
